Illini Tale of the Tape: Purdue vs. Illinois, Part II (January 19, 2010)
By Editorial Staff
As promised, here is the Illini Tale of the Tape for the second half of the January 19th Illinois home game against Purdue.
For the first half, click here.
Anyways, Illinois was up 32-28 at halftime, though Purdue started to make a push late in the first 20 minutes.
Boilermaker Head Coach Matt Painter had an ace up his sleeve for his struggling Purdue team (losers of three straight in the Big Ten), starting freshman John Hart in the second half, along with JaJuan Johnson, Robbie Hummel, E’Twaun Moore and Kelsey Barlow.
Illinois will start the second half with its original starting lineup of Demetri McCamey, D.J. Richardson, Bill Cole and the Mikes – Davis and Tisdale.
#15 Purdue Boilermakers (14-3, 2-3) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (12-6, 4-1)
Announcers: Dave O’Brien and Steve Lavin.
● Demetri McCamey: Hits a tough pull-up jumper at 18:47 to put Illinois back up four points at 34-32. A difficult shot early in the possession, after Tisdale was caught with the ball way beyond the three-point line. Illinois doesn’t get back as Hart, who’s played just 33 minutes on the season, hits a three. McCamey with a beautiful crossover and dish to Davis at 18:28, but the Illini junior can’t handle the pass. Misses an open three at 17:40 after Tisdale boarded a missed Cole three. Draws a foul on an aggressive drive to the hoop at 16:46. McCamey is trying to single-handedly get the Illini back in the game. Like the urgency, but McCamey should not fall in love with going 1-on-5. Anyways, McCamey misses both free throws. Illinois is 5-for-12 from the free throw line. Bumped on the floor at 15:56, leading to the under-16.
Gets caught under a screen at 15:07, and is slow to recover on Keaton Grant, who takes a hop, skip and a jump into the lane for a banker that puts Purdue up 41-36. Was close to a travel there. Catches a break at 13:20 as he gets caught in the air off a dribble following the screen and roll. Really rushed that shot and is trying to do too much. McCamey hits both free throws to make it 45-38 Purdue. Gets fouled on an aggressive baseline drive at 12:50. McCamey is playing with urgency and needs some help. McCamey picks up Hummel’s third foul on the play and makes one of two free throws to cut the deficit to 45-39. Picks up a ticky tack foul on the ensuing defensive possession. Illinois with 3 fouls compared to 6 for Purdue in the second half.
Tough break for Illinois at 10:38, as the Illini have an active defensive possession before the unlikely Chris Kramer hits a three over McCamey, putting the Illini down 51-41.
Doing a better job of getting into the lane and getting his teammates involved from the under-16 to the under-12. He’s setting them up, but they’re not always finishing.
Beautiful dribble split and kick to Richardson at 8:36. Richardson hits the open three to cut the Purdue lead to six. Playing like a true distributor now, hitting Cole on the break at 8:16. Though Cole initially fumbles the ball, he will find Davis for a layup and a 55-51 Illinois deficit. McCamey with a beautiful hit ahead and great court vision on that play. He looks like a point guard now. Draws a foul at 7:25, leading to the under-8.
McCamey rattles in the first free throw and then hits the second out of the under-8. Illinois is down 57-53. Awful containment of Barlow on the next Illini possession, as the freshman easily gets into the lane and scores, plus a blocking foul on Cole. Barlow hits the free throw to put Purdue up 60-53 with 7:10 to go. McCamey follows up with a beautiful pass in the screen and roll game, hitting Davis for a layup and 60-55 game with 6:51 to go. Aggressive attack at 5:58, making a layup and drawing the foul. McCamey hits the free throw to make it 66-60 Purdue. McCamey picked up the fourth foul there on Barlow, who has been killing Illinois in this segment with his dribble penetration. Beautiful blow by and wrap around pass to Davis at 5:15. Davis is fouled on a dunk attempt, which is missed. McCamey yet again getting into the lane at will. When McCamey plays with this urgency and control, he looks unstoppable.
