Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini win vs Michigan State

2. Frazier was “that guy” for the Illini

I have been kind of hard on the seniors over the past week or so. They haven’t played particularly well, and it has been one of the reasons Illinois had lost two out of the past three games.

Jacob Grandison was one of the big performers on Saturday. He dropped 24 points in the victory. But I also have to give a ton of credit to Trent Frazier. He came up big for the Orange and Blue when we needed him the most.

Frazier wasn’t special in the game by any means. His numbers are about average from what we see in every game this season. He finished the Michigan State win with 12 points, five assists, and three rebounds. He was just 3-of-9 from the field and 2-of-7 from three-point range. I was impressed with him nailing all four of his free throws too.

None of those stats jump off the page. There was one thing that stood out to me about Frazier, though. He was “that guy” for the Illini.

When I say “that guy” I am talking about the go-guy player who can win you a game. Illinois had it with Ayo Dosunmu last season. When the clock was running down and we needed a bucket, we could go to Ayo and have a legit shot of him hitting a shot to win the game.

I wasn’t sure who that would be this season, though. No one was taking control of this team and stepping into an obvious leadership role. On Saturday, I witnessed Frazier step into that role. I witnessed him turn into “that guy” for the Illini down the stretch. He had the killer mentality.

With seconds ticking down and Illinois only up two points, Frazier hoisted a shot from NBA range at the top of the key. The ball floated through the air for what seemed like forever only to land softly into the net for three points. This big bucket by Frazier sealed the game. It is what ensured the Illini a victory. We needed to find “that guy”, and I believe we have that with Frazier.