The loss is not important. Missing out on Big Ten history is not important. Those weren’t season long goals.

Big Ten title.

Big Ten Tournament title.

National title.

Those were the goals.

Now Illinois may not obtain them because the Smilin’ Illini have lost their smile. Their swagger.

That is important.

Illinois won 29 straight games because of its swagger. There was no panic in the Illini.

They were in control at all times. They knew they would win. The Illini wanted the game more than opponents did. They refused to lose.

Sunday, the Illini refused to hit the big shot.

“We played afraid,” said Illinois senior center Nick Smith. “That is what was disappointing, not that we lost.”

Afraid of what? Perfection.

The Illini lost their aggression. It was not present in the final 10 minutes.

A win or a lose wouldn’t change that.

Looking at the stat sheet, one wonders what went wrong.

The Illini out rebounded the Buckeyes. They had 16 more second-chance points and turned the paint into a deadlock.

Sounds like an Illinois win against a big, physical team.

But Ohio State closed the game on a 23-11 run.

What?

The Illini were timid in the final minutes. Ohio State wasn’t.

Illinois does not match up well with a team like Ohio State. Big physical guards that can defend. And physical big man to control the post.

Notice the word physical.

Ohio State wasn’t supposed to have the talent to pull off the upset, but the Buckeyes won anyway.

Someone like Pittsburgh in the second or third round of the NCAA Tournament can play the same way.

Maybe with the same result.

“We’ve had (these weaknesses) all the time,” said Illinois senior forward Jack Ingram. “They weren’t going to change if (Ohio State junior forward Matt Sylvester) made that shot.”

This isn’t a newsflash. It’s been known all year that physical teams may give Illinois a problem – if any team can.

New problems have emerged in the last week. Poor dribble containment. Rotating too slow out of traps. And for the first time all year, turnovers at the wrong time.

But these new problems can be fixed at practice.

“The world isn’t going to end,” said Illinois head coach Bruce Weber.

Not in early March anyway.

The new problems can be fixed and Illinois can still lose.

They aren’t invincible. They haven’t been all year.

With their swagger – they are almost impossible to beat.

I’m not sure Weber can run a five minute drill in practice to bring the team’s strut back.

The players will have to find their refuse-to-lose attitude on their own.

This is a dangerous time to have to re-affirm a team’s beliefs.

Illinois can lose in the Big Ten Tournament and still live to see another game. And still be a No. 1 seed.

But after that, it is one and done. A team without confidence or its identity – one and the same for Illinois – will not win six games for a championship.

Or four for a Final Four berth.

“We have one loss on the season,” said Illinois junior guard Deron Williams. “Why should we panic?”

That’s a starting point. The swagger may still be in the Illini somewhere.