4 Observations From the Illinois Basketball Loss to Purdue

It was a tough loss for the Illini, but there are some silver linings to take away from the game. Here are four observations from the Illinois basketball loss to Purdue.

Poor shooting plagues Illinois in loss to Purdue

1. Far too many missed opportunities from the three-point line plagued Illinois in their loss to Purdue.

2. The Illini were outrebounded by the Boilermakers, which led to second-chance points for Purdue.

3. Illinois had too many turnovers, which led to easy points for Purdue.

4. The Illini must improve their shooting if they want to compete with the best teams in the conference.

Turnovers prove costly for Illini against Boilermakers

The Illinois basketball team had a disappointing loss to Purdue on Saturday afternoon, falling by a score of 75-62. The Illini struggled mightily in several areas of the game, and ultimately the turnovers proved to be too much to overcome. Here are four observations from the loss:

1) The Illini turned the ball over 20 times, which is far too many against a good Purdue team. Some of the turnovers were forced by Purdue’s defense, but others were unforced errors that simply cannot happen.

2) Illinois shot just 33% from the field, which is not going to win many games. The Illini were particularly poor from three-point range shooting just 21%.

3) The Illini were outrebounded 44-33 by Purdue. This was a big part of the reason why Purdue was able to win the game despite not shooting well themselves.

4) Overall, this was a very disappointing performance by Illinois. They will need to play much better if they want to compete for a Big Ten title this season.

Lack of size hurts Illinois against Purdue

In their loss to Purdue, one of the main issues for the Illinois Basketball team was their lack of size.

Purdue’s frontline of A.J. Hammons, Isaac Haas, and Caleb Swanigan presents a significant size advantage over Illinois’ frontline of Mike Thorne Jr., Maverick Morgan, and Leron Black. This size advantage was a big factor in Purdue being able to outrebound Illinois 41-36 and outscore them 46-36 in the paint.

In addition, Purdue’s big men were also able to use their size to block four shots and alter many others. For a team that relies heavily on its outside shooting, this made it very difficult for Illinois to get good looks at the basket.

If Illinois wants to compete against the better teams in the Big Ten they are going to need to find a way to offset their lack of size.

Illini can’t keep up with Boilermakers’ shooting

The Illinois basketball team couldn’t keep up with the Boilermakers’ shooting on Saturday, losing 92-88. Here are four observations from the game.

Purdue was simply too hot from three-point range for Illinois to handle. The Boilermakers hit 18 of their 34 attempts from beyond the arc, while the Illini made just 9 of their 28 attempts.

Purdue’s big men were a big problem for Illinois. Isaac Haas and Caleb Swanigan combined for 41 points and 17 rebounds, while the Illini frontcourt was only able to muster 16 points and 10 rebounds.

Turnovers were an issue for Illinois, as they committed 16 turnovers that led to 21 Purdue points. The Illini also struggled to take care of the ball in the second half, where they turned it over 9 times.

The Illini got very little production from their bench. Only two players came off the bench and neither scored more than 5 points. The Boilermakers’ bench, on the other hand, scored 29 points.