Illinois Basketball: 5 takeaways from the Illini loss to the Iowa Hawkeyes

2. Iowa has Leron Black’s number due to their size

There were only a few games this season where I questioned what is happening with Leron Black’s game. One of the first contests that puzzled me was against Iowa in the first matchup of the year.

Illinois and Iowa went to overtime in that January 11 matchup with the Hawkeyes coming away with a win 104-97. It was really incredible what happened to the Illini and how they could function without their veteran leader for the majority of the game.

Black ended the night with 18 points and three rebounds in that first contest but only played a total of 18 minutes. He put up those numbers in not even a full half of basketball. Sometimes players have bad games and, at the time, I thought this was one of those cases. But, it looks like I was wrong.

The game against Iowa on Wednesday night proved that Black’s struggles are specifically tied to the Hawkeyes. Once again, Black had a hard time adjusting to Iowa’s size in the paint and their athletic big men. He only ended up with four points and three rebounds in the 17 minutes he saw on the floor.

Black not being able to stay on the floor killed the Illini, but I am not putting all the blame on him here either. There is a massive hole in the paint at the No. 5 and the Illini are trying to put Black in that hole temporarily. That isn’t working, though, and it hurts the team. Next season should be different. Illinois will likely get a true No. 5 as a graduate transfer, and Black will be back in his natural No. 4 role.