CHICAGO — Tuesday night was poised to become a battle of moments. For the longest time, it looked like whoever had the biggest would take home an elusive ranked nonconference win on an exhilarating night at the United Center. All night, No. 8 Illinois’ Andrej Stojakovic was determined to lift the Illini to a win despite an ugly second half.
But No. 11 Alabama responded.
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Every. Single. Time.
Early in the first half, Stojakovic would hit an impressive three from NBA range. Next possession, Alabama would see Stojakovic’s three and raise an emphatic layup and a three combo. Moments later, Stojakovic would repeat, Alabama, once again, upped the ante. Another crowd-hushing response.
In the final moments of the first half, Illinois forward Ben Humrichous would shove a shell-shocking three to extend the lead going into the half, 42-39. With 16 seconds remaining, you guessed it, Alabama hit a three to cut the lead to one going into the locker room, 42-41.
Despite Illinois’ persistence in igniting a United Center painted in orange and blue, and Alabama’s abysmal shooting in the first half, Alabama stuck it to them when it mattered the most.
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The smallest details made the biggest difference in Chicago. In the late stages of the second half, those mistakes reared their ugly heads as Illinois slowly clawed its way back from what was at Illinois’ lowest, a nine-point deficit. By the time Alabama ran out of steam, it was too late.
“I think film will be the biggest thing in these moments, going back and watching the mistakes,” Illinois guard Kylan Boswell guard. “We’re going to be in these big games consistently throughout the year.”
They’re free for a reason
As Illinois clung to an early lead in the first half, Stojakovic was the architect of an epic poster dunk that extended Illinois’ lead; of course, Alabama responded accordingly. On this particular occasion, Alabama’s Labaron Philon simply pummeled Illinois by making its two free throws.
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Something Illinois failed to do consistently.
“They shoot a three, he does a blackout, then he hits a three. It was the little things like that that get guys going,” Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said. “Give him all the credit in the world. He’s a really good player.”
Stojakovic’s big moments, David Mirkovic’s flashes, and Alabama’s poor shooting early led to a 42-41 Illinois lead at halftime. Still, Alabama got in foul trouble strikingly early. All signs were pointing in the direction of several free-throw opportunities to come as the game unfolded.
Indeed, those opportunities came.
But Illinois shot 13-for-22 on free throws, including 9-for-17 in the second half.
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“When you play a top-ten team, you sure as hell can’t go 9-for-17 from the free throw line,” Underwood said. “They played better than what we did. A lot to learn for us in that moment.”
As time dwindled, Illinois had managed to make an improbable comeback, cutting Alabama’s lead to three with eight seconds left, 88-85. Boswell was fouled with a chance to cut the lead to one and give Illinois a real chance to come back.
In one of the biggest spots, Boswell came up short, going 1-for-2. Alabama then closed out the game by making both of its free throws (again).
But if Illinois hadn’t missed as many as they did throughout the course of the game, it would have never come down to that shot.
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More turbulence in Chicago
For as many big moments as Stojakovic had, he might have committed as many crucial mistakes. He ended the night the game’s leading scorer with 26 points, but he also ended the night as the leader in turnovers, with five.
“Keep on taking good shots, defensive rebounding, and taking care of the ball; those are things we have to be consistent at to win these games,” Stojakovic said. “We’ve got to take care of them.”
Mistakes kept piling on. It didn’t help that Illinois came out of the first half in disarray, the shots they took simply weren’t falling, and a crooked turnover margin lent Alabama the chance to separate itself on the scoreboard.
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Illinois also committed lane violations that translated into points for Alabama. It was those small mistakes that ultimately led to the result on Wednesday night.
Underwood also lamented not forcing Boswell downhill and not having him assert his dominance downhill earlier in the game.
The Crimson Tide’s coach, Nate Oats, unprompted, said he expects Illinois to be an NCAA championship contender. Sure, there’s sometimes a stark difference between
“I think they got the pieces,” Oats said. “Shoot, if they made their free throws, they would’ve probably won the game.”
“I hope to see them in the final four,” Underwood later quipped.
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In order to get there, they will first have to prove themselves worthy in the rest of a tough non-conference schedule. Illinois will head back home for two more manageable games. The next time the program will have another crack at a big shark will be at Madison Square Garden against UConn on Black Friday.
