Glaring Talent Gap On Display In Indiana's Loss At Illinois

Certain losses can be attributed to in-game coaching adjustments, the game plan, effort or uncharacteristic shooting numbers.

That comes with the assumption that the losing team was good enough to win, and that it could have won if it made a few tweaks or a few more shots. But that wasn't the case Sunday, as Indiana was doomed from the start. The Hoosiers' 71-51 loss at No. 8 Illinois boils down to one overarching theme –– a glaring talent gap.

That was expected going into the matchup, which is perhaps the most discouraging part when reflecting on the state of the program. It's only year one of the Darian DeVries area, and he deserves time to build. But to get to a point where Indiana can contend with a team like No. 8 Illinois, Indiana has a long way to go.

Because for 40 minutes, Illinois had better players at at least three positions, and that might be generous toward the Hoosiers. Comparing the starting lineups, one could make a compelling case that the Illini are better at four spots. And for the one minute that Indiana guard Lamar Wilkerson sat on the bench, Illinois had the upper hand at all five.

It started with a severe size mismatch, as six of Illinois' seven players are at least 6-foot-6, including two 7-footers. The outlier is 6-foot-2 point guard Kylan Boswell, a stingy on-ball defender who they were glad to welcome back from injury. That disparity gave the Illini a rebounding advantage all day, and it smothered an undersized Indiana offensive attack.

Pulling off an upset Sunday afternoon at the State Farm Center would have taken an incredible shooting display from the Hoosiers. But DeVries' group has been far too inconsistent to really believe that was possible against Illinois, and finished 6-for-24 from beyond the arc.

Wilkerson is putting together a Big Ten Player of the Year-caliber season, leading the conference with 24.2 points per game on 37.8% 3-point shooting in 15 conference games. He finished with 21 points on 8-for-14 shooting on Sunday, but he can't do it alone, especially against an Illinois team with the nation's No. 1 adjusted offensive effiency.

Indiana needs much more from the supporting cast, but who can it trust at this point? Tucker DeVries was supposed to be a reliable, veteran presence who could knock down shots, but he's shooting just 30.8% from 3-point range in Big Ten play. He had 13 points and contributes well in other areas, but he also struggled defensively on Sunday.

Nick Dorn looked like a ceiling-raiser for Indiana when he averaged 20.3 points on 46.5% 3-point shooting in a four-game stretch in late January. But he's gone ice cold ever since, averaging 4.5 points on 15.3% 3-point shooting over the last four games.

Conor Enright is shooting 41.7% from distance in Big Ten play, but he's averaging just 1.1 3-pointers made per game. So Indiana can't count on him for scoring volume, and he struggles to create his own shot, especially against a long and athletic Illinois team. Tayton Conerway still seems to be working his way back from injury, and the rest of the rotation is even more helpless from a shooting standpoint.

It's not necessarily a bad approach to build a team that relies on 3-point shooting. Illinois does it, and it's in contention for a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament.

But if shots aren't falling, Indiana has no backup plan. DeVries said postgame that rebounding was the No. 1 thing Indiana had to do to win Sunday's game, but there was even less reason to believe that was possible.

Forward Sam Alexis has had a nice stretch of late, and he chipped in 11 points and eight rebounds on Sunday against an Illinois front court with two 7-footers. But he's more of a complimentary piece than a go-to scorer or dominant rebounder.

Reed Bailey has been a disappointing transfer portal addition, going from a starting role to playable only out of necessity Sunday against Illinois. The only depth behind Bailey and Alexis is 6-foot-8 freshman Trent Sisley who logged just one minute at the end of the game.

So at this point of the season, Indiana (17-9, 8-7), is what it is. The Hoosiers are capable of riding a hot streak from Wilkerson to victory against inferior or slightly better teams, but severe limitations in other areas that them back against top teams.

The Hoosiers will still probably make the NCAA Tournament and get somewhere between a No. 9 and No. 12 seed. Losing at No. 8 Illinois doesn't really hurt or change the outlook, and losing Friday at No. 13 Purdue wouldn't either

A March Madness bid was always most likely to come down to the final four-game stretch, with three home games against Northwestern, No. 10 Michigan State and Minnesota, then a trip to Ohio State.

Winning one game in the NCAA Tournament would make for a nice first season under DeVries, who put them in that position with a recent 5-1 stretch. But Sunday's loss to Illinois served as a reminder of just how much Indiana has to grow before seriously competing with the Big Ten's best.

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