Illinois Basketball: 5 takeaways from the Illini loss to Michigan

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ANN ARBOR, MI – JANUARY 06: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Mark Smith (13) passes the ball to a teammate during a scramble for a loose ball during the first half of a regular season Big 10 Conference basketball game between the Illinois Fighting Illini and the Michigan Wolverines on January 6, 2018 at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Michigan defeated Illinois 79-69.(Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Illinois basketball team went into the game against Michigan on Saturday needing a win but that didn’t happen.

This was a game that was closer than the final score shows. Illinois started off well taking the lead over Michigan by eight points at one time. But, the Wolverines fought back and ended up taking the lead back by two points with just under two minutes remaining in the first half.

Illinois answered that Michigan surge with five points in the last two minutes to take a three point lead heading into the half. The Wolverines made some halftime adjustments, though. They came out of the locker room firing and ended up beating the Illini in the second half by 13 points and won the game 79-69.

I really thought Illinois matched up well with this Wolverines program. They just ran out of gas in the second half. They can’t put two good halves together and that reared its ugly head once again against Michigan.

There were some things that Illinois managed to accomplish that I liked in this game. I really enjoyed how some of the bench players played. But, there were some issues I had with the team and coaching staff as well.

Here are my five takeaways from the loss to Michigan.

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