CHAMPAIGN, IL. – Indiana sixth-year senior point guard Xavier Johnson’s expression said it all.
Hands on knees. Head turned left. Eyes upward, facing the State Farm Center’s east-side scoreboard. Ear filled with Indiana assistant coach Kenya Hunter’s consolation.
The Hoosiers trailed Illinois 66-62 with 27 seconds left, watching as the game slipped away following Johnson’s two missed free throws the possession before.
Indiana had a chance to win; to pull an upset against the No. 10 team in the country; to overcome the injury-driven absence of its second-leading scorer, sophomore center Kel’el Ware, and go from 15-point underdogs to road warriors.
Instead, it fell short.
The Hoosiers (12-8, 4-5 Big Ten) suffered a 70-62 loss to the Fighting Illini (15-5, 6-3 Big Ten) Saturday, marking their third straight defeat against a nationally ranked foe.
“It’s just tough,” sophomore forward Mackenzie Mgbako said. “It’s just tough knowing we tried our best, tried a lot of effort, but we just learn from it and move on to the next game.”
Indiana entered the day fresh off back-to-back lopsided defeats, an 87-66 home loss to Purdue on Jan. 16 and a 91-79 road loss to Wisconsin on Jan. 19.
In their first five games against ranked opponents, the Hoosiers were winless, losing all but one by double digits. Saturday was expected to be another similarly one-sided game – but it wasn’t.
The Hoosiers shot 46.3% from the field, a better clip than the Fighting Illini’s 37.1%. Indiana had only nine turnovers, the fifth time this year it finished with single digits in the category.
Illinois finished with 70 points, its fourth-lowest output this season, marking a strong defensive showing from Indiana.
The Hoosiers played well. They just couldn’t finish — watching as the Fighting Illini scored the game’s final 8 points en route to victory.
“I was pleased with the way we had a week to work and prepare for this team,” Indiana head coach Mike Woodson said. “I thought we played a great defensive game, but when you’re on the road, you’ve got to do almost everything right to come out with the win.”
Indiana had its worst 3-point shooting night in nearly 14 years, failing to hit a shot from downtown for the first time since Feb. 25, 2010, against Wisconsin.
The Hoosiers went 12-of-22 at the free throw line, their fourth time shooting less than 60% from the foul stripe this month alone.
Winning in Champaign is difficult; Indiana holds a 35-55 all-time road record against Illinois. Still, the Hoosiers did many things well enough to win – just didn’t have the shooting.
“It’s a fine line in winning on the road,” Woodson said. “You’ve got to do almost everything right, like make your free throws, don’t go 0-for-9 from shooting the 3-point ball. We had good looks, we just didn’t make them.”
After the loss to Wisconsin, Indiana sophomore forward Malik Reneau noted his team grew disconnected at times, allowing games to get away quickly.
Each time the Hoosiers were prompted with a chance to let that happen Saturday, they responded – until they no longer could with the game hanging in the balance. Nonetheless, they withstood multiple runs from Illinois and went blow-for-blow with one of the nation’s best.
“I feel like we were together as a team today,” Mgbako said. “We played more together, with a lot more effort and there was more readiness on the ball, on defense and offense.”
But without Quadrant 1 victories on its resume, Indiana can’t take solace in moral victories at this stage in the season. The Hoosiers lack a signature win, owning just one victory – against Ohio State Jan. 6 – over a team ranked inside the top–60 in NET.
The Fighting Illini entered at No. 13 in the NET. The Hoosiers fell 8 points shy of a potentially season-changing win. Woodson is frustrated with the loss but still pleased with the progress made over the last week.
“I’m about winning, man,” Woodson said. “I want to win at all costs – but again, when you go through a Purdue game like we played, and Wisconsin where we played in spurts, I thought we were solid all the way through. We just didn’t make the plays down the stretch. So, that’s promising.”
Woodson added he’s hoping Ware, who’s averaging 14.2 points and 9.4 rebounds per game, will be back for Tuesday night’s game against Iowa in Assembly Hall. Woodson said he thinks Ware can be the difference for Indiana, which is better when it has the 7-foot sophomore clogging the lane.
But that’s a concern for another day. For now, Indiana’s left thinking about what could’ve been – and whether it has enough opportunities to salvage a rapidly dissipating season.
“It hurts,” Mgbako said. “But you’ve just got to move on from it and learn.”
Follow reporters Will Foley (@foles24) and Matt Press (@MattPress23) and columnist Daniel Flick (@ByDanielFlick) for updates throughout the Indiana men’s basketball season.
