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.
2. Will Riley saw the light at the end of the struggle tunnel
It is pretty amazing that Illinois had a chance at the end of the game to tie Michigan State. With what transpired throughout, the Illini did a great job gritting their way to the end.
One of the bright spots for the Illini was Will Riley. I haven’t been able to type that in months. Riley has been in witness protection since November, and finally, he showed why he was a five-star recruit and the highest-rated player Illinois has landed since Dee Brown.
Riley did a great job combating the refs after they started fouling out Kasparas Jakucionis. He went off in the first half, dropping 16 points, four rebounds, one assist, and one block. He also shot 6-of-12 from the field and made both three-point attempts.
Don’t worry, though, the refs eventually saw he was having a big game and got to Riley too. He was dinged for two fouls in the first half and two in the second half, and that wounded him.
Still, Riley finished the day with 19 points. Illinois needed him greatly, and he came through. That was the first time the freshman had double-digit points since December 29 against Chicago State.
My hope is that this will start Riley on the right path. He was in a bad spot the last month or so, but maybe this will guide him in the right direction. I think there is a chance that Riley is finally seeing the light at the end of the struggle tunnel. Illinois needs him down the stretch.
3. Illinois is a bad three-point shooting team without Kasparas Jakucionis
I would love to say that all Illinois players are good at shooting the basketball. At the end of the day, that is just not the case.
When Kasparas Jakucionis is allowed to play, he is Illinois’ best three-point shooter. We didn’t have him for 75% of the game on Saturday, though. So, the Illini had to rely on the rest of the cast.
That isn’t good news. Illinois finished the Michigan State game shooting 5-of-24, 20.8%, from three-point range. It was a struggle for the Orange and Blue, but that doesn’t come as a surprise.
For the season, without Jakucionis, the rest of the Illinois basketball team is shooting 31.8% from three-point range. Jakucionis alone shoots 41.6% from three-point range. The second-best shooter is Ben Humrichous at 37.4%, and he has been extremely inconsistent this season.
I think a major problem with Illinois’ shooting is that we don’t run a lot of plays to get shooters open on the perimeter.
Jakucionis can create his own shot, and that is where his source of deep shots comes from. Illinois does run plays that get Tomislav Ivisic open at the top of the key, and he takes advantage of that fact at times, as he is our third-best three-point shooter at 37%.
Besides for those two, it is a bit chaotic out on the perimeter. Illinois has to hope that some of the players will be open in transition for a high-quality three-pointer.
After the game against Michigan State, it is pretty evident that Illinois isn’t a good three-point shooting team. We jack them up, and sometimes they go in at a high rate, but we struggle more than we don’t.
4. The Illini aren’t getting a lot from Tre White
Have I complained enough about the refs yet? Well, here is a little more. Since the refs took out Illinois’ best player, we needed more talent to step up.
I talked about Will Riley a couple of slides ago. He had a big game, and Illinois wouldn’t have been in the running to win the contest if it wasn’t for his big day. But we also have experienced players who should have stepped up in the absence of Kasparas Jakucionis.
The main player I am looking at is Tre White. Multiple Illinois players didn’t play well on Sunday, but White, to me, was the most disappointing.
White did that age-old magic trick of disappearing. Illinois needed him in crunch time, but he didn’t show up. He finished the game with three points and four rebounds in 20 minutes of action. He didn’t make a shot, as his three points were from the free throw line.
I am disappointed with White because he is in his third year in the college ranks. Illinois was missing a crucial piece, and this was the chance for White to help take over and get to the rim. This kid is a slasher, and he didn’t want to take the ball into the paint.
For the game, White had a plus-minus of -10, and he was -6 in the second half. He was just a warm body on the court for the Illini, but we needed him for more.
Moving forward, Brad Underwood needs to get White more involved. It was like he was new to the team, and this was his first game. Let’s get him moving around more and slashing to the basket. He is a great athlete, and we need to use him.
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.