Column: IU's loss to Illinois is an encouraging one

It’s hard to have an encouraging loss.

But that’s exactly what IU’s 83-80 loss to Illinois in Champaign was, an encouraging loss.

Illinois and Indiana will likely end up with a very similar record. In a lot of instances, Illinois is IU’s basketball doppelganger.

Coming into today, kenpom.com had IU ranked No. 49 in the nation. Illinois was ranked No. 50.

The all-time series between these two teams is now 85-85.

Both teams have a go-to scorer. IU has sophomore guard Kevin ‘Yogi’ Ferrell (who had a career-high 30 points) and Illinois has guard Rayvonte Rice (who had 29 points).

Until recently, both teams played in an Assembly Hall.

Indiana has seven letters, Illinois has eight letters.

I’ll stop with the comparisons. But the fact remains—Illinois is almost exactly as good at basketball as IU. Both teams have different strengths and weaknesses, but both will finish around the same mark.

So IU losing by one possession on the road is an eye-opening loss, in a good way. The loss demonstrated IU’s potential when they make jump shots, something they were doing before they fell apart in the second half.

The small-ball lineup featuring freshmen forward Devin Davis at power forward was killing Illinois.

This unit built a 59-52 lead with over 11 minutes left in the game because they were playing to their strength: running.

They were getting out in transition, and running the Illini defenders to death. Illinois, a very slow-paced team, couldn’t handle the Hoosiers’ team speed.

Even though the Hoosiers were shooting below 45 percent and had a bevy of turnovers, they were still scoring at a high rate.

That’s because they pushed the pace to create more possessions, which cancelled out their otherwise inefficient offense.

Their running created more possessions, and thus created more scoring opportunities.

But IU stopped running.

And that’s when the Hoosiers lost the game.

IU started walking the ball up the court. The sense of urgency was gone, as IU let Illinois play their game. It was a snail’s pace, just what the Illini wanted.

Coming into the game, Illinois was the 329th slowest team in college basketball (out of 351 teams), according to kenpom.com.

The half-court game is Illinois’s preference, not the Hoosiers.

Adding to the offensive carnage was Vonleh coming out of the lineup. The Hoosiers didn’t have the ability to execute in the half court.

Yes, the loss always stings. Players didn’t step up. Robinson, whom I have praised highly this year, was dreadful. He was apprehensive early in the game, not getting the basket.

Then when he was able to get to the basket, he would throw up wild shots. He finished with one point, four fouls and two turnovers in 19 minutes.

When the Hoosiers were pushing the pace and making their jump shots, they looked capable of beating any of the conference’s elite.

But with a young team, inconsistency is expected. The Hoosiers played to their strengths in shorts bursts. If they can maintain the attacking mindset the whole game, the Big Ten should watch out.

That’s why this loss was encouraging. This team will grow, develop and mature. They have the talent to compete at a high level.

But do they have the mindset?

Follow columnist Evan Hoopfer on Twitter at @EvanHoopfer.