Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Michigan

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 10: Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) guards Michigan Wolverines center Jon Teske (15) during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Michigan Wolverines and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 10, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

The Illinois basketball team hung with the Michigan Wolverines for a while but couldn’t manage to pull ahead of the No. 2 team in the nation.

Michigan started this game off hot. The Illini took the first punch as the Wolverines jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead. The Illini managed to punch back, though. They brought the score to 12-8. Michigan continued to play well and expanded the lead to their first double-digit margin of 10 points with 12:15 left in the first half.

I would bet most people thought Illinois didn’t have a chance after that. But, the Illini went on a 7-0 run to bring the score back to 20-17 with less than 10 minutes to go in the half. The game remained single-digits until Michigan took an 11-point lead with 3:42 to go until halftime. Once again, the Illini fought back. Ayo Dosunmu hit two three-pointers down the stretch and Illinois was only down 39-34 at halftime.

Illinois kept the game relatively close for much of the second half. Michigan got the score back to double-digits with 11:52 left at 55-44. The biggest lead for the Wolverines would be 12 points the entire game. The Illini couldn’t manage to get the score much closer, though. The final horn sounded and the scored showed 79-69 in favor of Michigan.

Here are five observations from the Illini loss to Michigan.

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