Illinois basketball just had one of the most annoying games I have watched in quite some time.
The Illini were looking great early on, but then things went off the rails a bit. The refs got involved, and Kasparas Jakucionis had to ride the pine for the vast majority of the contest.
Despite the chips not falling in our direction, Illinois still battled. We were tied with Michigan State at halftime and were competitive down the stretch. If the ball bounced our way, the Illini could have still come away with the victory. Sadly, it didn’t and Michigan State won 80-78.
Here are five frustrating observations from the Illinois basketball loss to Michigan State
1. Refs took out Illinois’ best player
There are some games when Illinois does a lot of stupid stuff, and the game falls in favor of the opponent due to our bad play. Those games are frustrating, but what is even more frustrating is when Illinois plays well, and outside influences affect the game.
Illinois would have won the game over Michigan State on Sunday, but the refs had other plans. I don’t like to blame refs for the shortcomings of the Illini, but this one was pretty blatant.
Early and often, the refs targeted Illinois’ best player, Kasparas Jakucionis. The star freshman got two quick fouls in the first half and only played four minutes. Somehow, Illinois kept the game close and was tied with the Spartans going into halftime.
Hopefully, the second half was going to be better. Jakucionis was going to get some rest and come out and help Illinois to a victory. The joke was on me. Jakucionis only played five minutes in the second half, as the refs called three quick fouls on him and fouled him out of the game.
There was only one questionable foul whether it was actually a foul or not, and the other four fouls were complete ghost calls. You weren't seeing anyone else getting this type of ref attention except for the best player on the opposing team.
It is pretty crazy that to win the game, Michigan State has to have Jakucionis foul out of the game playing less than 10 minutes. And the game still came down to the wire. I can’t wait for that February 15 rematch.