Quick thoughts about a 69-60 defeat in Illinois:
How did this happen: The disappointing home loss to Northwestern on Wednesday put pressure on Indiana to respond on Saturday afternoon in Champaign. And while Indiana dropped to 0-2 in the Big Ten game for the first time since the 2013-14 season, they faced a tough defeat. After an offensive first half for both teams that saw Illinois take a 29-27 lead to the locker room, the two teams were much more acute after the break. The difference in this, however, was a pair of races led by Ayo Dosumu (30 points) that Indiana simply failed to match. A 14-0 spurt, which occurred in part with Trayce Jackson-Davis tied to the bench with three fouls, saw Illinois turn a 49-44 disadvantage to a 58-49 lead. The Hoosiers responded with an 8-2 run to draw within 60-57 with 4:10 to play. Illinois responded with the next five points to take the lead to eight with 1:46 to play and Indiana did not come close to five the rest of the way.
Featured Performer: Armaan Franklin was excellent for Indiana again, as the second year got 23 points out of 8 out of 12 shots in 31 minutes.
Stands that stand out: Indiana was much better in terms of taking care of the ball with just eight laps (12 TO%), but only picked up three offensive rebounds and had only five points for a second chance.
Final individual UI statistics:
Final statistics without pace:
(Photo: IU Athletics)
Filed under: Illinois Fighting Illini