Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Purdue

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NEW YORK, NY – JANUARY 26: Illinois Fighting Illini guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) in action during the Big Ten Super Saturday College Basketball game between the Maryland Terrapins and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 26, 2019 at Madison Square Garden in New York, NY. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. No one stepped up against Purdue

We win as a team and we lose as a team. On Wednesday night, we definitely lost as a team. This was an ugly loss for many different reasons. One reason was that no one stepped up and took over the game.

Illinois has a few players that I believe can step up and take over a game. Ayo Dosunmu is one of those players. He couldn’t take over against Purdue. He finished the night with 9 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound and 1 steal. He also had four turnovers as well.

Trent Frazier is another player who I think can take over a game. He came off the bench, oddly, and finished the night with 8 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. He was wildly inefficient, though, shooting 3-of-13 from the field. He couldn’t take over the game.

The final player who I think can take over a game is Giorgi Bezhanishvili. He got into foul trouble throughout the game and failed to really get off the ground. He finished the game with 2 points, 3 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. He was only 1-of-4 from the field and finished fouling out of the game.

To knock off a ranked team, Illinois needs someone to go off for a big night. That didn’t happen and the result was a double-digit loss. We need a leader on this team.

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