Illinois Basketball: Illini report card against the Baylor Bears

The Illinois basketball team fell to Baylor in the Jimmy V Classic, 82-69. Despite the loss, there is much to look forward to this season.

This loss stung a bit. Not because Illinois basketball looked bad, but because I believe they played a better game than the final score shows. The Illini were going toe-to-toe with the AP ranked No. 2 Baylor Bears in the first half, only down by one point after the first 20 minutes.

Then, things started to fall apart in the second half around the 10-minute mark. Baylor went on a quick run and it felt like the Illini just lost all momentum.

Ayo Dosunmu, Kofi Cockburn, and Adam Miller all struggled in this game. It’s disappointing to lose a big game like this, but the outlook for the team is still extremely positive moving forward.

The Offense: B-

The offense really failed to get anything going all game. The game was a dog fight the whole way through, but the Baylor Bears were able to hold Illinois basketball to just 30 points in the first half.

Miller and Kofi combined to score 11 points in this one. The Illini got some key production out of their bench, specifically Giorgi Bezhanishvili, though.

Illinois did not shoot terribly from the floor, notching a 44.1-percent clip from the field. The 12 turnovers compared to Baylor’s seven is a big reason why the Illini failed to get any consistent momentum going.

Despite both teams struggling from the free throw line, I would have liked to see the Illini improve on their 10-of-16 mark from the charity stripe that they put up against the Bears. With all of that being said, Baylor is an extremely good, aggressive defensive team and the Illini held their own.

The Defense: B

Aside from the five-minute period in the second half where Baylor went on a run, I was extremely happy with the way the Illinois basketball defense was able to hang in there against an experienced Baylor offense. Baylor’s offensive stats looked almost identical to the Illini’s as they shot 45.5-percent from the field, and went 7-of-18 from three-point range (identical to the Illini’s).

Once again, there were moments where the defense just looked flat-footed. Guys failed to slide over to protect the rim when Baylor was driving, which led to some easy looks. Things like that cannot happen against an opponent as good as Baylor. I was impressed with the four blocks that the Illini were able to get, including one from freshman, Coleman Hawkins.

Giorgi Bezhanishvili: A

I couldn’t help but reminisce on the 2018-19 season that Giorgi had after this game. The floater and hook shot looked on point, as the former Illini starter proved to play a huge role off the bench in this one.

Giorgi finished the game with 15 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks in the 25 minutes he played. After Kofi got into foul trouble early, Brad Underwood went with Giorgi to eat up some minutes. He did that and more, and Giorgi was arguably the (unexpected) MVP of the game.

Andre Curbelo: B+

Curbelo, a freshman, was another key player off the bench who stepped up for the Illini. Playing 16 minutes, he ended up with 11 points, 2 rebounds, and 3 assists. I really liked what I saw from the freshman and was glad that Coach Underwood trusts the young guys on the big stage.

With that being said, there are certainly moments where Curbelo’s inexperience showed. You could see him trying to make plays in big moments, but he seems like he rushes plays too much at times instead of waiting for the play to develop. This is normal for a young player, and I expect him to improve upon this facet of the game with experience.

Da’Monte Williams: B

Williams keeps proving his ability to spread the court for the Illini offense, knocking down another three-ball in this one.

Despite only having six points, Williams finished with a team-leading seven rebounds. I don’t expect Williams to put up 10+ points per game, so I will take this type of performance any day.

Williams’ lock-down defense was key in this one and the offensive output has been just enough to keep teams on their toes. If he can keep up this pace, I really like him to be able to create more looks for other players.

Ayo Dosunmu: B-

Baylor had Ayo locked down for the majority of the game as he really struggled to get anything going in this one. He tried to make something happen, but the shots were not dropping. Ayo ended up shooting 33-percent from the floor but ended up with 18 points.

The 6 rebounds and 5 assists were nice to see, but Ayo got trapped on a couple of drives that led to turnovers. As Illinois plays more big games like this, we can expect teams to hone in on the preseason All-American. Other guys need to step up to take some pressure off of Ayo to open up more looks.

Trent Frazier: C+

Frazier seemed to have faded a bit late in this one. Although he had 32 minutes on the floor, it felt like he did not have any big moments. He ended the night with eight points, going  3-of-6 from the floor. The five turnovers bumped him down, as I expected him to play a bigger role as a senior and stepping up after Miller and Kofi struggled.

Coleman Hawkins: C+

Hawkins, a freshman, received five minutes of playing time in this one. He didn’t have any points but was able to grab three rebounds and had a huge block in the first half.

I like that Brad Underwood is giving Hawkins minutes in these big games. Despite not having shining moments, he looks a lot more composed than many freshmen would on the big stage.

Kofi Cockburn: C-

This grade is less about what Kofi did do than what he didn’t do. Kofi got into foul trouble early and ended up only playing 18 minutes. Giorgi was able to play a key backup role for the big man while sitting. However, I have really been disappointed with Kofi through these four games.

Kofi has not been nearly as dominant as I would have liked to see. He finished with only 8 points and 4 rebounds. A player as important as Kofi needs to step up in games like these. I really hope to see him get something going against UT-Martin on Saturday.

Adam Miller: D

Miller was on fire before the game against Baylor. The freshman has a lot of confidence, which I like. But there are also times like this when it works against him.

There were plenty of times where Miller took bad shots and tried to force something to happen. I applaud the freshman for trying to step up when Ayo was being shut down, however, he has to be smarter about it.

Miler ended the day with only four points, going 2-of-11 from the field. He went 0-of-6 from three-point range as well. This type of game can be expected from a freshman at some point, but I fully expect Miller to learn from this one.

The Illinois basketball team looks to get things going against UT-Martin this Saturday before the Big Ten/ACC Challenge next week against Duke.