College Basketball

Illinois Basketball: 3 Observations From the Maryland Loss 2.0

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 3:57 p.m. ET

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Mar 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach John Groce during the first half in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament against the Michigan Wolverines at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

The Illinois Basketball team battled the Maryland Terrapins last night in what was a big game for the postseason.Illinois needed to notch a victory against Maryland on their home court, but with about 13:00 minutes to go in the game the Illini went cold.Here are the three observations from the Maryland loss 2.0.

Can’t Go Into Shooting Slump

I know this seems like an obvious observation because everyone knows they can’t go into a shooting slump. But, this is the main culprit in why the Illini failed to win the game.

The fact that Illinois only lost by six points considering how bad they were shooting is oddly impressive. I mean, this team was really, really bad down the stretch of this game.

Jalen Coleman-Lands, while I think he is a great shooter, did not have a good second half. He was getting good, open, looks but wasn’t hitting them when the team needed those buckets the most.

When the final buzzer sounded, Coleman-Lands finished 3-of-12 from the field and 3-of-11 from three-point land. He had nine points on the night.

Tracy Abrams wasn’t helping the cause, though. He ended up scoring zero points on 0-of-3 shooting in the 22 minutes he played.

The only two players I was impressed with last night was Leron Black and Maverick Morgan. Both were getting points inside and out, but for some reason in the second half they weren’t getting the ball down low as much.

Illinois needs to play more consistent on the offensive end of the court. They had this game won but they decided to live and die by the three-point shot in the second half. Needless to say, they died by it.

Dec 17, 2016; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Tracy Abrams (13) reacts during the first half against the Brigham Young Cougars at the United Center. Mandatory Credit: Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports

Where You at Seniors?

The senior leadership on this team should be the bright spot. Illinois has a nice mix of young talent blended with senior leadership that should be guiding them through games.

This theory isn’t happening, though. And that is all it is right now, a theory because it is just an idea and it isn’t formulating.

I want to start with Malcolm Hill. He is a player that some people think will get drafted but he honestly hasn’t impressed me much this season. Has he had some good games, sure, but he isn’t leading by any means.

Hill had 11 points, 8 rebounds, and 3 assists last night in the loss. He shot 5-of-14 from the field and 1-of-6 from the three-point line.

There were bad decisions made by Hill on many occasions last night and we have seen that throughout the season.

One specific play was at the end of the first half. Hill was driving the ball up the court with the clock running down and had it stolen away for an easy layup. This not only put two points up for Maryland, but it also killed momentum heading into half-time.

Hill has great touch and if he is one-on-one he has a nice turnaround jumper. But, as far as speed and awareness, I feel like he falls short in these categories.

The other senior leader on this team should be Tracy Abrams. I mentioned earlier that Abrams finished with zero points on 0-of-3 shooting. He also had two assists and two turnovers.

Abrams has really regressed this season. He started the year off with a shockingly good scoring ability, but that has since dwindled into zero ability to put the ball in the hoop.

I am not sure what has happened in that time but Abrams needs to get his head out of his backend sometime soon.

Abrams seems to be having the same issues on the court as Hill. The game seems to be going faster than what they play and this kills the Illini when it comes to pace of play.

Illinois has a lot of runners on their team and if the seniors continue to try and slow down the game, intentionally or unintentionally, it will be bad news in the future for this program.

Mar 12, 2015; Chicago, IL, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Leron Black (12) battles for a rebound with Michigan Wolverines guard/forward Kameron Chatman (3) during the second half in the second round of the Big Ten Conference Tournament at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Jerry Lai-USA TODAY Sports

Defense Wasn’t to Blame

You can blame some of the struggles that the Illini have had this season on the defensive side of the ball. They have given up some serious points at times.

In the two prior Big Ten losses, Illinois managed to give up 96 points to Indiana and 84 points against Maryland in the first matchup. This is unacceptable and very few teams can win like that.

Illinois has averaged giving up 79.75 points per game in the last four games alone. That is an extremely high number.

But, you can’t blame the defense for last night’s loss. In fact, I think you can give some credit to the defense for keeping the Illini in the game.

If Illinois was playing their 79.75 PPG defense then this game would have ended up being another 25 point blowout. They weren’t playing that defense, though.

This game only ended up being a six-point deficit and Illinois could have won if they just had made a few buckets there at the end. Their defense actually enabled them to have a chance to win the game.

Illinois’ defense also held Melo Trimble to 12 points on 5-of-16 shooting from the field and 2-of-11 from the three-point line.

As a team, Maryland didn’t shoot well either. They were only 42.6-percent from the field and 27.3-percent from the three-point line. Not to mention, the Terrapins were also only 50-percent from the free-throw line, going 10-of-20.

This game had a ‘W’ written all over it but the Illini failed to capitalize. They needed a win and they couldn’t beat a team who quite frankly had an off-night.

Losing at home hurts the chances of making the postseason for the Illini. This team will now need to have a big win, or two, on the road to go dancing in March.

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