Illini Falter Versus Penn State, 74-59

By Jeff Mayfield

[December 12, 2022] 

As a former player and coach, I can give you a lot of opinions as to why the Illinois Fighting Illini got blitzed by Penn State Saturday morning 74-59, but none of them are very satisfying. I also don’t think much should be taken away from PSU as they have a rock-solid team that I think will make some noise this season, if they stay healthy. At any rate, the Illini never got untracked and never got rolling in this one and it was a bitter pill to swallow.

Penn State shot 50% from the field for the game after shooting over 60% from the field in the first half which led to a solid 47-38 lead at the break. The Lions doubled up the Illini from 3-point range converting 12 compared to Illinois’ 6-that in a nutshell was the story. The Illini did make one nice run and cut the lead to 5 but could never draw any closer. Illinois’ offense seemed to be good enough at times but their vaunted defensive pressure and their ability to contest shots never seemed to appear in this ball game.

While it was definitely disappointing, that’s the way college basketball and Big Ten hoops specifically is bouncing so far this campaign. What’s sadder than the loss is the reality of the situation. With a home loss Illinois is now at the bottom of the standings with an 0-2 start to league play. They are 7-3 overall which is not shabby with a chance to get right in the games ahead, but they must find ways to address their trouble spots as soon as possible.

What are those trouble spots?

They must find somebody-anybody-who can get a bucket when the team needs to score. On defense-players can’t all chase and they must close out on the perimeter much quicker than they did against PSU. I believe they will clean some stuff up and that they will cut down on their turnovers. They also need to spend a lot of time and work on converting free throws-that will be a critical component to success in the weeks ahead.

And while those insights are not very insightful, Sherlock, they will go a long way towards bringing additional success. The Illini have a talented roster, but it takes time to build chemistry and trust and Saturday exposed some of this team’s growing pains. The Illini have a very high ceiling as they demonstrated in previous games so we’re hopeful the future will be very bright.

Next up for the Illini is a Saturday home game with Alabama A & M at 3 p.m.

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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