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

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Mar 21, 2021; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood talks with his team during a timeout 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: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports /

3. We couldn’t stop the Ramblers’ offensive game plan

Traditionally, Princeton is known for their backdoor cuts and their fundamentals on the basketball court. I believe Loyola-Chicago is everything Princeton is known for, plus they have great basketball players.

The game plan the Ramblers came in with on Sunday was incredible. Illinois was not ready to take on this tough of a mid-major program. Not only were the Illini not prepared for this type of game plan, but Loyola-Chicago executed flawlessly.

The Ramblers brought up multiple players on different levels of screens. The Illinois guard would get screened toward the top of the key by the multiple big men, and one of the big men would roll down into the paint where Kofi Cockburn wasn’t sure if he should help on the guard or defend the big man. This usually left Kofi in no man’s land and would result in an easy bucket.

Loyola-Chicago’s screen game was brilliant. I remember on multiple occasions where they would bring the ball into the paint and their big men would set up a wall for their three-point shooter. Their big men would dump the ball off to the guard coming around their screen, and he would have a wide-open three-point attempt at the top of the key.

I mean, there are so many instances where I thought to myself, wow, Porter Moser is really good at his job. This Ramblers program is amazingly disciplined and amazingly coached. This was a game where I believe Illinois was far out-coached the entire day.

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