Chicitysports
  • BEARS
  • BULLS
  • BLACKHAWKS
  • CUBS
  • WHITE SOX
  • MESSAGE BOARD
Navigation
  • About Us
  • Chicago Sports News
  • Chicago Sports Podcasts
  • ChiCity+
  • Get In Touch
  • Join Our Group
  • Newsletter
  • Our Writers
  • Privacy Policy
  • Want to Write for ChiCitySports?
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Trending
  • Chicago Bears wide receiver states the coaching staff isn’t putting players in position to succeed
  • BREAKING: Two Chicago Bears Starters Ruled OUT for Week 4 vs Denver Broncos
  • The Ultimate Guide to the Best UK Online Betting Sites by The Punters Page
  • David Montgomery creates shameful stat for the Chicago Bears
  • Connor Bedard was not a fan of someone walking on Blackhawks logo
  • From A Distance: Clock close to midnight for Cubs
  • The Chicago Bears Are So Bad, That Even TV Stations are Avoiding Them at All Costs
  • Chicago Bears wide receiver named as trade piece for New England Patriots
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Our Writers
  • Want to Write for ChiCitySports?
ChicitysportsChicitysports
  • BEARS

    Chicago Bears wide receiver states the coaching staff isn’t putting players in position to succeed

    September 29, 2023

    BREAKING: Two Chicago Bears Starters Ruled OUT for Week 4 vs Denver Broncos

    September 29, 2023

    David Montgomery creates shameful stat for the Chicago Bears

    September 29, 2023

    The Chicago Bears Are So Bad, That Even TV Stations are Avoiding Them at All Costs

    September 28, 2023

    Chicago Bears wide receiver named as trade piece for New England Patriots

    September 28, 2023
  • BULLS

    Report suggests Chicago Bulls are a team on point guard’s trade list

    September 28, 2023

    Report: Jrue Holiday is still on the move, could Bulls show interest?

    September 27, 2023

    Rumor: Bulls trying to get in on the Damian Lillard Sweepstakes

    September 20, 2023

    Why is Lonzo Ball promoting Big Baller Brand again?

    September 20, 2023

    Paris Saint-Germain unveils 2023-24 Jordan Brand kit

    September 19, 2023
  • BLACKHAWKS

    Connor Bedard was not a fan of someone walking on Blackhawks logo

    September 29, 2023

    Blackhawks Lose Associate General Manager before Preseason Begins

    September 21, 2023

    Chicago GM Davidson says Blackhawks focus is on development

    September 19, 2023

    Chicago Blackhawks: Kyle Davidson makes major announcement on 2023-24 team captain

    September 19, 2023

    Connor Bedard puts on a show in his Blackhawks debut

    September 17, 2023
  • CUBS

    From A Distance: Clock close to midnight for Cubs

    September 29, 2023

    From A Distance: What more can the Cubs endure?

    September 28, 2023

    From A Distance: Seiya Suzuki’s costly error hurts Cubs

    September 27, 2023

    Cubs, Baseball Fans in Disbelief after Massive Gaffe

    September 26, 2023

    Two Key Chicago Cubs Continue to Work their Way Back

    September 26, 2023
  • WHITE SOX

    White Sox Hire New Assistant GM

    September 19, 2023

    White Sox Game Last Night in D.C. has Fans Debating on Social Media

    September 19, 2023

    Mike Clevinger Accomplished a Rare Feat Monday Night

    September 19, 2023

    Chicago White Sox Reliever, Knowingly Pitched Through Injury

    September 14, 2023

    White Sox Fans Grill Team After New General Manager Announcement

    August 31, 2023
  • MESSAGE BOARD
Facebook Twitter Instagram
Chicitysports
Home»Big Ten Basketball»Illinois Basketball Gameday Preview: vs. Kansas City
Big Ten Basketball

Illinois Basketball Gameday Preview: vs. Kansas City

Ethan CarterBy Ethan CarterNovember 11, 20224 Mins Read
Facebook Twitter Reddit Tumblr Email
Illini
Share
Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Email

The Illini look to tally another win in a Friday night matchup with Kansas City at the State Farm Center

Brad Underwood’s squad is 1-0 heading into tonight’s matchup with the Roos of Kansas City. They come into this game with a lot of good energy after their rightfully easy victory over Eastern Illinois. As for the Roos, they’re 0-2 after a Wednesday night loss at LSU, where former Illini Adam Miller dropped 18 points. This will be a bit of a step up for the Illini, as Kansas City is better than Eastern Illinois, but that doesn’t change the expectations for this team.

