Illinois Basketball Struggles on Defense in Cincinnati Win – And Why We Aren’t Worried

There was no shortage of stats or storylines that spilled out of Illinois’ 105-96 exhibition win at Cincinnati on Saturday. Most of them sparked excitement for what’s to come in the Illini’s 2026-27 season.

But one of them was discouraging – and it’s a very big one: defense. It is, of course, half the game. Although Illinois appears to have the capability to outscore a vast majority of opponents, it still has to get a bare minimum of stops on the other end.

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And come March, the competition only gets stronger. Elevating a team’s floor – which is the difference between a Sweet 16 and a national title – all starts with defense. So should the Illini be concerned?

Should Illinois basketball be worried about its defense after Cincinnati game?

Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts against the Connecticut Huskies in the second half during a semifinal of the Final Four of the men’s 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The short answer: not at all. Sure, Cincinnati put up 96 points. And, yes, Tylen Riley – 31 points and 13 assists – did bring back all of those unsavory memories of opposing guards cutting through the Illini defense in 2025-26 like a hot knife through butter.

Cincinnati hit 12 threes, shooting 36.4 percent from that range. It scored 42 points in the paint. The Bearcats managed 12 second-chance points and turned the ball over only 10 times – the latter of which is an almost extraordinary number for an exhibition game.

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So why aren’t we concerned? Well, first, there’s this from coach Brad Underwood in his postgame press conference:

“We didn’t scout. We talked personnel. But we didn’t talk about X’s and O’s.”

Underwood said ahead of the exhibition contest that he wanted to see how his team responded. He wanted to see if – and to what extent – they had internalized Illinois’ defensive principles. He wasn’t concerned with…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/illinois-basketball-struggles-defense-cincinnati-222427608.html

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Publish date : 2026-10-18 22:24:00

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