Illinois went down early in the game and would have to fight back from an 11-point halftime deficit. But Illini showed a tremendous fight in the second half. A great run at the end of regulation will send the game to overtime.
However, one overtime was not enough, so Illinois and Purdue moved to overtime number two. In the second overtime, the Boilermakers got hot and would cruise to a 96–88 victory.
Here are four observations from the Illinois basketball defeat to Purdue.
1. Welcome back bellow
Illinois has been missing a true point guard for most of this season, but Andre Kerbello returned to the lineup on Monday.
Carbello hasn't played a game since late November, but he is friendly against Purdue. I thought Karabello was going to show some rust in the game, but that didn't happen at all. It looked like he didn't miss a single match this season.
Brad Underwood clearly believed that there would be no rust in Carbello either. He gave the magician 25 minutes on the court, and he provided 20 points, six rebounds and three assists. On paper, Carbello was amazing, but there are other intangible things he brings to the team.
In addition to the overall morale being high with Kerbello on the court, the flow of the game was also much better. Curbelo can check a defense to see what they want to do. He goes to the street to see who will fall and then decides on the basis of defense.
To be honest, Kerbello reminds me a lot of the quarterback on the football field pre-snap. A quarterback can barely count a snap to see who is going to blitz or send a man in motion to see if the defense is playing field or man coverage.
This is what Kurbello does with driving the ball into the lane. He sees defensive instincts and then pounces on their weakness. It's really fun to watch.