Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Missouri

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Dec 22, 2022; St. Louis, Missouri, USA; Missouri Tigers guard Kobe Brown (24) shoots against Illinois Fighting Illini guard Jayden Epps (3) and forward Dain Dainja (42) during the first half at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-USA TODAY Sports /

2. Illini defense was atrocious

I knew the Illini were struggling offensively. The loss to Penn State was ugly, and we had a scare from Alabama A&M. But I always thought that no matter how bad our offense looked that our defense was going to come through.

That isn’t the case anymore. Not only did our offense continue to look terrible against Missouri, but we had one of our worst defensive performances of the last 10 years. It was an ugly outing all around.

Illinois would give up 93 points to a Missouri team that failed to hit 70 points in their last two games. That 93-point performance was 15 points higher than the previous high the Illini have given up this season.

Missouri also shot lights out on Thursday night. They ended the game shooting 59.3% from the field, which is the highest shooting percentage Illinois has given up this season. The Tigers also shot 50% from three-point range, which ties the highest three-point shooting percentage the Illini have given up this season.

I wasn’t fully hitting the panic button after the Alabama A&M game because I knew our defense could always come through for the program. But, after this loss to Missouri, I am in full panic mode. Giving up 93 points to the Tigers is an absolute embarrassment.

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