Illinois basketball followed a 14-point loss to Michigan State with another disappointing showing on Tuesday night.
The Illini went into Wisconsin in hopes of righting the ship. Instead, the Badgers put another hole in the side of the boat, as we continue to sink further and further down in the standings.
Wisconsin jumped on the Illini early and often on Tuesday. They were hitting shots and had more energy for much of the contest. A six-point halftime deficit for the Orange and Blue eventually turned into a 95-74 loss to the Badgers.
Here are five sad observations from the Illinois basketball loss to the Wisconsin Badgers
1. Rebounding suffered without Morez Johnson Jr.
Everyone can pinpoint where they were when certain big events happened in their lifetime. Numerous seismic events have happened and I can remember the exact spot I was sitting when I heard the news.
While the wrist injury to Morez Johnson Jr. doesn’t even come close to the level of most of those seismic events, I believe it completely changed how the Illinois basketball team will finish the 2024-25 campaign.
Illinois played its first game without Johnson on Tuesday night. To say it didn’t go well would be an understatement. I mean, it isn’t easy to replace the big man, especially when it comes to rebounding the basketball.
For the season, Johnson has the seventh-most minutes on the Illinois roster. He has played 177 fewer minutes than Tomislav Ivisic and yet is only 27 rebounds short of his 7-foot-1 teammate. If Johnson played 40 minutes per game, he would average out to 14.9 rebounds per contest, which is the best on the team.
Illinois is going to be missing that for what is likely the rest of the season, and on Tuesday night, we were feeling the effects already.
The Illini entered the game against Wisconsin averaging 44.3 rebounds per game but managed to lose the rebounding battle 39-30. This includes only pulling down nine offensive rebounds, which is the fourth-lowest of the season.
Johnson is already sorely missed. He is a special player who can rebound with the best of the best. On Tuesday night, we didn’t have that and it resulted in a drubbing on the scoreboard and on the glass.
2. Worst defensive night of the season
There have been some truly awful teams in the history of the Illinois basketball program. Some of those bad teams came in the John Groce and early Brad Underwood eras.
What those bad teams still could do was play defense. Even though Illinois couldn’t put the ball in the hoop, the team was able to make games respectable with a good defensive effort. That isn’t the case for this Illini squad.
Illinois’ defensive effort against Wisconsin was the worst I have seen all season. We gave up 95 points, which is the second-highest total of the season, only second to the 100 points we allowed against Alabama.
Here is the thing, Wisconsin doesn’t have the talent of an Alabama. The Crimson Tide is a better team, and still, the Illini gave up 95 points.
There are a few reasons why I think the bad defensive effort happened on Tuesday night. The first is Morez Johnson Jr. being out. He was a defensive stopper for the Illini, as teams had a hard time going inside. Johnson could block shots.
Johnson’s rebounding ability was also missing. Wisconsin got more opportunities at the basket, so they scored more points. If Johnson was on the court, this wouldn’t have happened.
I also believe Illinois has bad defenders. Johnson helps cover up some bad defense. Ben Humrichous was constantly trailing his man and getting lost in space. He was a liability for the Illini. Kasparas Jakucionis has a hard time staying in front of his man. He gets burnt off the dribble a lot. Kylan Boswell hasn’t been the same defensively either.
Illinois needs to at least have good defense even if the offense isn’t clicking. That didn’t happen against Wisconsin, and it was an ugly scene.
3. The Illinois bench was a bright spot
There weren’t a lot of positives to take away from Tuesday night. Illinois looked like hot garbage, and it was honestly depressing.
I was pleased with one area on the court, though. The Illinois bench did their job and performed well for the Illini.
Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn was back healthy for the program. He could have played in the last game, but Brad Underwood inexplicably didn’t have him on the court for more than five minutes. Gibbs-Lawhorn came out in the Wisconsin game and put up numbers.
Gibbs-Lawhorn finished the night with 17 points, five assists, four rebounds, and one block while shooting 7-of-12 from the field and 3-of-7 from three-point range.
As a unit, the bench had some quality numbers. They accounted for 35 points, 13 rebounds, nine assists, three blocks, and one steal. They only had two turnovers and shot 14-of-29, 48.3%, from the field and 4-of-13, 30.7%, from three-point range.
Most of the bench production came in the second half too. Illinois lost control of the game in the second 20 minutes of action, but it was the bench that kept this thing remotely interesting. Illinois’ starters were just 3-of-11 from the field for 12 points in the second half. The bench was 9-of-19 from the field for 21 points. If it wasn’t for solid bench play, Illinois would have lost this game by 40 points.
4. Veterans tapped out for Illinois
When the chips are down, like they are for the Illinois basketball program, we need to be able to rely on veterans to guide us through the turmoil. Illinois needs players who can take control and lead the team.
The players I am referring to should be Kylan Boswell and Ben Humrichous. These two have been through the college game at different schools and at different levels. They know what it takes to win games, and that is what the Illini need right now.
Instead of getting that, Illinois fans get a disappearing act. Boswell and Humrichous aren’t showing up when we need them the most. That is killing the program right now.
Boswell is probably the most disappointing of them all. He is someone who played two seasons at Arizona, so he knows the physicality and what it takes to play at the high-DI level.
What I saw on Tuesday night was just another example of Boswell not showing up. He played 26 minutes and gave the Illini seven points, two assists, two steals, and one rebound. To go along with those numbers, Boswell also had four fouls, three turnovers, and was just 1-of-5 from three-point range.
A massive red flag for me when it comes to Boswell is that he only attempted one free throw in 26 minutes. One. Free. Throw.
There is no reason for Boswell to shoot fewer than five free throws in a game, let alone just one. He has the body and driving ability to rack up points from the charity stripe. Only taking one free throw shows me that he isn’t all-in.
I feel bad for Humrichous. Offensively, he can hit shots, but he is extremely inconsistent. Defensively, he is awful. Teams game plan to go at Humrichous, and it works. He can be taken off the dribble easily, and he isn’t good at rotating. I feel bad for him because I think he is a small fish in a big pond.
Altogether, Illinois needed experienced players to step up into a leadership role, but they couldn’t do that for the program. The Illini floundered their way to another loss.
5. Brad Underwood needs to stop playing sick players
I am not off the Brad Underwood bandwagon yet. He is a coach who just took the Illinois basketball team to an Elite 8 last season, so that has earned some cushion in my book.
There are some issues with Underwood’s coaching mentality, though. On the court, he needs to make some adjustments, but the one thing I am honing in on right now is illness.
Illinois has been ill quite a bit lately, and I can’t blame anyone. Viruses are going around, and it is just a part of life. What I do have an issue with is playing players who are ill.
After the game on Tuesday night, Underwood decided to have his team skip the postgame handshake line with Wisconsin. This is a decision usually reserved for a mad coach who thinks the opposing team did them dirty. That isn’t the case this time, though.
Underwood said they skipped the handshake line because Illinois is so sick. He also mentioned that Jake Davis was sick pregame. He didn’t want Wisconsin to catch anything despite the two teams battling on the court for 40 minutes.
Here is my issue; why even play the sick players? Davis shouldn’t have suited up and honestly, he should probably be quarantined away from the rest of the team until he is better.
The same goes for Tomislav Ivisic. Underwood said in the postgame presser that Ivisic didn’t travel with the team and decided to drive up and play the game. How does Underwood allow this to happen?
If a player is sick, stop having him play until they are healthy. That will help other players not get sick, and it will make the athletes healthier as a team. The fact Underwood is okay with sick players playing is beyond me. It isn’t helping anyone having them play.