Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Rutgers

Illinois basketball played a tough Rutgers team on Sunday but couldn’t come away with the road win in Piscataway.

A tough game throughout, the Illini had a halftime lead only to let it slip away. Down by double-digits in the second half, Illinois fought back but fell just short to the Scarlet Knights, 91-88.

Here are four observations from the Illini loss to Rutgers.

1. It is tough to win on the road in the Big Ten

Before the game against Rutgers even started, the title of this slide was known by everyone who has ever watched a Big Ten game.

It is just extremely tough to win on the road in the Big Ten. There are so many different factors you have in play during road Big Ten games.

The first factor being the fact Illinois went up against a tough Rutgers program. This isn’t the laughing stock team that many have come to known. Their No. 19 ranking, and soon to be higher, is not a joke. They are genuinely a good team with good players.

Another factor is comfortability with location and court. Illinois had to travel, albeit only one time zone, to get to New Jersey. The Scarlet Knights play on their court with those rims every day. There is a comfort with playing at home.

But let’s put all of what I said aside. I am just beating around the bush here. We all know why it is so tough to win on the road in the Big Ten.

The refs.

Illinois is a team that has their offense flow from inside-out. Rutgers is more of a perimeter team that can get it down low, but they like to shoot the deep three a lot.

Somehow, though, Rutgers ended up with only 17 fouls while Illinois tallied a total of 26 fouls on the day. This foul disparity resulted in an even bigger free throw disparity. Illinois managed to shoot just 15 free throws on Sunday while the Scarlet Knights put up 36 shots from the charity stripe.

It is already hard to win on the road in the Big Ten, but when the home team is shooting 21 more free throws, it is nearly impossible.