Illinois Basketball: 70-62 Win Over Indiana Doesn’t Feel Victorious

Illinois Basketball defeated the Indiana Hoosiers 70-62 at the State Farm Center on Saturday afternoon. The win, though, poses more questions than it does answers.

Illinois shot the basketball 17/26 from the free throw line, 7/23 from three, and 37% overall. It was an ugly showing for the Illini, and the effort continues a trend of slow starts and 2nd-half-scares at home from Quad 3 opponents. If it wasn’t for Shannon’s takeover against Rutgers, that game would’ve finished far closer than the scoreboard suggests. Maryland came to the State Farm Center and dismantled these Big Ten title contenders. And now Indiana, a team outside of the top 100 in the NET, nearly knocked them off too.

At the end of the day, all we will probably remember about this game is the win, but many players struggled mightily for Illinois. Quincy Guerrier hardly played, if at all, in the second half. Until the late free throws, Shannon was a -12 and looked like it. Hawkins was out of control and once again was dominated in the low post defensively.

Domask, despite the late turnover in the first half, gave Illinois Basketball important buckets when they needed them. Justin Harmon, once again, hit a big bucket to put Illinois up four late in the game. Luke Goode found his way to double-digits, and those points proved to be key in the win.

Illinois isn’t exactly rolling right now, and the finishing and defense are leaving a lot to be desired.

Noteworthy:

Brad Underwood looked to the freshmen twice in this game for a spark, something he hasn’t had to do very often this season. Illinois is an old basketball team, and for the most part, has been able to pull itself out of funks. But today, it was clear to Underwood that they might need something different. Nicco Moretti got some early minutes in the first half, and Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn played important minutes in the second half with Illinois trailing. He hit a big three to turn the tide.

Quincy Guerrier played only 16 minutes today — tied for 6th most on the team.

**stats for today’s game found here**