Illinois Basketball Falls to #4 Marquette

In a back and forth matchup, it was #4 Marquette that was able to pull away and beat the Illinois Men’s Basketball team 71-64. Both teams saw leads come and go, until the Golden Eagles went on a 12-3 run to give themselves the room to land a massive road victory. There’s no moral victories on Selection Sunday. However, there’s guaranteed to be more opportunities down the road. In what was mostly an even game, the margin for error was very slim.

1. Trapped

Marquette did a very strong job of containing the Illini’s offensive attack. They were connected on ball screen coverage, mixing switches and hedges to keep the Illini’s ballhandlers off balance. Without the rim pressure from their guards, the Illini struggled to consistently score in the paint. When Illinois got switch looks, they were completely unable to attack the Golden Eagles post doubles. Coleman Hawkins, Dain Dainja and Marcus Domask all had post up opportunities, but couldn’t make the double pay. As such the Illini shot just 13 free throws and were outscored by 24 in the paint.

2. Pointed Concerns

Surely much of the conversation around this game will be the Illini’s point guard situation, with Tyler Kolek going for 24 points, six rebounds and four assists. I thought they did a pretty decent job on the All-American, who was huge in providing consistent offense. Illinois made him a scorer to protect the three-point line, and he obliged. The Illini’s turnover numbers were poor, largely due to the added burden on Hawkins and Shannon Jr. Both had five turnovers, and Illinois looked uncomfortable all night. There will be few centers like Marquette’s Oso Ighodaro in the Big Ten, however there will be in March. Domask shined with 18 points, showcasing some of his creation skills. When they play athletic, switching teams, they need to be able to find a way to play inside out.

3. High Octane

Despite these issues, Brad Underwood’s squad showed that they have the ability to really disrupt even the highest-level offensive teams. They had seven blocks and six steals, allowing them to stay in the game when shots weren’t falling. When they can speed up a game, there are few as explosive as the Illini. It’s annoying to still see sloppy transition play like at times tonight. However, when the halfcourt is as poor as it was, it’s only natural for the players to press in transition. Illinois has one of the most athletic rosters around, they need to continue to hone that timing and execution on the break.

As always, there is good and bad from a competitive loss. While there are some worrying trends that have carried over from last year, they put in a competitive shift. As I said, competitive shifts don’t count for much when it comes time to seed for the tournament, but there are things to build on from this performance.