Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Purdue

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 23: Illinois Fighting Illini Head Coach Brad Underwood reacts after a play during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 23, 2019, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

3. We can’t hold onto halftime leads

I think I have typed this slide a few times this season. Illinois would have a great record if they only had to play one half of basketball. But, there are two halves in each game, and the Illini fail to finish out the other half well.

There have been so many games this season where the Illini have had the halftime lead. They led against Iowa State by five points at halftime but lost to them by 16 points. We were leading Notre Dame on the road at halftime but lost to them by two points. We had a four-point lead up at the United Center against Ohio State but dropped that one by 10 points.

I could continue on because there are a few handfuls of games where Illinois led at halftime but failed to close out teams. This could be a completely different season if we could just finish teams off in the second half. If you just count the first halves of games, Illinois would have a record of 17-11 right now. Instead, we are sitting at 10-18.

The game on Wednesday night against Purdue was the most recent halftime failure. Illinois led this game by a point heading into the halftime locker room. The Boilermakers came out firing and the game was over. Something about halftime has really hurt the Illini this season. Hopefully, this will change with a few additions to this team.

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