Just when I think I couldn’t get any more disappointed in the Illinois basketball program, they show up to Madison Square Garden and get shellacked.

My hope was that the Illini would come out and play some tough defense. Duke had a better offense, but Illinois could come out and get nasty and physical against the better team.

That didn’t happen at all, though. Illinois looked like hot garbage, and Duke showed us why they are a top-five team in the country.

The Blue Devils had no mercy on the Illini either. They scored at a high clip, and even their second and third rotations were hitting shots. A 17-point halftime lead for Duke ended up turning into a 110-67 beatdown by the Blue Devils.

Here are five painful observations from the Illinois basketball loss to the Duke Blue Devils

1. Defense has disappeared for the Illini

So much can go wrong on the offensive end of the court, but one thing you have control over is playing defense. Teams can be gritty and make games respectable by the way they play defense.

For Illinois, defense seems to be a thing of the past. This program isn’t playing defense right now, and the ugly display was in front of a national audience against the No. 3 team in the country.

I know Duke has a ton of talent, and Illinois has been injured and ill lately. That doesn’t stray away from the fact that the Blue Devils put up triple-digits against the Orange and Blue.

Defensively, Illinois had zero answers for Duke. We couldn’t guard on the perimeter, as the Blue Devils hit over 50%. Duke took us inside and we didn’t have any way to stop them there either.

Tomislav Ivisic doesn’t seem to be 100%, and he was bullied around the paint all game long. Kylan Boswell had some early moments defensively, but he disappeared quickly. Ben Humrichous can’t play defense. Tre White and Kasparas Jakucionis both had a hard time keeping up as well.

Illinois has had plenty of bad offenses in the past, but what we are watching right now might be the worst defensive program I have ever seen come through Champaign.