What we learned from Illinois' 82-69 loss to No. 2 Baylor
A few takeaways following No. 5 Illinois' 82-69 loss to No. 2 Baylor at the Jimmy V Classic in Indianapolis Wednesday night.
Three moments that mattered
1. Stars didn't shine: Two of the AP's five preseason All-Americans, Illini junior guard Ayo Dosunmu and Baylor junior guard Jared Butler squared off. Both are currently projected as second round picks by nbadraft.net. Baylor held Dosunmu, averaging 25.7 ppg, in check until late; he scored 18 points on 6-of-18 shooting. Butler only scored 12.
2. Turnovers: The Illini began the game with turnovers on two of their first three possessions, had eight by halftime and finished with 12 to Baylor's seven. Too many possessions with too much dribbling; Baylor's length and switching gave Illinois fits all night. Senior Trent Frazier had five.
3. Playing in the game itself: Wednesday marked the first time since April 4, 2005 — when No. 1 Illinois played No. 2 North Carolina for the national championship — the Illini played in a game between two top five teams. Despite the result, it's a sign fourth-year coach Brad Underwood has the program headed in the right direction. Finally. “This is where we belong,” Underwood said before the tip. “We should be in these games.”
Three things that worked
1. Defense early: In the Illini's best wins last year, including two victories over Michigan and two vs. Purdue, they did it on the defensive end, holding each under 70 points. They were at it again for the first 30 minutes before the Bears broke open a tight game.
2. Blessing in disguise: When 7-foot center Kofi Cockburn went to the bench with his second foul with 11 minutes left in the first half, that usually spells trouble. Instead, junior Giorgi Bezhanishvili turned the clock back to his stellar freshman season, scoring 13 first-half points to keep the Illini within 31-30 at halftime despite a combined 5 points from Cockburn and Dosunmu. Cockburn never got in a rhythm, finishing with 7 points and 4 rebounds in 18 minutes, and Illinois missed his presence on both ends.
3. No freshman jitters: Reigning Big Ten freshman of the week Adam Miller struggled from the field missing all 6 of his 3-pointers. But Illinois got a lift from fellow freshmen Andre Curbelo and Coleman Hawkins. The future is bright.
Three things that didn't
1. Free throws: Illinois missed its first five.
2. Shot selection: While there's no shame in struggling against a Baylor team that returned four all-Big 12 players from a 26-4 team that spent five weeks ranked No. 1, the Illini need to figure out a way to get Dosunmu and company better shots against a grueling schedule that includes No. 6 Duke, No. 3 Iowa, No. 4 Wisconsin and No. 8 Michigan State.
3: Rebounding: The Illini showed their mettle early, up eight on the glass at the half, but the Bears turned the tables in the second half to finish plus-3 in the game, including a couple of key second-chance baskets during their game-deciding run.
What's next?
Illinois (3-1) hosts UT-Martin at 8 p.m. Saturday (BTN) before traveling to Duke Tuesday.