Illinois Basketball: Grades from the Illini loss against Marquette

The Illinois basketball team traveled to the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to take on Marquette in the first real test of the season and they failed, losing the game 68-67.

The Illini came into this game ranked No. 10 in the country, but they were still without the suspended Kofi Cockburn who was serving the third and final game of his suspension. This was Marquette’s fourth win over a top-10 team while being unranked over the past three seasons.

Here are the grades from the Illinois basketball loss to Marquette.

Offense Grade: D

This grade might not be harsh enough believe it or not. It was the first time this season that the Illini looked like they missed Kofi in the paint.

The offense never looked settled and looked like they were moving too fast all night long. Illinois finished with 26 turnovers as a team. That is just entirely too many. This might have been the sloppiest game I’ve seen an Illinois team play under head coach Brad Underwood.

Not having Kofi was felt just for the simple fact that the Illini couldn’t just slow it down and get the ball in the post. They weren’t able to run pick-and-roll a whole lot either, which I feel will be a staple for the offense.

The offense was led all night by fifth-year senior Trent Fraizer, who went 7-of-15 from the field and 6-of-10 from three-point range. He ended the game with 23 points. Sophomore point guard Andre Curbelo had his worst game in an Illini uniform going 4-of-18 from the field and finishing with 12 points, three assists, and seven turnovers. Just an awful night from Curbelo.

Defensive Grade: B-

Illinois’ defense was pretty solid for the most part led by Frazier, who is a defensive player of the year candidate. They held Marquette to 40% from the field, 29% behind the arc, and forced 14 turnovers. They also outrebounded the Golden Eagles 50-30, which was a great sign without Kofi.

The biggest problem with the Illini defense against Marquette was the fact they couldn’t stop fouling. The Golden Eagles shot 31 free throws compared to the Illini’s 11.

Overall

This loss is a tough pill to swallow as the Illini fell to 2-1 on the season. But it is still early in the year and hopefully, it is a wake-up call that this team needed moving forward. The Illini offense will get a much-needed boost in the form of Kofi starting in their next game.

There is nobody more frustrated than the Illinois players at the way they played against Marquette. They now have to wait a week to play again as they take on Cinncinatti in the first game of the Hall of Fame Classic on November 22 at 5:30 p.m. CT.