Graduating center Legend Stone Jr. was benched due to early foul trouble concerns.
He tried his hardest to recover, but he could not deny that he and Khalil were rendered completely ineffective in this game by the Huskies front.
UConn doesn't have a front line that could send shivers down the two of them nor beat them individually, but their platoon of players and dreaded pack line defense are forcing them away to uncomfortable areas of the floor and frustrating them repeatedly by denying them entry opportunities. They epitomized the mantra, 'If you can't beat them, just make their job even harder.'
On the other end, they repeatedly attacked the two big men every chance they could, forcing them into making tough defensive decisions, leading Legend into committing his 4th foul early in the second half.
He watched from the sidelines as his replacement, sophomore Tarik Diallo, got pushed out of the paint on offense, and bullied away from it on defense. It was an extremely nasty time to be a center.
Legend saw Khalil trying to attack from the outside, but nine times out of ten, he was unable to get past the more agile defenders' speedy transitions.
Jaylen had never gotten into his game, as his misses quickly piled up like a mountain of bricks as the entire Illini offense searched for whatever breakthrough they could find in offense. It was obvious from his body language that he was appalled by his own ineptitude.
Coach Michael Roughan shuffled his players like crazy within the next few minutes, and shifted his offense into a more outside shooting reliant force. However, this proved to be an awful change, since their shots weren't falling anyway.
The backups were bullied on both ends of the court, and the team was slowly heading towards a full blown collapse.
"What we're witnessing today from the Illini was nowhere near what we saw from their opener, isn't it?"
"Yeah. Whatever they're doing, whatever changes they make, sounds like desperation to me at this point."
"They're probably really lucky that the Huskies are also wasting a lot of their shot attempts, so their lead has not doubled their score yet."
"If they are to have any hope to turn this around, they better start making those shots!"
The commentators believed that this game was over, and rightfully so. Even if there's a little more than 15 minutes left in the game, the difference between these two teams ran deeper than what could be seen in the scoreboard.
On the other hand, 37 points is an insurmountable lead anyway.
However, seeing first hand at how both the teams were playing at this moment, even the most casual of fans could see that this Illinois team was battered, bruised, and thoroughly beaten already.
They had lost motivation, and were pretty much desperately trying to make anything work, hanging on by a sliver of hope that at some point, their shots will start falling.
77-40.
***
Tremaine switched off the live telecast he's watching, because he knows it's done. There was no coming back from this.
Not to sound defeatist, but if for some reason they manage to claw back, it would still pleasantly surprise him since their team had no reason to win this game. Otherwise, the result was dusted quite a while ago.
His eyes were an emotionless mask, unfazed at what dilemma his team is currently facing.
The only thing on his head right now, is what he could do if he was thrust into an unsalvageable, hopeless situation like this Connecticut game.
Tremaine thought about it for a few seconds, before being sure that he would do one thing only.
Take the game over.
No matter what it takes.
Well, in another perspective, if he's a part of the struggling team before this, there's a slim chance to none in succeeding.
But if he's the last man on the bench, the last person that could pull this game back from the jaws of utter humiliation and defeat, he'd relish the challenge.
His mind wandered back to that time he watched the replay of Jayson Tatum taking over a game and scoring 60 after his Boston Celtics went down by as high as 32, and by 31 points in the 3rd quarter against the San Antonio Spurs. His magical turnaround needed overtime to be completed, but it did happen against all odds.
Tremaine wasn't even a concept or a thought during this point of time.
But when he first watched it on NBA replays as a snotty brat, he was thrilled beyond belief. He wanted to be a basketball player that could deliver when his team needed the most.
60 points.
Jayson Tatum took matters into his own hands when nothing was falling. He inspired a comeback for the ages with sheer skill, hard work, and supreme self-belief.
That's what Tremaine Mills would do without hesitation, or at least what he would attempt to do.
But for now, he should stop thinking about that game again, and selfishly focus on improving his own abilities. He instead immediately began visualizing what he wanted to do.
'What do I want to do?'
Tremaine closed his eyes, and gritted his teeth at the nagging feeling of desperation at the pit of his stomach.
"I want to be there too!" Tremaine screamed at the top of his lungs without any reservations. He then threw the ball upwards with one hand.
Who would have thought that Tremaine Mills would itch action and miss playing in a real basketball game.
If this was him just a few months ago, he had already taken it for granted. There's always more games to be played.
But now, after months of just practicing, and intrasquad scrimmages, he wanted to play a game that mattered. His envy was already through the roof.
"I have to steal someone's spot through my efforts, fair and square, as soon as I possibly can."
He won't hold back anymore.
***
As the Connecticut guard dribbled down the last few seconds of the game, Khalil Ogwuzeni sat on the bench with a towel over his head.
Beside him, was his captain, Legend Stone Jr. Who was booted out of the game after fouling out with four minutes remaining in the game.
These two cut a sorry figure for the small contingent of traveling Illinois fans, and alumni.
Jaylen Mitchell was nowhere to be found. However, some of the keen-eyed fans caught him running down the tunnel into the locker room.
Illinois was, in every sense of the word, destroyed.
The final whistle thundered across the stadium, amidst the standing ovation the home fans gave to their team that had outdone themselves all night.
Both sides exchanged pleasantries and well wishes at the center of the field before the away side retreated to their locker room, with their heads hanging low.
Losing 106-67 is nowhere near the worst case scenario the Illini have envisioned.
***
Extras:
"I want to be there too!" DJ Johnson heard a shout right before he entered the practice facility.
It was a voice he had grown accustomed to hearing within the last few months.
He was not at all taken aback by what he'd heard from the man. All of them that had failed to reach the regular rotation felt the same aching sensation.
Itching that one day, they hoped would be scratched.
DJ didn't realize the smile forming on his mouth, as he let go of the door and turned away from the facility.
He might just watch game tape with Kristian the entire night instead.
"Damn, I want to be there playing too."