Illinois, the No. 3 team in the country, already has a tally in the loss column after a trip to see No. 16 Texas Tech. The Illini, who were down 49-29 at halftime, looked nothing like a national title contender – or even an NCAA Tournament team – for one half.

Then they flipped a switch and reminded everyone what they’re capable of – but just a little too late. Here are three overreactions and explanations why they’re overreactions (though each is worth monitoring):

3 major concerns after Illinois basketball’s loss to Texas Tech

Defensive rebounding is a problem

Texas Tech posted an offensive rebounding rate of 46.2 percent on Tuesday night (18 offensive rebounds on 39 missed field goals). That number would have led the nation last season. And, mind you, this was a Red Raiders squad that had one player taller than 6-foot-6 play more than 15 minutes (that would be 6-foot-8 Jamichael Stillwell). 

Illinois is one of the tallest teams in the country. Sure, the Illini are down David Mirkovic. But that didn’t stop them from leading the nation in rebounding margin entering Tuesday night. All of that glass-cleaning ability vanished in Lubbock.

Why it’s an overreaction

It’s not – to an extent. Illinois has been a mess on the defensive glass against the high-major teams it has seen this season (dating back to two exhibition games against Baylor and Cincinnati). There is a clear pattern.

The Ivisic twins need to be much better on the defensive glass, as does Andrej Stojakovic. The Illini guards, to their credit, have been pretty strong. Offensive rebounding is about seeing the ball and chasing. Defensive rebounding is different. It’s about hitting a body and then pursuing. 

Mirkovic’s return will help in a massive way. But at the end of the day, it circles back to the Ivisic twins – who can't wait for Mirkovic's return or rely on him to clean up everything on the boards.

Illinois can't rely so heavily on freshmen

The lights were too bright for Ethan Brown, Zavier Zens and Lucas Morillo – and that’s OK. They’re freshmen. Playing in Lubbock is no easy task. And the exhibition trip to Cincinnati didn’t do much to prepare them for that environment.

Still, there is an overarching concern: veteran guards win in March. Illinois’ starting backcourt – even though it’s mature beyond its years – consists of two first-year college players. And (for now) fellow freshman Lincoln Williams, a hybrid guard/wing, makes it three.

Illinois' freshmen are of super quality, but they are still ... freshmen. If the Illini are forced to trust so many of them playing key, ball-dominant rotation roles. there will be stumbles along the way.

Why it’s an overreaction

For one, Mirkovic will be back at some point. That gives Illinois an experienced, uber-talented trio in Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic and Mirkovic. Secondly, most nights, Quentin Coleman is going to be able to overcome any freshman foibles with skill and pure effort. Anything he takes off the table due to his youth is replenished tenfold thanks to his work on defense and the glass.

And if Jake Davis returns this season – which admittedly is unknown – and Zvonimir Ivisic can return to some level of normalcy, then the Illini would have seven players, including transfer Stefan Vaaks, who can be trusted under any circumstances.

At that point, especially with Mirkovic surely serving as the primary “action guy," Illinois wouldn’t be relying fairly heavily on freshmen – save for Coleman, who can shoulder that load.

The Illini have a slow-start problem

Sure, Baylor was an exhibition – but it didn’t feel like one. And the similarities between the Texas Tech game and Baylor exhibition are too obvious to ignore. 

The Illini were down 19 at half vs. Baylor. They had allowed 63 points. Then they clamped down, surrendered just 32 second-half points and nearly came back. They gave up 22 offensive rebounds in that one.

At Texas Tech, it was more of the same. Illinois found itself down as much as 22 points and ultimately 20 at halftime. The difference in the second half: defense – namely limiting mental mistakes and maximizing effort. The Illini, for the most part, played much harder and with apparent attention to detail. That also wasn’t enough.

So what is behind Illinois’ penchant – if we can call it that after witnessing it in one exhibition and one official game – for slow starts against high-level teams? Who knows? It could be a sense of complacency. It could be random.

But it’s up to coach Brad Underwood to figure it out. Those fires he’s known for lighting under his players may need to come before the halftime break (especially when the Illini travel to Duke next week).

Why it’s an overreaction

Illinois was just lackadaisical in the first half against Baylor. It seemed uninvested. Texas Tech, meanwhile, put together a few runs, quickly built a lead and had an entire arena rocking. 

The Illini are young and, as previously mentioned, were clearly affected by that momentum. They may have just needed a half to live that experience before figuring it out. 

Then again, if we see this same scenario play out next week at Duke, we’ll know there is real cause for concern. Until then, we’ll chalk it up to the first road test of the season and inexperience across Illinois’ roster.