Marquette At Illinois Preview

Illinois plays host to Marquette tonight on ESPN

It’s gameday. The No. 23 Illinois Fighting Illini play host to No. 4 Marquette in the Gavitt Tipoff Games, an inter-conference series between the Big Ten and the Big East Conferences.

Third-year head coach Shaka Smart returns 87 percent of the Golden Eagles scoring from last season, a team that won the Big East regular season and tournament titles before being upset in the Round of 32 to the Michigan State Spartans.

Despite last year’s disappointment, vibes for the season in Milwaukee are high for good reason. Marquette returns senior guard and reigning Big East Player of the Year Tyler Kolek. He was also named a member of the Associated Press preseason All-American team. He is questionable to play after sustaining an ankle injury in a dominant win over Rider. Even if he does play, expect Kolek to have limited mobility.

Junior guard Kam Jones also returned to Marquette with intentions of improving his NBA draft stock. Last season, Jones made the second-team All-Big East.

So, what does this mean for the Illini? What are the keys for the Illini to pull-off the win? Here are the keys to victory: 

-Don’t let them get hot from deep.

Marquette as a team shot 35.3 percent from the arc last season with notable shooters: Tyler Kolek, Kam Jones, and David Joplin all shooting above 35 percent last season and Stevie Mitchell, Sean Jones, Chase Ross, and Ben Gold all shooting above 30 percent. 

-Make someone other than Kam Jones beat you.

With Kolek averaging 12.9 points and 7.5 assists a game last season, his lack of mobility will force Kam Jones to be the primary focus of the Golden Eagles’ offense.

-Win the Turnover Margin

Last season, Marquette averaged 10.7 turnovers, while forcing 15.8. Winning the turnover margin gives extra possessions, which could prove crucial down the stretch.

-The Little Things: No slow starts/Make Free Throws

What should be an obvious statement needs to be reiterated after the Illini got off to slow offensive starts against EIU and Oakland.

The Illini also opened their season shooting 20-39 from the line in their first two matchups with Eastern Illinois and Oakland.

Regardless of the outcome, this game should prove to be a learning experience for the Illini come March. 

Sam King is a contributor to Illini Now. He can be reached at sjking258@gmail.com.