Projected Starting Lineups

  • Kansas City
    • G Shemarri Allen (6-foot-4) (19 pts at LSU)
    • G RayQuawndis Mitchell (6-foot-5) (15 pts. 6 reb, 5 ast at LSU)
    • F Allen David Mukeba (6-foot-7) (Colby CC transfer)
    • F Precious C. Idiaru (6-foot-9) (Freshman)
    • F Jeff Ngandu (6-foot-9) (Freshman)

The Roos’ guard play is solid, as both Allen and Mitchell played well against LSU. Their downfall could be their frontcourt, the lack of experience should allow both Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja to feast. Despite their lack of experience, they’re tough and can be hard to play against. Two other notable stats against LSU for them – 4-for-25 from three and 11 offensive rebounds.

  • Illinois
    • G Skyy Clark
    • G RJ Melendez
    • G Terrence Shannon Jr.
    • F Matthew Mayer
    • F Coleman Hawkins

I’m not expecting Underwood to make any changes to the lineup unless they were to swap Mayer out for Dainja or Ty Rodgers. Mayer is still dealing with a back injury from before the season and struggled defensively in the season opener. Regardless, I’m expecting the same lineup and a similar rotation strategy from the Illini in this game.

The Analytics Between the Two Teams

As per usual, these numbers come from KenPom and Haslametrics.

  • KenPom
    • Adjusted Offensive Efficiency – ILL 39th, Kansas City 264th
    • Adjusted Defensive Efficiency – ILL 27th, Kansas City 297th
    • Adjusted Tempo – ILL 59th, Kansas City 142nd
  • Haslametrics
    • All-Play Percentage – ILL 33rd, Kansas City 271st
    • Offensive Efficiency – ILL 37th, Kansas City 276th
    • Defensive Efficiency – ILL 31st, Kansas City 249th

Once again, the Illini have a huge advantage in the analytics department, as they should. I’m a bit surprised to see the Kansas City defense ranked so poorly, but that shouldn’t stop them from being tough on the Illini offense in some spots. If Illinois can get out and run the floor, they have a major advantage in that aspect of the game. They need to execute better, which will allow them to score more points than LSU did against Kansas City.

Players to Watch & Prediction

  • Players to Watch
    • Kansas City – F Allen David Mukeba
      • Mukeba struggled against LSU with 7 points and a 3-for-11 showing from the field. He also had four turnovers, the important part for him in this game tonight will be how he defends Shannon Jr. or Mayer, those will be difficult matchups for him. They need to rely on him to have success defensively since the line of defense behind him are two freshmen.
    • Illinois – F Coleman Hawkins
      • Hawkins has been known to light up the box score against lesser Division I opponents. He did so against Eastern Illinois with 23 points and a surprising 5-for-8 from three. He has every opportunity tonight to do the same, I don’t expect him to be that efficient from three again, but he should have good numbers.
  • Predictions
    • Illinois wins 82-55

Maybe I’m overly confident in the Illini to dominate this game, but I have a good feeling about this matchup for them. They hung with LSU and lost by 11, but Illinois is at a different level than LSU in terms of talent. Shoutout to former Illini head coach Bruce Weber, who will be on the call as a color analyst on the Big Ten Network for tonight’s game. They will also have former players of last season’s team to celebrate the regular season Big Ten championship.

messagebordbanner

For More Great Chicago Sports Content

Follow us on Twitter at @chicitysports23 for more great content. We appreciate you taking time to read our articles. To interact more with our community and keep up to date on the latest in Chicago sports news, JOIN OUR FREE FACEBOOK GROUP by CLICKING HERE

College Basketball Gameday Preview illini basketball Kansas City Basketball
Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Tumblr Email
ec
Ethan Carter
  • Twitter

Ethan Carter has been writing sports articles for over half a decade. Growing up in Central Illinois, he became fond of the University of Illinois basketball program. He co-hosts the Illini Basketball Podcast and will cover the team + Big 10 basketball for the site. On top of this, he also covers the Blues for The Hockey Writers. Follow his twitter @EthanCarterSW for tons of sports talk and more.

Related Posts

Other March 15, 2023

Celebrate 2023 NCAA Tournament with new FOCO bobbleheads

Big Ten Basketball December 8, 2022

Illinois Basketball Game No. 10 Recap: Embarrassing Loss to Penn State

Big Ten Basketball December 8, 2022

Illinois Basketball Gameday Preview: vs. Penn State

College Basketball December 7, 2022

From No. 1 to unranked: Is North Carolina basketball in trouble?

Big Ten Basketball December 2, 2022

Illinois Basketball Game No. 9 Recap: Illini Stun Texas at MSG

Big Ten Basketball December 2, 2022

Illinois Basketball Gameday Preview: vs. Texas

Leave A Reply

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • YouTube

Team Message Boards

bears TP
bulls TP
cubs TP
sox TP
hawks TP
we want you to write
Facebook Twitter Instagram YouTube
  • Home
  • Message Board
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Our Writers
  • Want to Write for ChiCitySports?
© 2023 ChiCitySports. Designed by Dope Guys Who Run ChiCitySports.

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.