CHAMPAIGN — Indiana basketball lost 71-51 to No. 7 Illinois on Sunday afternoon with the feisty crowd at the State Farm Center raining down “Hoosiers Daddy” chants to close out the game.
The Hoosiers (17-9, 8-7 Big Ten) got tripped up in the second half with only three players accounting for all their scoring. They shot 35% in the half as a team and just 2 of 11 from 3-point range. Lamar Wilkerson led IU with 21 points, but he was held scoreless over the final 12 minutes.
Illinois (21-45 12-3) ended a two game win streak with the victory and beat IU for a third straight time. Freshman David Mirkovic led the Illini with 25 points and Keaton Wagler had 18 points.
Indiana basketball implodes at the start of the second half against Illinois
Three trips down the floor.
Three turnovers.
Indiana didn’t have an ideal start to the second half with Illinois pushing its lead to a game-high 12 points coming out of halftime. The Hoosiers had more turnovers during that brief stretch than they had in the entire first half (two) and those careless mistakes allowed a talented Illini team to take control.
Wilkerson tried his best to steady the Hoosiers — he accounted for their only points (seven) through the first nine minutes of the half — but it wasn’t enough. The rest of the team combined to go 0 for 9 and 0 for 5 from 3-point range. Sam Alexis dropped in a dunk with 9:31 to end the drought.
Indiana basketball shortens the bench in loss to against Illinois
Wilkeron and Tucker DeVries playing heavy minutes is nothing new, but Darian DeVries relied on his starters more than he has all season against the Illini. The only players to play meaningful minutes off the bench were Reed Bailey and Jasai Miles.
Tayton Conerway, who opened the season in the starting lineup, played only four minutes. He’s battled an ankle injury and illness in recent weeks, but no one who played was listed on the injury report.
DeVries didn’t even go to the bench until there was less than 12 minutes to go in the first half, a departure from his normal substitution pattern. He has typically given guys like Wilkerson brief periods of rest early to keep their legs fresh.
Illinois frontcourt helps deliver a win over the Hoosiers
Illinois was always going to be a mismatch for Indiana with its size in the frontcourt. The Illini have four players in the rotation 6-foot-9 or taller, including a pair of 7-footers. Indiana only has two available players that tall (Alexis and Bailey) and rarely play them together.
Indiana lost the rebounding battle 38-25 while giving up 15 offensive rebounds (17 second-chance points) and 40 points in the paint. It was tied for the second-most offensive rebounds the Hoosiers have given up all season.
Michael Niziolek is the Indiana beat reporter for The Bloomington Herald-Times. You can follow him on X @michaelniziolek and read all his coverage by clicking here.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Indiana basketball falls at No. 7 Illinois