John Groce was beat out by his former mentor Thad Matta on Saturday when Illinois basketball fell to Ohio State 48-39 at State Farm Center. But the two coaches exchanged a few words after the game, and Matta had some advice for his former top assistant.

“I told him to stay the course, nobody’s going to work harder than him,” Matta said after his Buckeyes won their fourth Big Ten contest in five attempts.

Even though he’s never won less than 20 games in a season as a head coach, Matta has experienced losing. As a freshman guard for Southern Illinois during the 1985-86 season, the Salukis won their opening game and then dropped eight straight on their way to an 8-20 season.

He knows what Groce is going through, as Illinois has now lost 10 of its last 11.

“You just keep doing what you’re doing. The hardest part is, unfortunately to say it, is you guys,” Matta told the media. “In terms of what’s beings said, it makes it hard on the kids. With social media, players read that stuff. You want your players’ ears and sometimes you’re not the person they’re listening to.”

There has been negativity surrounding this Illini squad for the better part of a month and a half, and maybe rightfully so, as they have slipped into sole possession of last place in the Big Ten.

During Monday’s Big Ten Teleconference, Groce said his staff is still teaching this squad’s five freshman what it takes to win. It’s apparent that they haven’t figured it out yet, but the veteran leadership on this team has been there.

Tracy Abrams, Nnanna Egwu and Joseph Bertrand were all here a year ago when the Illini fell five points shy of a Sweet 16 appearance.

If the hardest part is ignoring the media, as Matta said, then the second hardest part might be finding answers to the media’s questions.

“It’s just a matter of going out and listening to what coach was saying and executing,” Abrams said for the umpteenth time this year following Saturday’s loss.

“It starts with me, Tracy, Joe and (Jon) Ekey as leaders to lead these guys and show them a good example,” Egwu said. They’ve said that before, too.

Groce has not yet implemented the entire offense that made his Ohio teams so much fun to watch before he was hired at Illinois.

“You have to have depth to do that,” Groce said. “We’ve had to adapt based on our personnel for two years, and that’s our job: to adapt.”

With only 11 active players, it’s tough to run the up-tempo style that won Ohio three NCAA tournament games in three seasons. Those teams were spearheaded by great point guard play, something Groce has not seen with enough consistency this year.

“The point guard position to basketball is no different than quarterback in football,” he said. Abrams has been a vocal leader for Illinois all season, but the performance on the court has been up and down.

On Saturday, Abrams had 13 points for the Illini after back-to-back games of three and two points against Nebraska and Penn State, respectively. Backup Jaylon Tate was simply overwhelmed by the play of Buckeyes point man Aaron Craft.

One could pinpoint any position on the Illini roster and say it needs to perform better. That’s part of staying the course. Groce will likely follow Matta’s advice. But it gets harder with every loss. 

Sean can be reached at [email protected] and @sean_hammond.