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Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini loss to Loyola-Chicago

By Rees Woodcock

Mar 21, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jacob Grandison (3) and guard Andre Curbelo (5) and guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) walk off the court after their loss to the Loyola Ramblers in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Loyola Ramblers won 71-58. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Mar 21, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jacob Grandison (3) and guard Andre Curbelo (5) and guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) walk off the court after their loss to the Loyola Ramblers in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Loyola Ramblers won 71-58. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /
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Mar 21, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini center Kofi Cockburn (21) puts his hand on the shoulder of guard Ayo Dosunmu (11) after a play against the Loyola Ramblers during the second half in the second round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Loyola Ramblers won 71-58. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports /

I was hoping I didn’t have to write one of these articles, but the Illinois basketball season is officially over with after losing to Loyola-Chicago.

It was a struggle from the tip. Illinois didn’t seem to be in the game through its entirety. We would get the score within six points a couple of times, but that is the closest we would come to overtaking the Ramblers. The Illini would end up losing the game 71-58.

Here are four observations from the Illini loss to Loyola-Chicago.

1. Guards struggled

Going into what ended up being the last game of the season, Illinois needed their guard play to step up and have a big day. Sadly, that didn’t happen.

The Illinois guards had what was arguably their worst game of the season at the worst time possible. Ayo Dosunmu finished the game with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists while shooting 4-of-10 from the field. His point production wasn’t high, and he had six turnovers to cap everything off.

Ayo wasn’t the only guard who had a tough time fighting off Loyola-Chicago. Jacob Grandison struggled in his 16 minutes of action. He only shot the ball one time and finished with a stat line of 3 points, 4 rebounds and 3 turnovers.

Senior leader Trent Frazier might have had his worse game as a member of the Illini. He went 1-of-10 from the field and 0-of-5 from three-point range. Frazier ended the game against the Ramblers with 2 points, 4 assists and 4 fouls.

Overall, most of the Illinois guards had a rough game. Rough games happen. It just was a horrific time to have a rough game. The future is still bright with this program, but for one day in March, Illinois’ guards just didn’t have it.

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