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Gut reactions from Michigan Basketball’s home loss to Illinois

By Chris Peterson

Michigan center Hunter Dickinson (1) goes to the basket against Rutgers during the first half at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022.
Michigan center Hunter Dickinson (1) goes to the basket against Rutgers during the first half at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor on Wednesday, Feb. 23, 2022. /
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Michigan basketball just can’t get over the hump against Illinois and Kofi Cockburn, losing another game that the Wolverines needed to win. 

There is something about Illinois that Michigan basketball can’t solve. 7-footer Kofi Cockburn is one reason for that and another is the Fighting Illini’s deadly shooting.

Illinois went off in a win in Ann Arbor last March and did the same on Sunday, knocking down eight 3-pointers in the first half and 10 total. That gave Illinois a 30-15 advantage from beyond the arc and is one reason why the Wolverines dropped to 9-8 in Big Ten play.

The offense was solid and scored 85 points but it took too many shots to get there. DeVante Jones scored 25 on 16 attempts and couldn’t have been asked to do more. But Caleb Houstan, who was on fire coming in at home, got off just three shots from deep and made two. The freshman was 6-for-8 from the field but unlike the Wolverines who allowed Alfonso Plummer to fire off nine 3-pointers, he struggled to get attempts from deep.

Trent Frazier was 3-for-3 too and the bottom line is that Illinois made shots and Michigan didn’t. Hunter Dickinson shot 4-of-13 and is now a combined 5-of-21 against Illinois/Cockburn.

He was always going to have to play better than that and needed to do better than 1-for-5 from 3-point range. Still, the Wolverines gave themselves a chance at the end and battled.

Next up is Michigan State and another must-win game and here are the gut reactions from Sunday’s loss.

Gut Reactions to Michigan basketball’s loss to Illinois

  • Michigan gave up too many open shots to the wrong shooters.
  • Illinois also hit some very contested shots, too, so tip your cap.
  • Kofi out-played Hunter and that’s the main reason Illinois won, regardless of the hot shooting.
  • Illinois did a better job of executing its game plan on defense.
  • Caleb Houstan and Eli Brooks getting a combined 12 shots was a huge win for Illinois because they made eight of them (75 percent).
  • Dickinson and Jones attempted 29 and made 11 — many of them with Kofi around or otherwise contested.
  • Michigan basketball still has to win two games.
  • Brandon Johns, Kobe Bufkin, and Williams didn’t make a positive impact.
  • U-M is the quintessential bubble team.
  • But it’s still gonna be a tournament team in my eyes.
  • Still, Go BLUE!
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