After falling 66-64 at home in a heartbreaker against then-No. 1 Tennessee on Dec. 14, Illinois strung together five straight wins in late December and early January.

Since then, No. 23 Illinois (15-8, 7-6 Big Ten) is just 3-5, with its latest misstep coming Wednesday in an 82-73 loss at Rutgers (12-11, 5-7 Big Ten). The Scarlet Knights’ win was their first over a ranked team this season.

With the Illini falling off from nearly toppling No. 1s to helping opponents achieve their season highlights, it’s time to look at the key numbers that help define the latest letdown:

It’s fair to say that Illinois, unable to surpass the 10-point mark until 8:33 of time had ticked off Wednesday’s game clock, struggled to put the ball through the basket against Rutgers – especially in the first half. That’s 513 seconds – a lifetime for an Illini club that is one of the fastest-paced teams in college basketball and that once had designs on outscoring the 1989 Flying Illini squad.

But by the time the second half rolled around, coach Brad Underwood decided to put the ball into the increasingly trusty hands of freshman forward Will Riley – and he delivered. Riley almost single-handedly brought the Illini back into the game, pushing them to a three-point lead in the second half after the Scarlet Knights had led by as much as 17 before the break. But he didn’t do it alone, as Ben Humrichous finally got back into the swing of things with a 14-point, five-rebound performance to supplement Riley’s 18 points and six assists. The pair came off the bench to lead Illinois in scoring, as just one starter scored in double digits (Morez Johnson Jr., with 11).

Although Ace Bailey certainly made his presence felt with 18 points and 11 rebounds, it was the return of Dylan Harper – Rutgers uniform No. 2 – from a high ankle sprain that turned out to be the headline Wednesday. Shaking off absolutely no rust at all, Harper poured in 28 points, snagged six boards and delivered five dimes while tacking on four steals on the defensive end.

Harper, a projected lottery pick, put together his impressive stat line in quite the efficient manner, going 7-for-15 from the field, 3-for-5 from three-point range and 11-for-12 from the free-throw line. Illini guard Kylan Boswell did what he could to slow down Harper, one of the nation’s top freshman, but Harper’s shooting ability, change of pace and craftiness got the best of anyone and everyone in orange and blue.

It shouldn’t come as a surprise that the Scarlet Knights, led by Harper and Bailey, love to get out in transition. Still, there’s no excuse for Illinois giving up 24 fastbreak points to Rutgers. Most of those buckets came off turnovers (18 points), while others can be chalked up to pure laziness or basic miscommunications. The Illini have one of the top halfcourt defenses in college basketball, and the Scarlet Knights’ offense had previously been inconsistent in halfcourt sets. Illinois allowed a series of freebies in the open court to give Rutgers hope and a lead, and couldn’t fully recover from it.

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