The Illinois basketball team faced a rough ending to what was a good game at one time against the Purdue Boilermakers.
I was amazed the Illini were able to keep the game close at halftime. We actually had a two-point lead, which blew my mind. But we ended up going cold from three-point range in the second half. Meanwhile, Purdue started lighting the place on fire with deep shots. That is not a good combination that led to the Boilermakers winning the game, 84-68.
Here are five observations from the Illinois basketball loss vs Purdue.
1. Needed more help from the super seniors
Illinois was playing in a primetime game as a top 15 team versus a top-five team in the Purdue Boilermakers. This was a chance for our veterans to step their game up and lead us to a victory.
That didn’t happen, though. Instead, our elder leaders had one of the worst nights this season. Bad performances happen, and this one bad game doesn’t mean the season is over. But I have to point out when key players don’t show up.
Trent Frazier and Da’Monte Williams are each in their fifth year of college basketball, and Jacob Grandison is in his fourth year playing but has been around for five years. These three veteran leaders needed to come through for the Illini but failed to do so on Tuesday night.
The trio combined for 12 points, 10 assists, and six rebounds while shooting 5-of-21 from the field and 2-of-14 from three-point range. For those of you counting at home, 5-of-21 is 23.8% and 2-of-14 is 14.3%.
Illinois can beat any team in the nation when Williams isn’t shooting well. He isn’t supposed to be an offensive juggernaut. We can even win most games or at least keep them competitive when Williams and one of the other two are not playing well. But when all three players are off their game, we turn into a bottom of the Big Ten type of squad.
The three Illini players combined for 82 minutes against Purdue and only managed 12 points. That can’t happen anymore. This can’t turn into a trend. I am praying to the Basketball Gods that this is just a collectively bad night for this trio.