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Illinois Basketball: 5 takeaways from Illini loss to Michigan State 2.0

By Rees Woodcock

EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 20: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on during a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images)
EAST LANSING, MI - FEBRUARY 20: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini looks on during a game against the Michigan State Spartans at Breslin Center on February 20, 2018 in East Lansing, Michigan. (Photo by Rey Del Rio/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 19: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Mark Smith (13) drives the ball to the basket during the college basketball game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Illinois Fighting Illini on November 19, 2017, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – NOVEMBER 19: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Mark Smith (13) drives the ball to the basket during the college basketball game between the Marshall Thundering Herd and the Illinois Fighting Illini on November 19, 2017, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

5. Mark Smith continues to improve

This season has been a disappointment for Mark Smith. Many fans expected to see a sensational player coming off the 2017 Illinois Mr. Basketball award. But, that didn’t happen. He has not been the player many people wanted to see.

Smith started off playing a lot of minutes per game this year. He was seeing mid-20’s pretty much every game early on in the non-conference. But, there was a point where Brad Underwood realized he couldn’t start Smith anymore. He needed to ease Smith into playing time.

Now Smith is getting between 12-19 minutes per game. This is about right because the game is still a little too fast for him. He needs to get up to speed and will eventually do so.

In the game against Nebraska on Sunday, I was impressed with what I saw. Smith had confidence and finished the game with eight points on 2-of-3 shooting from the field. He also had three assists as well. I was hoping to see this good play to transition to the Michigan State game.

Next: 5 takeaways from the Illini win over Nebraska

While Smith didn’t have a great game by any means, I think the stat sheet doesn’t do him justice. He was aggressive against the Spartans and this is something I appreciated. Smith has the body to bang around in the lane and that is what he did. He only had one point on the night, but I still think he showed some improvements. This kid is going to be really important next season.

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