CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Just over 13 months ago, Indiana men’s basketball hosted Illinois at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in Bloomington. Illinois dominated throughout, amassing a 30-point lead in the first half, ultimately winning 94-69 a season ago.
While the Cream and Crimson have since turned over the entire roster and coaching staff, a similar scene took place Sunday. Chants of “Hoosier Daddy” rained down in the final minutes as the Fighting Illini trounced the Hoosiers 71-51 inside the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois.
Indiana stuck around for the first half, but Illinois drained the life out of the Hoosiers’ typically high-powered offense for the final 20 minutes. The Cream and Crimson notched just 20 points in the closing frame, finishing with a season-low 51 points.
Just three Hoosiers accounted for nearly all of Indiana’s production. Fifth-year senior guard Lamar Wilkerson, redshirt senior forward Tucker DeVries and senior forward Sam Alexis combined for 45 of the Cream and Crimson’s 51 points. They hit all but two of Indiana’s field goals.
“You just got to get the shots you want,” Indiana head coach Darian DeVries said postgame. “We've got guys shooting them that are good shooters. They just didn't make them.”
Wilkerson and DeVries made five of the team’s six 3-pointers, as the Hoosiers finished 6 for 24 from beyond the arc while shooting 40.8% from the field. After pouring in 20 3-pointers over a four-game stretch, junior guard Nick Dorn has shot 4 for 26 from beyond the arc in the Hoosiers’ last four games.
While Indiana had opportunities to score, the Fighting Illini applied heavy pressure on defense, forcing the Hoosiers into mistakes.
The return of Illinois senior guard Kyan Boswell added an extra dynamic defender to the Fighting Illini’s arsenal, as Sunday marked his first game since Jan. 17.
“I thought he (Boswell) did a really good job of making things hard on Lamar (Wilkerson) a lot of the time, but even on switches and all those things,” DeVries said. “I thought what he brings and adds to the team in his return is just another defensive guy that can really be kind of that shut-down guy.”
As Illinois built its lead, it notched five of its seven steals in the second half. The Cream and Crimson recorded nine turnovers while the Fighting Illini only gave it away twice.
Indiana’s turnovers often came at ill-timed moments. Tucker DeVries had the ball slip out of his hands and out of bounds ahead of what should’ve been an open layup, and an Illinois trap forced another turnover early in the second half as the Fighting Illini took control of the game.
“Turnovers are always a huge deal. I thought ours led to some transition baskets for them, too,” Darian DeVries said. “The ones we did have, I thought we were just a little careless with it.”
Indiana’s offense is built on knocking down longballs, but Illinois emphasized taking away the open space beyond the arc. Consequently, the Cream and Crimson attempted just 24 3-pointers, five below their season average.
Sharing the ball proved challenging amid the Fighting Illini’s swarming defense. Redshirt senior guard Conor Enright managed six assists, but no other Hoosier dished multiple dimes.
Despite holding Illinois to its second lowest scoring total of the season, Indiana fell by 20 points and was largely out of the game for most of the second half. As the Hoosiers’ offense went cold, the Fighting Illini maintained the momentum, stringing together enough buckets to put the game out of reach without needing much offensive production of their own.
Illinois freshman forward David Mirkovic posted a game-high 25 points and freshman guard Keaton Wagler added 18.
“The problem was we couldn't get enough stops to withstand it during that time and specifically the offensive rebounding on their end,” DeVries said. “It was really too much for us to overcome. So, we had to clean up the glass better so we could get our own transition opportunities and stuff.”
Indiana was outrebounded 38-25, including 15-4 on the offensive glass. The Fighting Illini tallied 17 second chance points to the Hoosiers’ five.
Amid the struggles, Wilkerson continued to spearhead Indiana’s offense. The 6-foot-6 guard put up his 14th 20-point game of the season, and his fifth in a row. Wilkerson shot 8 for 14 while draining two 3-pointers.
The Hoosiers will look to return to their recent form in a rematch with No. 13 Purdue at 8 p.m. Friday night inside Mackey Arena in West Lafayette.
Follow reporters Dalton James (@DaltonMJames and jamesdm@iu.edu) and Nathan Shriberg (@NShriberg and naashri@iu.edu) and columnist Kasey Watkins (@KaseyWatki8773 and kaslwatk@iu.edu) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
