CHICAGO _ With 35.5 seconds left in Wednesday's game, during a timeout, Illinois coach Brad Underwood chewed out an official, returned to his huddle only to re-emerge on the other side to scream a few more choice words toward the ref.
In the closing seconds, Underwood pointed at the official one more time and stomped his foot.
During the final minutes of the game, Underwood removed and put on his jacket a few times. It was that kind of game for the Illini, which is to say, frustrating.
Illinois squandered an eight-point lead and an opportunity to gain momentum with a 77-67 loss to No. 19 Ohio State on Wednesday night in front of a disappointingly small crowd at the United Center.
Underwood was particularly heated after a foul call on Trent Frazier, his fifth, with 1:09 remaining.
Frazier had left the game with 1:19 remaining after falling hard to the court and appearing to hit his tailbone. Teammates huddled around him and Underwood walked onto the court to check on him under the hoop. Frazier, who scored 18 points, struggled to walk off the court with help.
After a quick trip to the locker room, he checked in a few seconds later before fouling out as fans booed the officials.
Kipper Nichols played with newfound aggressiveness and effectiveness, scoring a season-high 18 points on 6 of 11 shooting.
The Illini held a 38-34 halftime lead and went up by as many as six points early in the second half. Then they went cold.
Illinois (2-7) shot only 27.3 percent in the second half to allow the Buckeyes to pull away. Keyshawn Woods led the way for Ohio State with 18 points off the bench.
Illini forward Giorgi Bezhanishvili fouled out with 8:20 remaining. Adonis DeLa Rosa picked up his third foul early in the second half. Frazier picked up his fourth foul with less than 10 minutes remaining and Damonte Williams was tagged with his fourth shortly after.
Freshman Ayo Dosunmu, the Morgan Park High School graduate playing in front of a hometown crowd, scored only five points on 1 of 9 shooting.
