Illini Tale of the Tape: Illinois vs. Ohio State Buckeyes (March 2, 2010)

As ESPN commentator Steve Lavin said at the start of the telecast, the Illinois Fighting Illini were trying to stop the bleeding when facing the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena on March 2^nd.

Losers of 3 of its last 4 Big Ten games, Illinois was running into a hot Ohio State team that had won 12 of its last 13 conference games, including a blowout of the Illini at the Assembly Hall on Valentine’s Day.

While Illinois would play much better the second time around against Ohio State, the Buckeyes and three-point marksman Jon Diebler were too much too handle, putting the Illini squarely on the NCAA Tournament bubble following this loss.

Where I Was for This Game: Watching from home, still upset about the Minnesota home loss three days earlier and a bit indifferent to the game action. I remember flipping back and forth between the Illinois-Ohio State game and the Louisville-Marquette contest on ESPNU.

What I Remember from This Game:

● Illinois actually had a gritty performance for about the first 30 minutes of game time, but Ohio State was clearly the better team. Unfortunately, at this point of the season, there was no such thing as moral victories for an Illini team with a shaky 18-12 overall record.

● Diebler killing the Illini again from the three-point line. In two games against Illinois, Diebler had 13 field goals, all from beyond the arc. Diebler would go 7-for-14 from three the second time around against Illinois.

● Illinois actually did a decent job on Evan Turner, who had 16 points on 7-for-16 field goals and 12 boards. Turner still frustrated the heck out of me with his talking and occasional pouting on the court.

● Ohio State earning at least a share of the Big Ten regular season championship with the victory.

What Stood Out/Surprised Me Upon the Second Viewing:

● Forgot how good Illinois was from three in the first half (6-for-13) and how bad the Illini were in the second half (1-for-10).

● Slipped my mind how good Illini guard Demetri McCamey was in the first half, when he had 12 points and scored or assisted on 15 of Illinois’ first 17 points.

● Was a bit surprised by the free-throw disparity, with Ohio State shooting 24 free throws and Illinois just 5. While there were a couple of bad calls that went against the Illini, Illinois was way too perimeter-oriented in this game and the Buckeyes did a good job of attacking the glass all night long, especially David Lighty and William Buford.

Alright.

Before we do this thing, let’s review the first contest between these teams.

On Valentine’s Day, Ohio State blew out the Illini 72-53, hitting 11 threes and giving Illinois fits with the 1-3-1 zone. Diebler and Lighty combined for 9 of those 11 threes. The Illini were brutal from the field, shooting 34.3% from the field, and going an awful 4-for-24 from three. This loss would snap Illinois’ 4-game winning streak and put the end to some high hopes after Illinois won at Wisconsin. For more on the first Ohio State-Illinois game, see the Illini Tale of the Tape: Ohio State Buckeyes vs. Illinois Fighting Illini.

And now to the rematch.

Illinois Fighting Illini (18-11, 10-6) vs. #7 Ohio State Buckeyes (23-7, 13-4)

Illinois Head Coach Bruce Weber goes with his normal starting lineup of Demetri McCamey and D.J. Richardson at the guards, Bill Cole and Mike Davis at the forwards, and Mike Tisdale at center.

Ohio State Head Coach Thad Matta starts his four-guard lineup of Evan Turner, David Lighty, William Buford and Jon Diebler along with bruising big man Dallas Lauderdale.

Announcers: Dave O’Brien and Steve Lavin.

● Demetri McCamey: Misses a contested three at 19:10. Gets bumped by Turner at 17:46, with the Illinois shot clock down to two. Lazy inbounds pass at 17:46 is nearly stolen by Lauderdale, who stepped out of bounds on the steal attempt. No worries as McCamey’s next inbounds pass is stolen by Lighty at 17:43. Catches a break at 17:31, allowing dribble penetration to Diebler, who kicks to Lighty for an open three that is missed. Falls for a Diebler head fake at 17:02, and the Ohio State junior buries another three to put Illinois down 8-2. Hits a tough pop-back three at 16:04 to cut the Illini deficit to 8-5.

Beautiful attack at 13:04, pushing the ball after a Buford miss, getting into the lane and hitting Davis for a layup and a 13-8 ILL lead. Mental mistake at 12:41, fouling Buford on a three-point attempt. Buford hits all 3 free throws to cut the Illinois lead to 13-11. Hits a three at 12:13, putting Illinois up 16-11. Lavin describes that play as pretty basketball, with McCamey hitting Tisdale off the pick and pop, Tisdale passing on the shot and then going back to the open McCamey, who measured and drilled that shot.

Hits a deep three at 11:26 to put Illinois up 19-13. The Illini are running sharp, patient and efficient offense thus far, and hitting from the outside. Good closeout on Diebler at 11:13 as the Ohio State marksman misses a three. McCamey has scored or assisted on Illinois’ last 17 points. Nice job of saving a loose ball to Davis at 10:38, but the Illinois big man can’t finish at the rim. Picks up his second foul at 9:58, getting caught in the air and grazing Diebler, who threw up a head fake. Weber didn’t like the call. McCamey is replaced by Jordan.

Back in at 8:55, with the game tied at 21 following a 5-0 Buckeye run. Misses a quick pull up at 7:47 with the Ohio State crowd loud after a Diebler three.

Beautiful find at 7:03, firing a one-handed pass to Paul under the basket for a layup and a 28-23 game in favor of Ohio State. Good closeout on a missed Jereme Simmons’ three at 5:59. Great job at 4:05 of getting into the middle of the 1-3-1 and hitting Paul for an easy dunk in-close.

Buries an open three off of great ball movement at 2:57 to tie the game at 30.

