5. This loss to Michigan State doesn’t worry me
Did I mention the refs? Well, I am going to do it again. The refs really hindered Illinois against Michigan State on Sunday.
With that being said, I am not worried about this loss. I will say, this loss really puts us behind the eight-ball of winning the Big Ten regular-season title. It is going to be longshot now, but that is just the cards we are dealt.
There are a lot of reasons why I am not worried about this loss to Michigan State, though. Let me start off by saying, Illinois had a chance to win the game at the end. That is incredible. Kylan Boswell made that free throw and then had a great miss. Morez Johnson Jr. kept the ball alive, and things didn’t bounce our way.
The fact the Illini had a chance to at least tie or even win the game is an insane thing to say. Kasparas Jakucionis leads Illinois with 16.7 points and 5.4 assists per game. He is second in steals at 1.2 steals per game, and Jakucionis is fourth in rebounds at 5.4 rebounds per game. I haven’t even mentioned he shoots a team-high 41.6% from three-point range.
The refs fouled him out of the game, and Jakucionis only played nine minutes.
On top of that, both Will Riley and Morez Johnson Jr. were in foul trouble throughout the game. Illinois was also given a technical foul toward the end of the game, which gave Michigan State free points.
With all of that being said, and the game being in East Lansing, the Illini only lost by two points and had a chance to tie or win the game. That is why I am not worried.
Yes, it is a loss and losses hurt. But, at the end of the day, I believe Illinois was clearly the better team. We had Michigan State on the ropes a man down. This program is extremely dangerous.