Illinois' Kasparas Jakucionis gets brutally honest on his role in Michigan State disaster

02/16/2025 04:10 PM

Illinois basketball was firing on all cylinders for the first 11 minutes of Saturday’s showdown against No. 11 Michigan State, running out to a 16-point lead while sending the State Farm Center into a frenzy. But the Spartans clawed back and then took full control of the game down the stretch, with the Fighting Illini totally melting down over the last eight-plus minutes. Illinois somehow missed its last 19 shots of the game as a 65-64 lead turned into a 79-65 defeat, allowing Tom Izzo to break Bob Knight’s record for most Big Ten wins.

It was a truly ghastly performance for the home team, with the Fighting Illinois winding up at 38.3% shooting overall and a woeful 7-of-33 from 3-point range. Illinois basketball star Kasparas Jakucionis, a potential top-five pick in the draft, took the blame for the collapse.

“Starting with me, I took some very bad shots without touching the paint without creating for others. I think that led us to the loss,” Jakucionis said, per Jeremy Werner of Illini Inquirer. The guard also admitted that he “didn’t initiate the offense good tonight and I have to be better at it,” according to Illini Inquirer’s Joey Wagner.

Jakucionis scored 17 points but shot just 5-of-15 from the field and 2-of-9 from 3-point land. He accounted for six of Illinois basketball’s 19 straight misses over the last 8:29 of the game, with four misses from beyond the arc. It was a disappointing finish after the future lottery pick put forth consecutive 24-point performances to break a recent slump.

3-point shooting has been a big problem for the Fighting Illini in Big Ten play, and it came back to bite them again in this game. Illinois basketball is last in the Big Ten in 3-point percentage during conference play at 28.8%, but they’re also first in attempts at 29.3 per game. There’s a reason head coach Brad Underwood was so upset with all the 3-point attempts after this game.

Things won’t get any easier for Jakucionis and Illinois basketball moving forward. This upcoming week features a road tilt at Wisconsin and then a showdown with Cooper Flagg and Duke at Madison Square Garden.

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