Just about a week ago, the Illinois basketball team avoided a letdown game against Washington.
After taking down then-No. 9 Oregon, the Illini played a close contest with the Huskies but still came away with the victory.
Just days ago, Illinois had another big win. We beat Penn State by 39 points, and it was without our best player. This huge victory led into the game against USC on Saturday.
A below-average Trojans program came to Illinois in hopes of knocking off a top-15 team. The Illini were coming off a big victory. This was a recipe for a letdown game. This time, Illinois couldn’t fend it off.
USC looked like the better team from the jump. They had more energy and drive to get the victory. The Illini, on the other hand, didn’t look interested in being on the court. They didn’t play with alertness and cohesion. It was one of the worst losses I have seen in quite some time. When the final buzzer sounded, Illinois found themselves with a loss to USC, 82-72.
Here are five brutal observations from the Illinois basketball loss to the USC Trojans
1. Amazing disappearing act by Tomislav Ivisic
Even after the loss to USC, I still believe Illinois has one of the most talented and unique big men we have ever seen come through the program.
Tomislav Ivisic has had a great season with the Illini. He is averaging 13.1 points, 9.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists, and 1.3 blocks per game. His ability to shoot from three-point range is phenomenal as well, as he is hitting 35.9% from distance this season.
With all of that being said, woof, what a bad game from the big man. Illinois needed Ivisic and all of his 7-foot-1 size on Saturday, and he straight-up pulled a Harry Houdini and disappeared against USC.
Ivisic finished the game with seven points, three rebounds, one assist, and one block in 17 minutes. He was just 2-of-6 from the field and 1-of-3 from three-point range.
I was disappointed with Ivisic on both ends of the court. He was missing bunnies on the offensive end, and he wasn’t inserting himself in the game. Defensively, it was like he was moving in slow motion. Ivisic was lazy boxing out, and he couldn’t move quickly to the ball.
This was by far Ivisic’s worst game of the season. When Illinois needed him the most, he disappeared.