Down 71-63, Illinois’ first possession out of the under-4 is going nowhere when McCamey is forced to drive and blocked by Hummel. Illinois retains possession but can’t get up a shot following a Purdue timeout. Illinois tried to lob to Davis, but Hummel made a great play to deflect the pass and force the shot clock violation. Hummel is fired up after that stop.
After Hart misses both free throws with 47.5 seconds left, Illinois is still alive, down 77-72. An aggressive McCamey is fouled on the perimeter by Kramer, who didn’t move his feet there and committed a cardinal sin of stopping the clock with a foul that also sent the Illini to the foul line. McCamey hits one of two free throws to make it 77-73. Illinois is killing itself at the foul line, going 15-for-27 on the night. Illinois fouls Hummel after the missed free throw, and he hits them both to put Illinois down 79-73 with 35.3 seconds left.
Kramer then fouls McCamey again on the floor at 30.5 seconds left. What is he thinking there? Kramer is out of the game as Hart replaces him. McCamey makes both free throws to make it 79-75 (he is 13-for-19 from the line). After Moore is fouled and makes two free throws, McCamey hits a tough three to cut the game to 81-78 with 22 seconds left. McCamey with 28 points and Illinois is somehow in this game. Purdue will have to take a timeout at 18.3 seconds as Moore was trapped in the corner.
McCamey fouls Moore on the inbound, but the refs don’t call it. Eventually, Illinois fouls Hummel, who hits two free throws. McCamey then misses a tough three with 2.9 seconds left and Hummel is fouled on the rebound. Hummel splits the free throws and McCamey misses a half-court heave at the buzzer as Illinois loses 84-78.
Overall: Finishes with 28 points, 9 assists, 2 steals, 1 rebound and 3 turnovers in 38 minutes. Left six crucial points at the line, going 13-for-19. With the exception of the start of the second half (when he was forcing), McCamey got anywhere he wanted on the floor in the second half. Did a great job of penetrating and distributing, thus keeping Illinois in the game. However, his porous defense hurt Illinois at times. With that said, McCamey continued to show his improvement, and is hardly the problem with this team (that is, when we’re not talking defense).
● D.J. Richardson: Gets posted on the first possession of the second half, with Moore scoring a patient half hook in the lane to make it 32-30 Illinois. After not scoring in the first 16 minutes, Moore has picked it up, with six quick points. Purdue is rolling as Moore gets another post catch at 18:14 and then splits Richardson and another Illinois defender for an easy two and a 37-34 Illinois deficit. Nice drive and kick to Cole at 17:45, though Cole misses the three.
Nice hesitation move and dribble drive at 14:31 during the Illini transition after a missed Purdue three by Johnson, who hustles back on defense and gets a piece of Richardson’s shot. Lavin said it was a bad decision there; I disagree. Richardson made a nice move and the play looked like it was there, before Johnson came out of nowhere.
Back in at 9:47 for Jordan. Beautiful catch and release on a three at 8:36 (set up by McCamey in the half court) cuts the Illini deficit to six, at 55-49.
Barlow is killing Illinois with his penetration. At 6:07, he breaks down Richardson and kicks out to Hart, who buries a three to make it 66-57 Purdue. Terrible angle on an entry pass to Davis that is stolen at 5:30, resulting in a Purdue break and Moore dunk for a 68-60 Illinois deficit. Richardson with a poor defensive job there, failing to get out on the pass to Moore. Makes up for his previous mistakes at 5:03, when he applies good ball pressure on Moore, who travels. Follows up on the next possession by burying a difficult three-pointer from the top of the key. D.J. had a hand in his face and was fading to the side, but willed that three in to make it a 68-63 game (in favor of Purdue) at 4:42.
Terrible defense at 2:44, allowing Moore to get into the lane quite easily and score a left-handed layup. Illinois is now down 10, 73-63. Nice job of forcing a tie up at 1:27, with the possession arrow to Illinois and the Illini down 9. Richardson follows up and buries a deep three at 1:17, after securing a long rebound off a missed three from Cole. Weber takes another timeout.
