Illini not too thankful for Vegas trip over turkey break

Uh-oh?

For a team that earned nothing but praise in its first four games, the Illini have hit a speed bump. And they’ve hit it hard.

To stretch out the feelings on this, allow me to bring in a few texts exchanged by basketball reporter Stu Lieberman and myself on Friday around 9 p.m., at a time when Illinois was still a mythical 4-0.

Stu: Spartans lost

Me: Oh (no). Looks like Minnesota’s taking over the conference (jokingly not mentioning Purdue, who, by my estimation, will be atop the Big Ten all season)

Stu: They are losing to Portland right now Haha

Me: Oskee wow wow baby, here come the Illini

Hah. Good one, Rich.

For those who didn’t keep their eyes on the Illini over Thanksgiving break, the previously No. 20-ranked squad will most certainly drop out of the polls. In the Las Vegas Invitational, a holiday tournament that couldn’t be described as “elite” in anyone’s wildest dreams, Illinois beat Presbyterian and Wofford at Assembly Hall, then lost to both Utah and Bradley on consecutive nights in Vegas. Double down Trent would not be proud.

Allow me to present a stunted summary of each game:

Presbyterian (94-48, W)

The Illini dismantled the Blue Hose with ease. Every member of the squad showed positive signs — there’s not a player on Illinois who can’t shoot from 16 feet — and showed the solid depth we can expect to see throughout the season. D.J. Richardson was the most notable Illini performer, scoring 15 points, including 4-for-6 from three. Cupcake city.

Wofford (78-64, W)

The best game Illinois played over turkey break. Wofford, whose name wouldn’t suggest a challenging ballgame, lost to Pittsburgh by three and beat Georgia. Yet the Illini took care of business in their fourth straight home game to open the season at 4-0. They wore Wofford down and used Demetri McCamey’s 21 points and more hot shooting from Richardson (5-for-6 from three). They played big-time defense in the second half as well, which led many to believe that maaaybe things were clicking earlier than Illini nation had thought...

Utah (60-58, L)

... Then again, maaaybe not. The loss against Utah featured a no-show from one of Illinois’ big two, Mike Davis, who scored two points on 1-for-6 shooting. Mike Tisdale and McCamey, on the other hand, did all they could to carry the Illini yet came up just short. In a game in which Brandon Paul, Richardson and Davis combined for a putrid 3-for-18 from the field and the next-highest scorer (Dominique Keller) came in with a whopping six points, these two juniors carried the load. Tisdale scored 18 points on 8-for-10 (!) shooting, and McCamey added a game-high 19 points and seven rebounds.

Laura Rauch, The Associated press
Utah’s Carlon Brown and Illinois’ D.J. Richardson dive for a loose ball as Utah’s Kim Tillie looks on during agame at the Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas on Friday. Despite trailing at the end of the first half, the Utes were able to come back with 44 points in the second half, winning the game 60-58.

Most frustrating part of this contest? The Utes trailed by 16 at the half but exploded for 44 points in the second and won the game on a full-court pass and a runner at the buzzer. Tragic end to a very winnable game. How bout let’s play defense next time.

Bradley (72-68, L)

Davis came back to life in this one, scoring a game-high 17 points and grabbing eight rebounds, but the well-balanced Braves attack was too much. All five Bradley starters scored 12 or more points, as the Illini guards deserved the brunt of the blame. McCamey, Paul and Richardson combined to go 8-for-27 from the floor en route to scoring 22 points. That ain’t gonna cut it.

Afterward, head coach Bruce Weber expressed his calm, yet understanding displeasure.

“We didn’t execute down the stretch,” Weber said. “We had some shots. To (Bradley’s) credit, they made some shots. We have a long way to go. We have to learn from it. We’re a young team.”

Laura Rauch, The Associated press
Bradley’s Milos Knezevic, right, drives around Illinois’ Dominique Keller during a game at the Las Vegas Invitational in Las Vegas on Saturday. The Braves beat the Illini 72-68.

Reason to be worried?

Sure, but let us not get carried away. Weber could’ve easily been talking about both losses, and as he alluded to, these things tend to happen to young, talented yet identity-less teams. The trick is limiting the damage before everything comes together (assuming it does).

On the flip side, two alarming numbers I came across were 39 and 39.7. These enormous figures represent the Illini’s field goal percentages in the Utah and Bradley games, respectively. In comparison, last year’s less-offensively proficient edition shot 46 percent on the season. If the team can’t crack the 40-percent plateau against the Utes and Braves, there could be trouble on the horizon.

I personally thought the Illini would glide through the Sin City with nothing but success. Did they underestimate their opposition? Are they not as good as originally believed? Are the freshmen going to struggle mightily when we need them not to? And, if so, will McCamey, Davis, and Tisdale all be able to play well and carry Illinois in these games?

All good questions, all possibilities. But the best question remains, as it was before the year began: Can this team mature, as a whole, quickly enough to truly be nationally relevant?

Six games into the season, and your guess is as good as mine.
Rich Mayor is a senior in Media. He can be reached at rmayor2@illinimedia.com.