4. Justin Harmon was on the struggle bus
Illinois looked great against Iowa. We had our best defensive performance in months, and the offense looked explosive. The Hawkeyes couldn’t handle what Illinois brought to Iowa City.
While most of Sunday night was sunshine and rainbows, there was one issue I had with the team. Justin Harmon does not look good right now, and it worries me as we enter the postseason.
Harmon has been a big part of the Illini this season. His veteran leadership off the bench has been invaluable. He is able to come in and give Illinois 5-10 points and the threat to hit from long-range in each game.
Against Purdue last Tuesday, Harmon had his worst game of the season. He finished with zero points, three rebounds, one assist, one block, and one steal while going 0-of-3 from the field and 0-of-2 from three-point range. This was a horrible game, and Harmon’s defense is already not great, so a bad offense and bad defense don’t go well together.
That worst game of the season only lasted a few days, though. Harmon went into Sunday night and laid another egg. He finished the Iowa game with zero points, two rebounds, one assist, and one steal while going 0-of-3 from the field and 0-of-2 from three-point range.
So, in the last two games, Harmon has zero points on 0-of-6 shooting from the field and 0-of-4 from three-point range in 37 minutes of action. That is not the production Illinois wants off the bench.
There was one point on Sunday night when Harmon had a wide-open three-point shot. He let it launch, and it missed the rim completely and careened off the backboard. There is something wrong with Harmon right now. I am not sure if it is an injury or what, but Harmon doesn’t look the same.