The Illinois basketball program played an up-and-down game on Saturday, and Nebraska took advantage of that inconsistent play.
It was an ugly start for the Illini, as we got into a double-digit hole within minutes. Nebraska came out firing, and they couldn’t miss.
Illinois stemmed the tide late in the first half, though. We fought back and ended up finishing the first half on a 13-0 run to go into halftime tied 37-37.
This game was about the Illini falling asleep at times. We didn’t wake up until halfway through the first half, and we fell asleep multiple times in the second half. Still, the Illini had the game tied with seconds remaining, only to have Nebraska hit a gut-wrenching near-buzzer beater to win the game 83-80.
Here are five frustrating observations from the Illinois basketball loss to Nebraska
1. Illinois allowed Pryce Sandfort to be too clean
The story of the game was the insane start by Pryce Sandfort. He came out of the gates on fire, and Illinois didn’t have an answer for the sharpshooting Cornhusker.
Sandfort had 15 points in the first seven minutes, and this gave Nebraska a great start. He would eventually finish the game with 32 points on 12-of-18 shooting from the field and 6-of-11 from three-point range.
While this was a great game by Sandfort, I put a lot of the blame on the hot shooting on Illinois. We didn’t do anything different throughout the game to disturb his rhythm.
Sandfort was able to shoot in rhythm the entire game. He was able to come off screens without any disruption, and Illinois didn’t make a ton of adjustments.
I needed to see someone start being more aggressive with the kid. He didn’t feel any pressure from any Illinois player. Even if it causes a foul, Sandfort needed to know we were there ready to guard. That didn’t happen.
Illinois almost came away with a win despite Sandfort going off. If we could have been more aggressive with him early and often, then this game could have been completely different.
2. Keaton Wagler kept the Illini afloat
This shouldn’t be happening. Illinois shouldn’t be led by a true freshman player. But here we are. The Illini are led by a true freshman.
Keaton Wagler is absolutely sensational. I am waiting for more stinker games because of his youth, but Wagler continues to impress me in each game.
Against Nebraska, Wagler finished with 19 points, 10 assists, one steal, one block, and one rebound. He shot 6-of-13 from the field and 4-of-8 from three-point range. And he played every single minute on the court.
Wagler isn’t just a one-trick pony, either. His scoring is incredible. When Illinois needs to stop momentum or needs a bucket late, Wagler comes through. He can shoot at all levels, and he is incredibly efficient from the free throw line.
I was most impressed by Wagler’s point guard abilities. I honestly believe he has fully turned into Illinois’ point guard. He had 10 assists, and they were beautiful plays. He has the ability to pass a player open and get them a good look.
Illinois shouldn’t be led by a true freshman. We have too much experience on the team for that to happen. But I am thankful that Wagler is in Champaign. If he wasn’t, we would lose that game on Saturday night by double-digits without a doubt.
3. Where in the world was Tomislav Ivisic
Illinois needed players to step up to be able to take down a good Nebraska program. One of the experienced upperclassmen who failed to do so was Tomislav Ivisic.
The shot at the end of the game by Ivisic was great. He drained a three-pointer to bring the score level at 80-80. But guess what. That was his only make of the game. He finished the contest going 1-of-3 from the field for three points.
Surely, while Ivisic wasn’t giving Illinois points, he would at least be a nightmare on the glass or defensively, right? Nope, you are looking at five total rebounds and two blocks in 29 minutes of action.
Illinois had to have the upperclassmen at least play average basketball. We needed something out of Ivisic, especially against an undersized Nebraska squad. This should have been a double-digit rebounding night for our 7-foot-1 big man.
You can probably put a little blame on the coaching staff, too. Ivisic only taking three shots was unacceptable. More attention needed to be made offensively in the direction of Ivisic to get him going, especially when Sandfort was going off earlier in the game. He could have been a nice momentum stopper.
Illinois can’t afford to have Ivisic give the program three points. We won’t win with that happening. In fact, in the two seasons Ivisic has been with the Illini, we are 1-5 when he scores five points or less. We can’t have that.
4. Illinois needs Kylan Boswell to wake up earlier
If you woke up this morning and looked at the box score, you would think Kylan Boswell had a great game.
Boswell finished with 20 points on 5-of-9 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also had three rebounds and three assists.
Those finishing numbers are solid, but they happened in the final 30 minutes of the game. When Illinois was crapping the bed in the first 10 minutes, and Nebraska had a double-digit lead, Boswell was nowhere to be found.
In that first 10 minutes of action, Boswell was 1-of-3 for two points and one rebound. He jacked up two early three-point attempts that were uncalled for, and Brad Underwood pulled him out of the game.
Boswell settling for three-pointers is worse than him not taking shots at all. He wasn’t aggressive toward the basket, and this allowed Nebraska to get a ton of momentum early on.
In the final 30 minutes, Boswell played well. He woke up. But Illinois needs him for the entire game. We need him engaged with what is going on. When Boswell isn’t engaged, the product is bad. He isn’t good for the Illini. When he is focused, he can be one of the most dangerous players in the country. Illinois needed him to wake up earlier.
5. The Illini frontcourt was putrid against Nebraska
I kind of already touched on this a bit with the Ivisic section earlier, but man, Illinois’ frontcourt was so bad against the Cornhuskers.
Coming into the game, I thought the Illinois frontcourt was going to be a huge asset against an undersized Nebraska squad. We have the height to give them problems, but that didn’t end up being the case.
Nebraska came out and punched Illinois in the face. We didn’t have an answer for it, and the frontcourt didn’t help one bit.
Ivisic had a weird game where he only took three shots. He wasn’t involved in the offense, and the only shot he made came in the waning seconds of the game.
I can’t tell you how disappointed I am in David Mirkovic. This was a huge game when we needed him to play well, and he shrank in the moment. I can maybe blame it a little on being a true freshman, but only giving us four points, three turnovers, two rebounds, and one assist as a starter is bad for the program.
Ben Humrichous has looked better this season, but even he struggled off the bench, especially defensively. There were multiple times Nebraska literally ran circles around him. He only gave us three points, too.
By far the best frontcourt player for the Illini was the player who played the fewest minutes. Zvonimir Ivisic only logged 11 minutes but still had seven points on 3-of-5 shooting. He also had three rebounds. I liked his defensive presence, and Ivisic helped Illinois turn some momentum throughout the game.
At the end of the day, Illinois’ frontcourt played 79 minutes and gave us a total of 17 points, 13 rebounds, three assists, two blocks, and one steal. They also had four turnovers. That is a recipe for a loss if I have ever seen one.