Michigan basketball blown out again, this time by No. 14 Illinois

Amid a dreary season of lows, the beatings and bleak streaks go on for the Wolverines.

A seventh straight setback away from home. A stretch of seven losses all coming by double digits. An eight-game losing skid against the Fighting Illini.

Michigan hit all those dismal marks in Tuesday’s 97-68 shellacking by No. 14 Illinois where a 22-2 run over the first and second halves turned a close game into a blowout at the State Farm Center.

But that’s not all. The defeat — Michigan’s 12th loss in 14 games — also ensured the last-place Wolverines (8-17, 3-11 Big Ten) will finish conference play with a losing record for the first time since the 2014-15 season.

“Offensively, I don’t think that was the biggest problem for us. It was defensively,” Michigan coach Juwan Howard told reporters. “We allowed too many open looks for some of their shooters in the first half.”

After a nightmarish finish to the first half put Michigan in an 18-point hole at halftime, Illinois wasted little time delivering the knockout blow.

The Fighting Illini (18-6, 9-4) struck first with a 3-pointer from Coleman Hawkins. Terrence Shannon Jr. followed with a three-point play. The margin swelled to 53-29 a minute into the second half.

Michigan didn’t have the offensive firepower, or the defensive might to fight back. After a three-point play from Reed cut the deficit to 21 with 18:40 to play, that’s as close as Michigan could get.

“Whenever you allow the other team to catch fire like that, get in a rhythm, it's really hard, especially when we were already down and we were already fighting to get out of that hole. It makes it really tough to gain control and push through those runs,” said grad transfer forward Olivier Nkamhoua, who finished with 13 points.

“But it’s coverages, it's defensive assignments and it's us being on the same page. It's something that's fixable…but it's something that we need to figure out as a team how to stay defensively more consistent.”

BOX SCORE: Illinois 97, Michigan 68

The Wolverines struggled to knock down jump shots — they finished 1-for-10 from 3-point range — and had absolutely no answer on the defensive end for Hawkins and Shannon, as the Fighting Illini essentially did whatever they wanted.

For the second time in as many games, Michigan trailed by 30 as two free throws from Shannon put Illinois up, 67-37, five minutes into the second half. After a three-point play from redshirt sophomore forward Will Tschetter cut it to 25, the Fighting Illini keep their foot on the gas.

Shannon and Hawkins both scored at the rim during an 11-2 spurt that put the game well out of reach, 82-48, with 7:42 to go. Even after Illinois began pulling its starters with over nine minutes remaining, Michigan trailed by as much as 37 points as it limped to the finish line.

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Senior forward Terrance Williams II had 17 points and sophomore center Tarris Reed Jr. added 13 points and seven rebounds for Michigan, which fell to 0-8 against Illinois during Howard’s tenure.

Shannon finished with 31 points and Hawkins added 17 to lead four double-digit scorers for Illinois. The Illini shot 56.3% from the field, finished 12-for-25 from 3-point range and scored 22 points in transition.

In the first meeting between the teams this season — an 88-73 Illinois win on Jan. 18 in Ann Arbor — the Wolverines had all their usual starters while the Illini were without Shannon.

In Tuesday’s rematch, Michigan was without starting point guard Dug McDaniel, who missed his fifth consecutive road game as he serves an academic suspension, and two reserves while Illinois had Shannon in the lineup and was at full strength.

That spelled disaster for the Wolverines, who made a concerted effort to pound it in the post, scored their first nine baskets in the paint and hung tough until Shannon took over late in the first half.

Illinois gained some separation by using an 8-0 burst to double up Michigan, 22-11, with 10:53 left in the first half. During the spurt, Shannon split two defenders and finished at the rim in transition. A defensive breakdown led to an uncontested layup at the rim. An errant pass out of bounds by grad transfer forward Tray Jackson was followed by a shot clock-beating bucket by Dain Dainja.

Michigan responded with a string of dunks to chip away. After Jackson stuffed the Illini’s run by putting Hawkins on a poster with a one-handed jam in transition, freshman guard George Washington III found Tschetter for a fast-break dunk.

Sixth-year guard Jaelin Llewellyn connected with Reed for an alley-oop dunk. Nkamhoua got in on the dunk party with a baseline drive and jam during a string of six unanswered points.

When Nkamhoua hit Michigan’s first jumper of the game, the Wolverines pulled within 28-25 at the 4:48 mark. But just when it seemed the Wolverines were doing enough to stay close, it turned into a rout in a hurry.

Shannon caught fire and fueled a 16-2 onslaught by Illinois to close the half. He buried three 3-pointers, scored at the rim, blocked a shot and dished an assist for an open 3-pointer. Before Michigan knew it, a one-possession game turned into a 47-29 deficit at the break.

“We've been struggling all year. But the beauty of college basketball will and always is and has been the fact that your last game isn't your last game until you lose your last game,” Nkamhoua said. “The only way it's over with for us is if we just quit, put our head down and stop trying. Of course, it's hard to see light at the end of the tunnel, it's hard to see how we can turn things around.

“At the end of the day, however the conference play finishes out, we'll have the Big Ten tournament, which everybody has opportunity to participate in. … Until we lose our tournament game, we still have games to play, still have things to do, still have time to turn a corner and finish on a better note than what we've been going on.”

jhawkins@detroitnews.com

@jamesbhawkins