Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Indiana
Illinois basketball needed to protect homecourt but we didn’t even come close, as Indiana steamrolled the Orange and Blue at the State Farm Center.
Honestly, this wasn’t a game from the tip. Every once in a while, some Illini player would get hot for a few seconds and we would get it back to a 10-point deficit, but the Hoosiers were just too tough on Thursday night.
There is no reason to sugarcoat things. This was one of the worst games we have played this season, and it was one of the worst games of the Brad Underwood era. I was expecting Illinois to play as they did against Minnesota, but that wasn’t the case at all. There were very few bright spots for the Illini.
Here are five observations from the Illinois basketball loss to Indiana.
1. Ugly game from Coleman Hawkins
If you didn’t watch the game on Thursday night and just saw the box score, you would think that Coleman Hawkins had an okay game.
Hawkins finished the Indiana game with nine points, five rebounds, two steals, and one assist while shooting 3-of-8 from the field. On paper, this looks like an average game. But, if you watched this game, you will know that Hawkins didn’t play well.
I will start with Hawkins’ best area on Thursday night. His offensive numbers were okay, but he wasn’t helping the Illinois offense besides for a couple of plays. I loved the backdoor dunk that he had late in the game. But that is the only memorable thing for him on offense.
Most of the time, Hawkins was wandering around the floor looking lost. I liken him to a puppy; a ton of energy but has no idea what he is doing and, by the end of things, has probably destroyed a ton of stuff.
The biggest gripe I had with Hawkins was on the defensive end of the court. He just didn’t have a clue what was going on. Trayce Jackson-Davis made him look like an eighth grader. But it was bigger than just getting dominated by Jackson-Davis. Hawkins was slow to rotate. There was no help defense coming from him. At times, Hawkins would just randomly leave his man to go double-team a player, and Indiana would have an easy bucket.
I think the most frustrating part about Hawkins is the fact that there are games where he looks like one of the best players in the Big Ten. But then there are games like this. I would argue he shouldn’t have been on the court for more than four minutes in this game. It was a super disappointing outing.