Illinois' Lack of Toughness Exposed in Loss to Texas Tech

Illinois played its first true road game of the season on Tuesday night against Texas Tech but was unable to leave Lubbock with a victory despite entering the matchup as a slight favorite. The Illini closed as 2.5-point favorites following their two blowout wins over Fairleigh Dickinson and Penn. They looked like one of the best teams in the country in those two games but came back down to earth in the first half against the Red Raiders.

Texas Tech punched Illinois in the mouth from the opening tip, racing out to a 49-29 halftime lead and holding onto that advantage for the remainder of the contest. The Illini were not ready to play from the start and struggled to take care of the basketball. Turnovers and fast-break points allowed the Red Raiders to build momentum and energize the crowd inside United Supermarkets Arena. By halftime, Illinois was facing a 20-point deficit.

Turnovers, missed free throws, and rebounding were the three biggest weaknesses for Illinois on Tuesday night. All three areas of the game require mental toughness, and the Illini did not show enough of it to come away with a road victory.

Toughness and grit are two things Illinois head coach Brad Underwood preaches daily, but this team needs to improve in both areas if it wants to live up to the preseason hype that had the Illini ranked No. 3 in the country.

The Illinois offense was ugly in the first half, with numerous possessions resulting in live-ball turnovers that Texas Tech quickly converted into points. The Illini appeared rattled by the electric crowd in Lubbock during their first true road game of the season. Turnovers will need to improve if this offense wants to become one of the top two units in the country, as it was last season. Since the Penn game, Illinois ranks No. 270 nationally in turnover percentage.

Rebounding was another area where the Illini disappointed in Tuesday night's loss to Texas Tech. The Red Raiders rank No. 299 nationally in average height compared to Illinois at No. 10, yet they still outrebounded the Illini 43-32. Illinois was without one of its best rebounders in David Mirkovic, but that does not excuse an underwhelming performance on the glass against a team that is significantly smaller. Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic need to be more aggressive on the boards and establish their presence if Illinois wants to compete with top-25 opponents. The Illini have shown that they struggle to win games when they lose the rebounding battle.

Free-throw shooting was another area that held Illinois back from picking up a massive road victory. The Illini shot the ball well from the charity stripe last season, but Tuesday's performance brought back flashbacks of last November's game against Alabama, when Illinois left valuable points at the free-throw line. It takes toughness to step up and knock down pressure free throws in a hostile environment, but the Illini were unable to do so.

Mental toughness will need to improve if Illinois wants to have a chance against Duke inside Cameron Indoor Stadium next week. Careless cross-court passes, missed free throws, and allowing opponents multiple opportunities to score on the offensive glass must come to an end quickly if the Illini want to compete for a No. 1 seed this March.

All three of those areas are directly tied to toughness, and I expect Brad Underwood to address them as Illinois prepares for the remainder of its non-conference schedule.