No. 3 Illinois fall just short of miraculous second-half comeback; lose to No. 16 Texas Tech

LUBBOCK, Tx. — What did Illinois head coach Brad Underwood inject his guys with at halftime?

Last season, the Illini thrived in front of hostile crowds. But on Tuesday night against the Red Raiders, in Illinois’ first road game of the season, they crumbled……at first.

Then they completely flipped the script and silenced the crowd, erasing a 20-point deficit like it was nothing.

Facing off against the No. 16 Texas Tech Red Raiders and one of the loudest crowds Brad Underwood has heard in a long time, No. 3 Illinois climbed themselves out of massive hole after a disastrous first half and fell just short of a spectacular second-half comeback Tuesday night in Lubbock, falling to Texas Tech 84-78.

All the stars aligned in the second half for the Illini, there was just one problem that stopped them from cementing it as a historic night: free throws. Illinois shot 8-for-19 from the line on the night.

“I don’t know in my lifetime if I’ve ever had a team go 8-for-20 from the free-throw line,” Underwood said. “We were third in the country last year.”

On the first play of the game, Illinois big man Tomislav Ivisic got posterized. That summed up the rest of the first half, and the game seemed over before the second half even started. 11 first-half turnovers, out-rebounded, 4-16 from 3-point range. Down 49-29 at half. Texas Tech’s defensive intensity was swallowing Illinois whole.

On defense, it wasn’t much better. Illinois couldn’t stop Hofstra transfer Cruz Davis and former Illini Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn, who both capitalized on steals and tallied 13 first-half points while shooting over 50% from the field. It seemed like the Red Raiders were draining every 3-point opportunity they had.

But Underwood must’ve injected his guys with something in the halftime break, because out of the tunnel, the Illini immediately flipped the switch on both sides of the ball and sucked the life out of the Red Raiders crowd to cut the 20-point deficit to just four points halfway through the second half. Less turnovers, more rebounds, grittier defense, calmer offense. All four factors combined to help Illinois almost rescue themselves.

“There’s a reason we play these games,” Underwood said. “We learned a lot about ourselves.”

Illinois cut the lead to just one point with five minutes to go, but the Red Raiders got crucial buckets to keep them ahead exactly when they needed it most and continued to fight for offensive rebounds, ultimately winning the rebound battle 43-32. Forward JaMicheal Stillwell single-handedly snagged six offensive rebounds and 11 total.

“We’ve gotta make winning plays,” Underwood said. “Part of making winning plays is rebounding the basketball and we weren’t very good at that tonight.”

The once one-point lead stretched back to eight with two minutes to go, and Illinois needed one last surge to keep them alive and make this night a magical one to remember. They couldn’t find the magic. Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks couldn’t get it going neither from range nor from the free throw line, an uncharacteristic night for the lights-out shooter.

Tomislav Ivisic had a surprisingly efficient night on offense throughout the entirety of the game, but Quentin Coleman and Andrej Stojakovic were the ones who took the ropes and led the second-half surge. The two combined for 28 second-half points.

Stat Stuffers

Illinois:

• Andrej Stojakovic: 18 points, three rebounds, three assists
• Quentin Coleman: 19 points, five rebounds, four assists, two steals
• Tomislav Ivisic: 14 points, six rebounds, three assists
• Stefan Vaaks: 10 points, 2-of-10 3FG, 2-of-6 FT

Texas Tech:

• Cruz Davis: 20 points, three rebounds, five assists
• JaMichael Stillwell: 11 points, 13 rebounds
• Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn: 15 points, 2 rebounds, three assists
• Donovan Atwell: 13 points, 3-of-8 3FG

Up Next

Illinois will face off against Sam Houston State back home at State Farm Center in Champaign Friday, Nov. 13 at 6:00 p.m before it prepares for another marquee matchup on the road against the No. 2 Duke Blue Devils Nov. 17.