Photo by Austin Yattoni | The Daily Illini Malcolm Hill puts up a shot that Michigan’s Mark Donnal (34) is coming in to block during Illinois’ 78-68 loss to the Wolverines at State Farm Center on Wednesday. By Alex Roux | 1 hour agoWhen the 2015-16 Illinois basketball schedule was released, the first four teams on the conference slate jumped out. The Illini would face, in order, Michigan, Ohio State, Purdue and Michigan State. These four teams were either projected as a top-25 team in the preseason, were prone to giving the Illini fits during head coach John Groce’s tenure, or a combination of both. The rest of Illinois’ conference schedule is as soft as it’s been in years, but those first four looked daunting even before the Illini roster was decimated by injuries. After a 10-point home loss to Michigan Wednesday, Illinois (8-6, 0-1) now has to hit the road for two straight games for the first time this season. The Illini will play at Ohio State (9-5, 1-0) Sunday evening. Then they’ll travel to face a top-10 Michigan State on the road Thursday before closing out the four-game gauntlet against top-15 Purdue at State Farm Center Jan. 10. Michigan State will pose an incredible challenge on the road, and Purdue figures to dominate Illinois in the post and on the boards. A talented but inconsistent Ohio State squad probably provides the Illini’s easiest path to avoiding a 0-4 start in Big Ten play. Illinois has never gotten off to great conference starts under the current regime. In Groce’s first three seasons as Illinois head coach, his teams have started conference play 1-3, 2-2 and 1-3. Those teams went on to finish with Big Ten records of 8-10, 7-11 and 9-9, respectively. Although this year’s schedule is frontloaded with tough games, stumbling out of the gates at 0-4 could turn an already underwhelming season into an ugly one. …
Continue Reading: Illinois basketball’s best chance to avoid 0-4 Big Ten start is Sunday at Ohio State
