Written by: TJ Inman
After winning five of six games, the Indiana Hoosiers headed to No. 8 Illinois in good form but a cold day shooting and overwhelming size for the Fighting Illini combined to add up to a 71-51 defeat in Champaign. Lamar Wilkerson was productive, racking up 21 points on 14 shots but Illinois made him work for it and there was precious little help from any other players wearing red. Tucker DeVries managed 13 and Sam Alexis had 11 but the rest of the team was mostly invisible and Illinois size, skill and depth were way too much.
The game began with both teams finding good looks and knocking down shots as the lead ping-ponged back and forth for much of the first eight minutes. The Illini took the lead on a triple from Jake Davis and quickly got hot from the perimeter and extended their advantage to nine points. Indiana answered as Lamar Wilkerson and Jasai Miles both connected on three-pointers but the nation’s top-ranked offense was firing on all cylinders and the Illini quickly pushed the lead back seven at halftime. Illinois was ahead 38-31 as teams went to the locker room and they had seven offensive rebounds and were dominant in the paint.
The Hoosiers needed their best half of the season to have a shot in the second 20 minutes but the Illini began by quickly extending the lead to 43-31 but Lamar Wilkerson ripped off six-straight points to avoid the knockout punch from the home team. The momentum for Indiana did not last long though as Keaton Wagler hit a three and was fouled and Indiana missed a number of open looks as Illinois punished the much smaller opposition on the glass. The final ten minutes were uncompetitive and the Illini rolled to the 71-51 win as IU made just 6 of 24 three-pointers. Illinois had 40 points in the paint and out rebounded IU by 13 including 15 offensive rebounds and 17 second-chance points.
The loss does not damage IU’s NCAA Tournament chances but they need to gather themselves quickly as another major road test awaits. They travel to West Lafayette to try and sweep rival Purdue before returning home for a three-game homestand.