Fouls Johnson after Purdue gets a long inbound down court. After Johnson hits two free throws, Richardson hits a tough three off the bounce from the top of the key to make it 77-72 Purdue with 1:01 to go. Illinois with no timeouts, though. Purdue easily gets the ball inbounds, and Cole will eventually foul Hart at 47.5.
Overall: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 31 minutes. Was quiet until late in the game, when he hit some big shots. With that said, all of his points came from behind the three-point line, which is common (and a bit concerting) with his game, and definitely something to work on for his sophomore season. When he’s not hitting threes, he can be nonexistent at times, typical for a freshman.
● Bill Cole: Turns the ball over on Illinois’ first possession, trying to hit a curling McCamey with a soft pass. Purdue gets the steal, and Hart scores a layup on the break to nod the game at 32. Purdue’s late first half surge is carrying over in the first minute of the second half. Short on an open three at 17:45. Nice energy play at 16:24, when Cole blocks Robbie Hummel on a quick cut off an inbounds play. The ball bounces off Hummel.
Back in at 14:08 for Richardson. After being a bit too aggressive in the passing lane, makes up ground and blocks a Hummel jumper at 13:03. Great hustle and energy there from Cole as the ball winds up in the hands of an Illini player. Misses an open corner three at 12:19 after a great over-the-shoulder pass from McCamey. That shot had no lift at all and was way too mechanical. Cole needs to step in and shoot.
Tough break at 8:57, crashing the defensive board but falling hard on the play. Purdue’s John Hart is fouled amidst the ensuing scramble for the loose ball. Hart hits both free throws to make it 55-46 Purdue with 8:57 to go. Hart with a career-high 9 points thus far.
Good hustle, coming down with an offensive rebound after a McCamey miss at 4:08. Cole immediately dishes to Davis, who finally misses a jumper after catching fire in the second half.
With Illinois down 75-63 with 2:18 left, Cole turns the ball over on a pass to McCamey. Purdue works the ensuing shot clock down before the ball is knocked out of bounds to Illinois with 1:45 to go. Cole hits a three with 1:29 left off of McCamey penetration. Illinois is down 75-66 as Weber takes a timeout.
Fouls out at 47.5 with Illinois down 77-72. Cole’s disqualification sends Hart to the line and the Purdue freshman misses both free throws.
Overall: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal and 4 turnovers in 25 minutes. Made some nice hustle plays in this game, and his blocks were a pleasant surprise, but 4 turnovers are unacceptable for Cole, who needs to be more of a stabilizer.
● Mike Davis: A step slow on a closeout in transition at 18:41, leading to a Hart three that puts Purdue up 35-34. Fumbles a beautiful pass from McCamey at 18:28. Was wide open there on the baseline and had a dunk ready to go. Poor concentration there. Falls for a Hart pump fake at 17:20, but catches a break when Hart’s ensuing jumper rims in and out.
Wakes up with a leaner at 15:39 to cut the Purdue lead to 39-36. Good catch and better patience there for Davis, who has recently been rushing his shot in the midst of a shooting slump. Excellent post defense on Johnson at 11:48, playing him physical and forcing a difficult shot. Unfortunately, Illinois does not box out on the weak side and Purdue comes up with the offensive board. Johnson is eventually fouled by Griffey, leading to the under-12.
Johnson hits both free throws out of the under-12, to put Illinois down 48-39. 14 and 10 for Johnson. Davis hits a tough step-back jumper at 11:13 to cut the Purdue lead to 48-41. Maybe that tough shot will get Davis’ stroke going. It looks like he is getting going after facing up and burying another jumper over Johnson on the next Illini possession, cutting the game to 51-43 with 10:21. That’s 10 points and 13 rebounds for Davis, who gets caught too high on Johnson on the ensuing defensive possession. Johnson catches an over-the-top entry pass and dunks the ball at 10:07 to put Purdue back up 10, 53-43. Davis is playing with great urgency (at least on offense) when he dives to the basket and is fouled on a push shot at 9:47. Davis clanks the first free throw before hitting the second as Illinois trails 53-44. Good job of beating the Purdue defender down the court at 8:14 as Davis benefits with an easy layup to cut the game to 55-51.
