‘Certainly what we want’-Is Illinois Basketball Finally Over Its Turnovers Woes?

Is Illinois Basketball Finally Over Its Turnover Troubles?

Illinois basketball (18-11, 10-8 Big Ten) has faced a range of challenges during the second half of the season, including illness, injuries, inconsistency, youth, and limited practice time. Additionally, their three-point shooting has been hit-or-miss. However, one major issue that stands out, and is also the most solvable, is turnovers.

The Illini play at a fast pace and, when they’re clicking, move the ball effectively. But many of their turnovers stem from carelessness—playing without focus rather than playing too quickly. It’s one thing to make a bad drive, and another to lose focus entirely.

In their recent game against Iowa, Illinois committed just five turnovers—a remarkably low number for any college basketball team, especially one that played 64 possessions in 40 minutes. Lead guard Kasparas Jakucionis, who averages 3.5 turnovers per game and has committed seven turnovers in three separate games this season, had only one turnover against the Hawkeyes.

After the game, Kylan Boswell, another key player for the Illini (averaging 2.1 turnovers per game), acknowledged that reducing mistakes—particularly the costly ones—has been a major focus during film sessions recently. “That’s been a big reason for our losses, especially these recent games, and especially in crunch time,” Boswell said. “A big focus when we watch the film is me, KJ – the guys who are bringing it up a lot – not having silly turnovers, closing out these types of games. I think today we did a great job of that.”

The fact that Illinois accomplished this against an Iowa team known for forcing turnovers (averaging 13.6 per game) made it even more impressive.

Can the Illini maintain this level of play? We’ve seen this story before—hopeful signs after a single strong performance. If the guards stay focused on protecting the ball, making quick passes out of double teams, and handling ball-screen pressure, Illinois (averaging 11.6 turnovers per game) could consistently lower that number to single digits.

However, no team ever won a national title by relying on “what ifs.” Illinois needs to prove they can make this improvement last.