Illinois Basketball: 5 observations from the Illini loss to Purdue

5. Beating Purdue was a tough ask of Illinois

When I read the title of this slide, I kind of cringe a little bit. Obviously, I want Illinois to win every game and am never happy with a loss. But when you lay everything out, beating Purdue on Friday night was a tough ask.

I am not making excuses, just giving you some of the reasons it was a tough ask. Illinois headed into the game on Friday night with a lineup that had only been playing together for two games prior. The Illini were still trying to find our No. 1 as the leading scorer for the program is no longer on the team.

In the second half, Illinois found our leader, but it was a bit too late. With that being said, it is tough to beat the Boilermakers when you are still trying to figure out the lineup and who we have moving forward.

It is also extremely hard to win on the road in the Big Ten. Just ask Purdue. They have beaten a number of top 10 teams in the country, but when they made the trip up to Evanston to take on a Northwestern team that Illinois beat by 30 points, the Boilermakers came up short. It is a tough ask to win on the road in the Big Ten on any night.

Lastly, a big reason it is a tough ask to beat Purdue is the fact that the Boilermakers are the No. 1 team in the country. You want an Illinois team that is trying to figure out the rotations after losing our leader scorer, to go on the road in the Big Ten and take down the top team in the nation? Not only the top team, but the team that has the best player in the nation in Zach Edey, who also happens to be 7-foot-4.

With all of this in play, Illinois still managed to narrow the margin to one possession in the final seconds. We only lost by five points to Purdue. I came away pleased. I wasn’t happy. Losing is never good. But I was pleased with the Illini. As time goes on and Illinois’ rotations get stronger, this team will continue to get better. The rematch on March 5 is going to be electric in Champaign.