Illinois Basketball: 3 observations from the Illini falling to Michigan State

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 11: Illinois Fighting Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili (15) reacts from the team bench after a play during the Big Ten Conference college basketball game between the Michigan State Spartans and the Illinois Fighting Illini on February 11, 2020, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. Illinois needs to get more out of Giorgi

Wow, was that game weird or what? Illinois dug themselves into a huge hole only to pull themselves back out. One of the main reasons we were in such a hole was due to Giorgi Bezhanishvili’s bad play.

Giorgi has had some bad games in the past, but this was by far his worst performance. Every time Brad Underwood would put him back in the game, the Illini would instantly go downhill. Giorgi finished the game with 2 points, 3 turnovers and 3 fouls. He was 1-of-7 from the field and 0-of-3 from the three-point arc.

You can dig down deeper into the numbers to show how much Giorgi hurt the team on Tuesday night. Most of his 13 minutes on the court were in the first half, and this was one of the reasons Illinois got into a big hole.

Giorgi finished the Michigan State game with a plus-minus of -19. That means in the time he was on the court, the Illini were lost to the Spartans by 19 points. When he was off the court, we were beating Michigan State by 18 points. Those are some depressing numbers.

I think it might be time to look at moving Giorgi to the bench. I love the kid and think he is a great team guy, but he is hurting this team as a starter.

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