Beautiful roll to the basket at 6:51, hitting a tough layup after screening McCamey. Davis showed great ball control and adjustment at the rim, double-pumping to get the difficult banker off and in. Davis has come alive offensively. He keeps Illinois within striking distance on the next possession, taking Hummel off the dribble and hitting a floater in the lane to make it 63-57 Purdue with 6:22 to go. Fouled at 5:15 after missing a dunk attempt set up by the slicing and dicing McCamey. Bricks the first free throw and then misses the second to keep it at 68-60 Purdue with 5:03 to go.
Misses a quick baseline runner at 2:29, with Illinois down 10. Was rushed but Illinois needs to score quickly. Davis looked worn out there after playing the entire half. A tired Davis then fouls Johnson off the ball at 2:18. Purdue is in the double bonus, and Johnson hits both free throws to make it 75-63 in favor of the Boilermakers.
Overall: 17 points and 15 rebounds (along with 2 turnovers) in 38 minutes. Best game since the Big Ten opener against Northwestern. Seemed to find his shooting stroke in the second half after it had left him for 5 games. Along with McCamey, kept Illinois in the game in the second half. Played the whole second half, again compensating for Tisdale being in foul trouble. His first half was impressive and more of what Davis needs to be. Despite not scoring much in the first 20 minutes, he was active and all over the place, especially on the offensive glass, where he had 6 boards. Struggled at times defensively when guarding Johnson, but Weber could have probably given him a little rest in the second half, perhaps by going with a lineup of Keller and Griffey or Cole at the four.
● Mike Tisdale: Looks uncomfortable with the ball on the perimeter. Comes up with an offensive rebound of a missed Cole three at 17:45, but McCamey is unable to bury a three. Misses an open jumper just inside the top of the key at 17:09. Illinois is a bit rushed on offense. On the other hand, Purdue is not, moving the ball crisply, as evident by a JaJuan Johnson jumper at 16:51 that puts the Illini down 39-34. Tisdale was slow to close out there. Fouls Johnson in the lane at 16:26. Johnson looked like he traveled there, though Tisdale was a bit too soft on his defense. Too easy of an entry pass.
Picks up his fourth foul at 12:34, when Johnson posts him up and goes for a quick baseline half hook. To be quite honest, I didn’t see the foul on Tisdale there, who did a good job of sliding his feet and keeping his arms straight up. Needless to say, another game with Tisdale in foul trouble. He had two fouls at the start of the half. Johnson splits the free throws as Illinois is down 46-39.
Back in at 5:58 for Jordan. After a Richardson three cuts the game to five, Tisdale can’t do much out there at 4:24 as Johnson gets easy post position and flips in a difficult half hook in the lane. With four fouls, Tisdale could only put his hands up. Maybe Illinois would be better to bring someone in who can body Johnson at this point? Anyways, Illinois trails 70-63, and it won’t matter as Tisdale fouls out at 3:52, on a post pass to Johnson, who splits the free throws out of the under-4 to make it 71-63 Purdue.
Overall: 5 points, 5 rebounds and 5 fouls in 20 ineffective minutes. Tisdale has fouled out of 3 of the first 6 Big Ten games. He has a terrible tendency of piling up fouls quickly, mostly due to poor decision making. Yet another game where Tisdale’s inability on the floor extended Davis for too long. Too inconsistent from game to game, which is the story of the Illini as a whole this season.
● Jeff Jordan: Enters at 14:08 for Paul. Rims out an open baseline jumper at 13:49, with Cole committing an offensive foul on the rebound attempt. Hey, at least the Illini were aggressive for that board, with Cole, Davis and Tisdale all attacking the glass hard. Good box out by Hummel. Gets abused at 13:29 as Moore easily posts him up and scores on a little fade away in the lane. Purdue leads 45-36. Picks up a blocking foul at 12:15 as the refs are tightening up the whistles.
