Illinois Basketball: Takeaways from the Illini loss to UNLV

1 of 5

LAS VEGAS, NV – DECEMBER 09: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts to a call during his team’s game against the UNLV Rebels at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on December 9, 2017 in Las Vegas, Nevada. (Photo by Sam Wasson/Getty Images) /

The Illinois basketball team went to Las Vegas on Saturday and left without a win and ended with a man down.

Illinois fought hard in the game against the Runnin’ Rebels. They ended up being within one point of UNLV with less than six minutes left in the game, but the opposing team just had too much firepower for this Illini bunch.

There was a lot you could take away from this game. Illinois’ bench was impressive. Da’Monte Williams continues to be a solid player coming off the bench and someone who will be extremely valuable in the future for the Illini.

Aaron Jordan was sensational, again, hitting 2-of-3 from three-point range and finishing the night with 10 points. I am just waiting on Brad Underwood to give him a start for this Illini team.

One sad area for Illinois was the injury to Leron Black. He only played 12 minutes and then went down with an elbow injury. He was seen on the bench with his arm in a sling for the rest of the game.

There are so many layers to what we witnessed on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. I could go on and on about what needs to be corrected and changed. But, I narrowed it down to just a few things.

Here are my takeaways from the Illini loss to UNLV.

Home/Illinois Basketball