It was a tale of two halves for Illinois in its

exhibition loss to Baylor . Unfortunately for the Illini, their first 20 minutes were so painfully bad that their final 20 minutes – the vast majority of which were mighty impressive – weren’t enough to save the day.

Here is what went wrong – and right – on Friday night for Illinois:

What went wrong for Illinois basketball in loss to Baylor

Apr 2, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois head coach Brad Underwood during a press conference ahead of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

First half defense

Baylor’s guard trio of Brett Decker Jr., Kayden Mingo and Isaac Williams IV outscored Illinois’ entire team by itself in the first half (46 combined points against the Illini’s 44). They hit 10 threes but also managed seven made two-pointers.

Illinois’ defense took away nothing . Admittedly, the Bears’ guards were hitting.…