It only took a few minutes of the game, but you could see where the Illinois basketball team was heading on Sunday.
The Illini looked terrible early on in the game against Kentucky. The Wildcats pounced when they saw blood, and Illinois didn’t have answers. Turnovers were a huge issue early on in the contest, and that resulted in getting behind by double-digit points.
While there was a fight in the Illini, the game never felt in reach. Kentucky kept us at arm’s length, and it was like we were running uphill the entire game. Sadly, the season came to an end for Illinois, as the Wildcats took us down, 84-75.
Here are five painful observations from the Illinois basketball loss to the Kentucky Wildcats
1. Relying on freshmen bit Illinois in the butt
I figured it would eventually happen. Illinois came into the season with a great haul of players due to the entire roster leaving. Some of the important additions to the team were freshmen.
The bad thing about the addition of freshmen is that Brad Underwood relied on them a little too much.
Landing a five-star in Will Riley was great. Kasparas Jakucionis burst onto the scene and was sensational from the jump. But with freshmen come inexperience. Riley was great in the game against Xavier, but against Kentucky, he was a shell of himself. The inconsistency with freshmen is always there, and that is what happened against the Wildcats.
Riley finished the game on Sunday with five points, five rebounds, and one assist. He was also 1-of-7 from the field, missed both of his three-point attempts and had three turnovers. Illinois needed him in a big way, and he wasn’t able to come through.
The biggest disappointment for the Illini was from Jakucionis, though. He is supposed to be our lead dog, but Jakcuionis was nowhere to be found. His box score does not reflect how bad he was for the Illini against Kentucky. Jakucionis finished the game with 13 points, five rebounds, and two assists. He shot 5-of-13 from the floor and 2-of-9 from three-point range with six turnovers in the game.
It was eventually going to happen. Illinois was going to get bit by the freshmen minutes. The Illini needed these guys to step up, and they disappeared at the worst time.
2. Kylan Boswell was special against Kentucky
Illinois didn’t have a lot of bright spots on Sunday evening. But I will give credit where credit is due. Kylan Boswell played extremely well.
One of the only reasons Illinois was still in the game toward the end was due to Boswell’s ability to score and facilitate the ball. He was exactly what the Illini needed, and that experience shined bright when we needed him the most.
Boswell finished the game with 23 points, six assists, and three rebounds. He shot 9-of-14 from the field and 2-of-5 from three-point range with three turnovers.
There was nothing happening for the Illini for much of the game. When Kentucky was pulling away, Boswell was always there to answer. He didn’t settle for three-point attempts either. Boswell was aggressive and forced the Kentucky defense on their heels.
I can’t wait until next season with Boswell back in the fold. We saw what Terrence Shannon Jr. could do with a full year in Brad Underwood’s system. I think Boswell could end up having the same type of career path.
3. Brad Underwood needs to address defense
I was disappointed for many reasons on Sunday against Kentucky. Kasparas Jakucionis laid an egg in the biggest game of his career. I also hated how the Illini played defense.
Kentucky could pretty much get whatever they wanted the entire game. Out on the perimeter, Kobe Brea led the charge, going 3-of-8 from three-point range. The rest of the team had decent looks for much of the game too.
Inside the paint, Illinois struggled to guard. We had a hard time with the Wildcats’ big men, and this resulted in some serious issues with preventing them from scoring.
I would argue this was the worst defensive game I have seen from Jakucionis all season long. He was getting shredded the entire night. Tomislav Ivisic can’t hold his own in the paint. Both player’s upper body strength is just not there.
Brad Underwood’s teams used to be known for defense. That is so far in the past now. In the offseason, Illinois needs to go out and get some defensive stoppers.
4. Illinois had zero answers for Kentucky’s big men
I kind of touched on this in the last section, but Illinois had a hard time stopping Kentucky’s big men inside. While they didn’t put up great stats, I felt like the Wildcats were controlling the paint the entire game.
Amari Williams finished the game with eight points, 10 rebounds, six assists, three blocks, and one steal. He was 4-of-11 from the field as well. I was shocked by the size of Williams. Height-wise, he is actually smaller than Tomislav Ivisic, but his physical build is much bigger. He pushed around Ivisic all game long.
Illinois had a hard time stopping Andrew Carr too. While he only put up four points, Carr also had six rebounds, three steals, and two assists in the game. He was everywhere for Kentucky.
Kentucky is just a better team than Illinois. They did a great job exposing our weaknesses, and one of them was controlling the paint.
5. Undisciplined basketball was the end for Illinois
At the end of the day, I am not shocked Illinois lost this game. I am more disappointed in how we lost against Kentucky.
The Wildcats have a really good team. They are a program that can do some damage moving forward. But Illinois helped Kentucky take us down. We did a lot of destruction to ourselves, and that is what is hurting me the most.
You can tell how the game is kind of going to play out by the first 10 minutes. Illinois looked sloppy and like we didn’t want to be there. We didn’t look good at all. I believe we had eight turnovers in this span of time too.
I believe this is the most undisciplined Illinois basketball team I have ever seen. We foul too much. The ball is turned over at an incredible rate. The shot selection is horrible. Illinois looks lost a lot on the court too.
There was still a fight in this program at the end, which I am proud of. But at the end of the day, the Illini were extremely undisciplined, and we didn’t deserve to move on.
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