In for Griffey at 7:25. Gets burned by Barlow at 6:39, who gets to the lane again and completes an old-fashioned three-point play to give Purdue a 63-55 lead. That’s two straight possessions in which Barlow has scored and been fouled. Illinois’ inability to contain the drive is rearing its ugly head once again.
Sees some time late in the game as Illinois substitutes defense for offense.
Overall: 3 points, 1 rebound in 16 minutes. Struggled to contain the dribble at times – not as good of a defensive player as he was made out to be.
● Brandon Paul: First Illini off the bench in the second half, in for Cole out of the under-16 timeout. Comes out with a nice baseline drive and assist to Davis, who hits a leaner. Good job by Paul, who initially looked out of control but slowed down and made a nice bounce pass on the baseline. Nice stutter dribble and go at 15:01, drawing a foul on the hobbled Kramer. Follows up with another aggressive but a bit reckless drive, penetrating a bit fast and hitting the side of the rim on a right-handed layup attempt at 14:44. Sags too far off of Hummel at 14:20 and then gets buried on a screen, allowing Hummel to make a cut and bank in a shot for a 43-36 Purdue lead. Fell asleep for a second, and it cost them.
Overall: 5 points in 15 minutes, on just 2-for-8 shooting. Added 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal. Stats may not indicate it, but Paul was better than he had been in previous Big Ten games. One positive: only 2 three point attempts (his other 6 shots were on driving moves). One negative: out of control way too much.
● Dominique Keller: In for the first time in the second half out of the under 4, after Tisdale has fouled out again. It’s a bit curious that Keller hadn’t gotten in earlier this half as he gives Illinois a better chance of bench scoring than Jordan.
Subbed in and out of the game late, as Illinois went offense for defense.
Overall: 2 points and 1 turnover in 16 minutes. While his first half defense left some things to be desired, Keller may have been a better option in the second half than Tisdale with four fouls. Usually, once Tisdale has that many fouls, he is a nonfactor on offense. With that said, I would have liked to see Weber split those available minutes between Griffey and Keller, who poses more of an offensive threat and would have given Illinois a better scoring option than Jeff Jordan while trailing in the second half.
● Tyler Griffey: In for foul-plagued Tisdale at 12:19. Misses an open baseline jumper at 11:30. Another nice find from McCamey, but Illinois unable to hit. Luckily, Illinois regains the possession as the ball was knocked out of bounds by Purdue.
Great help defense at 9:27 as Griffey knocks the ball off Barlow, who had beaten Cole on a drive. Gets fouled at 9:12 as McCamey broke down the defense and dished to the freshman. Griffey hits both free throws to make it a 53-46 Purdue lead with 9:10 to go. Finds himself on Hart at 7:49, and the unlikely Purdue hero crosses him over and hits a tough jumper to put Illinois down 57-51.
Sees some time in the final minute, as Illinois goes offense for defense:
Overall: 2 points, 1 rebound, 1 block and 1 turnover in 7 minutes. Surely but surely, Griffey is starting to become a part of the rotation after a good game against Michigan State. Like the fact that this kid will take open shots when presented with them.
● Bruce Weber: Illinois’ 4-point halftime lead quickly evaporates in the second half as Purdue has come out like a buzz saw. After struggling to hit from the outside in the first half, Purdue is pounding the rock down low to E’Twaun Moore and JaJuan Johnson, and the Illini are providing little resistance as the Boilermakers lead 39-34. Purdue is on a 13-4 run since the last minute of the first half, when the team was hit with a technical for not having freshman John Hart listed in the official scorebook. Purdue is the crisper and more urgent team out of the break while Illinois looks a bit shell shocked, with the exception of McCamey, who is playing hard but maybe too fast. Illinois needs to slow things down and work the ball on offense rather than rushing shots.
Weber takes a timeout at 14:11 as Purdue has extended the game to 43-36. Purdue is clicking on offense, while Illinois is way too rushed. A lot of one-on-five play in the half court versus moving the ball around the perimeter and inside. Tisdale has not gotten a post touch this half; would be a good idea to do so. Purdue is shooting 70% (7-for-10) this half; Illinois is just 2-for-7. Weber comes out of the timeout with Jeff Jordan and Bill Cole for the freshmen, Richardson and Paul. Unless Illinois starts going inside, it’s going to be hard to get points out of this group, which includes McCamey, Tisdale and Davis.
