The story of Illinois’s Big Ten opener loss to Michigan, 78-68, is a simple one. And a familiar one.
First half:
Field goals: 14/28 (50%)
3-point field goals: 6/13 (46.2%)
Second half:
Field goals: 10/28 (35.7%)
3-point field goals: 3/12 (25%)
Despite the five-game winning streak Illinois had going into Wednesday’s contest, a more troubling trend emerged was reinforced in this loss. Much like previous games — Mizzou, first half: 50%, second half: 25%; South Dakota, first half: 59%, second half: 36% a different Illini team came out of the locker room after halftime.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t seem like anyone has an easy answer for the team’s second half slumps. After the game, coach John Groce said his team let Michigan win in terms of toughness and emotion — in other words intangibles. If Groce’s team lacks the so-called fire-in-the-belly to overcome better opponents, I doubt it’s something he can teach them.
So, it seems likely in future games that Illinois could go into halftime with a lead, like the 37-34 lead they held Wednesday, only to watch it dissipate like the fireworks that welcome the team to the court at State Farm Center.
With Leron Black and Mike Thorne on the sidelines for the foreseeable future, Illinois is not an interior threat, even against a team like Michigan that lacks a fearsome frontcourt. And if they can’t slash to the rim, they’ll keep settling for the less-than-ideal long-range shots they took in the second half against the Wolverines. Those shots are much more likely to lead to the 25% success rate, and with them go the chance of an Illini win.
Of course, Illinois did plenty of good things against Michigan. For instance, Malcolm Hill had a quiet night, scoring just 11 points, but his lack of offense, particularly in the first half, went nearly unnoticed because the team actually played good defense. Except for a few head-scratching letdowns on Caris LeVert (one of the best guards in the conference and maybe the country), the defense stood up better than it had in previous games.
But that defense failed to lead to offense because of turnovers, particularly offensive fouls. Which could partly be chalked up to the team missing Khalid Lewis (to mumps, because why the fuck not at this point?) and his stellar turnover-to-assist ratio. All of it combined, however, to just another lackluster effort in a season of them.
The team’s snake-bit nature has been well-documented at this point, but it’s only as good as any other excuse at this point. Illinois needs to find a way, something new, and really that’s all there is to it.
