Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to the Indiana Hoosiers

5. It is probably time to reduce RJ Melendez’s minutes

I thought Illinois was going to have someone special in RJ Melendez. He played so well toward the end of last season, and he was arguably the best player the Illini had on the court in the Houston game.

That great play should have transferred over into the 2022-23 campaign. We should be watching Melendez put up double-digit points every night. That isn’t the case, though.

Melendez has played some bad basketball this season. I thought it might be a fluke and he would break out of it, but that is clearly not happening.

For the season, Melendez is now averaging 5.7 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while hitting just 36.4% of his shots from the field and 24.7% from three-point range.

Throughout the season, Melendez has regressed greatly. I mentioned this a couple of slides ago, but Melendez is just 8-of-46 from three-point range in his last 16 games, which is 17.4%. That is unacceptable.

Melendez finished the Indiana game going 0-of-6 from the field and 0-of-2 from three-point range. One of those missed three-pointers was a wide-open shot that ended up being an airball. It was a big opportunity to step on the Hoosiers’ neck, and he didn’t come through.

I know Melendez is only getting 14 minutes, but even that is too much. Luke Goode is now back in the lineup and the freshmen are playing well. I think it is time to cut Melendez’s minutes the rest of the way out. I hate to say this, but he is a massive liability when on the court. Illinois can’t afford to have wasted possessions.