Illinois is down 46-39 at 11:48. Purdue wants this game more than the Illini, which has woken up a bit in the last couple of minutes but came out “sleeping” in the second half, as Lavin describes it. Illinois has no offensive identity this half, trying to make up for a 5-7 point deficit all in one possession, by going one-on-one. On the other hand, Purdue is really utilizing Moore’s ability to post and score to its advantage. The refs are starting to call the game tight, and Illinois has been too concerned with the calls. The Illini wouldn’t be in this position if they came out with more urgency in the second half. They have no one else to blame but themselves at this point. Don’t like this lineup of Jordan and Cole on the floor, as Illinois does not have enough scorers. One of them (Jordan) needs to be sitting down, and Illinois needs to get the ball inside and create free throw opportunities, though the Illini are struggling from the charity stripe thus far.
Weber comes out with the same lineup of McCamey, Jordan, Cole, Griffey and Davis. He’ll eventually get Richardson back in the game, and the freshman will hit a three. Illinois has cut the game to 55-51 with 8:14 left, forcing a timeout by Painter. McCamey is masterful at the point, getting anywhere he wants on the court and hitting open teammates for good looks. Also, Mike Davis has woken up, scoring six points in this stretch. Illinois needs to sustain this energy and offensive execution.
Some key numbers at this point: Illinois has left some points at the free throw line, going 11-for-20. Purdue is 13-16 on the game. Both teams have been brutal from three. Purdue is 2-for-13; Illinois 2-for-11.
Out of the timeout, Hart hits a tough jumper over Griffey, temporarily silencing the crowd. McCamey is then fouled, leading to the under-8. Weber is seen with a scowl on the bench; not sure if he’s upset with the official there or McCamey, who was overdribbling a bit on that possession. Whatever the case, now’s not the time for any theatrics. Illinois has a lot of work to do to get back into this game.
Weber comes out of the under-8 with a small lineup of Jordan, McCamey, Richardson, Cole and Davis. Both offenses are on fire in the next four minutes, but Illinois still trails 70-63 at the under-4. The Illini are clicking on offense due to McCamey’s ability to penetrate, but are getting burned themselves by not containing the Purdue dribble, particularly that of freshman Kelsey Barlow. Tisdale has just fouled out leading to the under-4, but that’s not a big deal in this game. Davis has found his lost shooting touch, but is seeming to wear out a bit as he has played the entire second half. Illinois’ inability to deny the post entry pass has also hurt.
Weber brings Keller in for the disqualified Tisdale at the under-4. This makes no sense as Keller hasn’t played all half. Don’t like the use of the bench there. Why not go back to Griffey, someone who will shoot the ball with confidence? With that said, I would have liked to see Keller come in earlier in the half, as it will be tough for him to do anything after sitting for so long. Anyways, Weber will take a timeout at 1:29 after a Cole three cuts the Purdue lead to 75-66. Prior to this stretch, Illinois has broken down several times defensively, allowing an easy Moore layup, and the shooting has cooled. Quite frankly, Illinois looks a bit tired, especially Davis. Anyways, Purdue has shot 67% in the second half, scored 17 points off the bench in the 18:31 of play thus far, and only had 3 turnovers here.
Weber is coming out with defense for offense, bringing Jordan in for Keller. When Richardson forces a tie up after Illinois brings full-court pressure (with the possession arrow to Illinois), Weber brings Keller back in. He then takes another timeout after Richardson buries a three to make it 75-69 with 1:17 left. That’s Illinois’ last timeout of the game; Purdue has 3 timeouts left.
Jordan is in out of the timeout. Purdue throws a long baseball pass to Johnson, who is fouled by Richardson. Johnson hits both free throws to make it 77-69 Purdue. Keller is back in for Jordan. Richardson buries a tough three but Illinois has no timeouts left. Hart is fouled and misses both free throws. McCamey is then inexplicably fouled by Kramer, but makes just one of two. Illinois then fouls Hummel, who makes the first. Weber then subs Jordan out with Griffey instead of Keller. Hummel hits the second to make it 79-73 with 35.3 seconds left. Purdue does Illinois a favor by taking a timeout. McCamey is then fouled on a drive and hits two free throws. Weber comes in with Keller, Paul and Jordan for defense, and Illinois fouls Moore, who makes both free throws to make it 81-75 with 29.5 seconds left. McCamey then hits a three with 22 seconds left to cut the game to 81-78.
Purdue takes a timeout with 18.3 seconds left, after Moore got trapped in the corner. Davis almost knocks the ball off of Johnson and Illinois then fouls Hummel. Bad break there as McCamey fouled Moore and the ref didn’t call it. Hummel hits both free throws to make it 83-78 with 13.5 seconds left. Keller comes back in for offense.
Illinois’ desperate comeback attempt will fall to the wayside when McCamey misses a difficult three with 2.9 seconds left. Hummel is fouled on the rebound and hits one of two free throws to put Purdue up 84-78, which will be the game’s final score.
Overall: I thought that Weber got slightly outcoached by Painter in this game, specifically in terms of coming out and dictating a style in the second half. Purdue pounded the ball down low while Illinois ran around with its collective head cut off, at least early. The use of the bench was a bit frustrating, with Jordan getting too much time when Illinois needed more points, and a nonexistent Tisdale not deserving to come back in at the expense of a Griffey or Keller. It would have been nice to have a timeout late in the game, but Purdue did call some timeouts that allowed Illinois to set some defense and offense up. Illinois nearly came back in this game late, so Weber deserves credit in this regard for extending the game.
Overall: Illinois drops its second straight in the Big Ten, losing 84-78 to Purdue. This game came down to doing the little things, and Purdue did them better than Illinois in the second half. Purdue had more urgency and hit their free throws (27-for-34) while Illinois left some points at the line (17-for-29). When it mattered, Illinois couldn’t defend, contain the dribble or deny the entry post pass. Purdue got big contributions from Hart and Barlow, who respectively had then-career highs of 14 and 12 points, while Illinois was basically a two-man scoring show of McCamey and Davis (that is, until Richardson came on late). Illinois’ inability to hit shots in the first half was the difference between a bigger lead at the break, and Purdue found itself in the second half. The comeback created some excitement late, but Purdue deserved this game more than Illinois, which could have used this win come March.
Play of the Game: With less than a minute to go in the first half, Purdue is hit with a technical when it’s realized that freshman John Hart is not in the scorer’s book. Illinois hits the two technical free throws and then scores a layup to lead 32-26, but Purdue’s E’Twaun Moore makes a layup at the end of the half. The technical seems to wake up Purdue, which comes out rolling in the second half.
Player of the Game: Obviously, this would to go to someone on Purdue (Hart, Barlow, Johnson or Moore are all fine candidates). From the Illini side, I’d give it to Davis over McCamey, as Davis was active and had his best game since the Big Ten opener. With that said, Illinois is nowhere close to being in this game without McCamey’s 28 points and 9 assists. It’s becoming clear that McCamey has to do nearly everything on this team offensively for Illinois to have a chance to win.
Things I Liked:
● Davis’ activity on the offensive boards in the first half.
● Davis finding his stroke in the second half.
● McCamey’s controlled penetration and passing in the second half.
Things I Disliked:
● More Tisdale foul trouble and ineffectiveness.
● Too much Jordan when baskets were needed.
● Illinois coming out with no urgency in the second half.
● Another comeback attempt that was too little, too late.
● Poor job of keeping Purdue out of the lane, both off the dribble and on the post entry pass.
● Illinois giving up 56 points in the second half.
Well, that’s it for another Illini Tale of the Tape.
Hopefully, I won’t have to split these up again, as I like the full format much better.
With that said, next up will be the Illinois-Northwestern game in Evanston.
Until then.