Falls asleep and loses Diebler at start of the second half. Choosing to go under rather than over several screens, McCamey can’t recover as Diebler hits a three to put Ohio State up 40-33 with 19:45 to go. Nice dribble drive and pass at 19:16, but Davis couldn’t handle the pass that was deflected out of bounds by Diebler. Leaves his feet at 18:35 but misses a layup that is tipped in by Davis. Lazy pass at 16:56 is stolen by Buford. Does a good job of getting back and altering Buford’s shot at the rim, resulting in an Ohio State miss. Terrible defense at 16:19, inexplicably and needlessly switching on the guarded Turner, resulting in an open Diebler three and 46-40 game in favor of Ohio State.

Loses Lauderdale on a baseline switch at 14:14, and the Ohio State big man dunks in a pass from Lighty for a 48-43 ILL deficit.

Fails to close out on Kyle Madsen at 10:09, after Tisdale picked up and helped on a driving Buford off an OSU inbounds play, and the Buckeye reserve big man hits a corner jumper to put Illinois down 55-49.

Rattles in a tough pop back at 8:03, cutting the Ohio State lead to 58-51. McCamey wanted a foul on that basket, his first make of the second half.

Throws up a difficultly long jumper at 6:47, resulting in an Ohio State run out and layup for a 65-51 Illinois deficit. Draws a foul at 5:56 after an aggressive drive. That’s Turner’s fourth foul (but it really doesn’t matter). McCamey hits both free throws to put Illinois down 65-53.

Misses a difficult three at 3:05. Lazy defense at 2:10, as he ran himself into a baseline screen that freed up a corner two for Buford, who hit the shot to put OSU up 70-57.

Overall: 18 points (6-for-13 from the field, 4-for-7 from three), 4 rebounds, 7 assists, 1 steal and 0 turnovers in 36 minutes. Ran the show in the first half, hitting shots and getting assists. The game really changed when he sat for a few minutes in the first half with 2 fouls, as Ohio State went on a huge run. Was not as good in the second half. Defensively, he struggled against Diebler; offensively, the Illini weren’t as crisp, which falls on McCamey on the court. This game was indicative of three things with McCamey: Illinois would be dead in the water without him; the Illini are fun to watch when he’s clicking and his teammates are hitting shots; the Illini are rather ordinary when McCamey isn’t playing great (see the second half).

● D.J. Richardson: Nice offensive rebound of a missed McCamey three at 19:08, but can’t hold onto the ball, which is knocked off him to Ohio State. Caught a bit high on a screen for Turner, who misses an open jumper at 18:36. Travels after catching the ball off a curl screen at 16:41. Good defense on Turner at 16:22, staying on a pop back and forcing an errant pass that goes for a turnover. Cans a three at 15:27 to tie the game at 8. Nice step in off a draw/kick pass from McCamey.

Misses a long three at 9:05, and Ohio State pushes off the miss, with Diebler hitting a corner three at 8:55 to tie the game at 21. Poor dribble containment of Turner at 7:16, with the Ohio State junior getting into the lane, scoring a layup and drawing a foul to lead to the under-8. Illinois is down 28-21. Turner misses the free throw out of the under-8.

Can’t get over a Lauderdale screen at 43.3 seconds as Diebler hits a three to put Ohio State up 37-33. Illinois went to a 1-2-2 zone there and it didn’t work.

Hits an open corner three at 18:03 as Illinois does a nice job of pushing the ball ahead after an OSU turnover to cut the game to 40-38 in favor of the Buckeyes. Smart play by Richardson, who got behind the Buckeye defense. Poor defense at 17:38, sagging way too far off Turner and then going under a screen, allowing an open three and a 43-38 game in favor of Ohio State.

Catches a tough break at 12:18, fouling Lighty on a drive. Lighty hits both free throws to put Illinois down 8, 53-45.

Overpenetrates at 9:49, losing the ball and resulting in a Cole foul on Lighty at 9:36.

Misses a three at 1:52; gets fouled after getting the long rebound.

Overall: 6 points (2-for-5 from the field, all from three), 5 rebounds and 4 turnovers in 35 minutes. A quiet game on the offensive end but he played Turner tough in stretches. Made some defensive mistakes, but was going against the National Player of the Year for heaven’s sake.

● Bill Cole: Starts but doesn’t do anything noticeable in the first four minutes.

Hits a three at 14:16, with the shot clock running down to put Illinois up 11-8. Had to put that shot up there and hit it, even though he didn’t have control of the ball. Back in at 12:31 for Richardson.

Bad pass at 8:42, as Ohio State brings full-court pressure after the Illinois timeout 13 seconds earlier. Cole’s cross-court pass is stolen by Buford, who dunks the ball in for a 23-21 ILL deficit at 8:42. A bit slow to close out on Diebler at 8:02, and the three-point assassin buries a three to put Illinois down 26-21. Misses an open three at 7:27.

Good job of getting back at 19:03 and drawing a charge on the overaggressive Lighty.

Nice recovery at 13:15, blocking a Diebler three out of bounds.

Misses an open but flat three at 5:15.

Nice hustle play at 3:15, stealing the ball away from the out-of-control Turner.

Overall: 3 points, 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 27 minutes. Quiet night for Cole, who struggles to guard Ohio State’s quicker perimeter players.

● Mike Davis: Allows dribble penetration to the smaller Lighty at 18:26, with the breakdown of the Illini defense eventually leading to a wide open Diebler three from the top of the key and a 5-2 deficit for Illinois. Nice dribble drive at 17:14 but overshoots a baseline floater.

Nice help defense at the rim at 13:53, blocking a Lighty layup attempt. Follows up by forcing a travel on Lighty at 13:49. Nice job running the court at 13:04 as McCamey finds him down low for an easy layup and a 13-8 Illinois lead. Slips and falls at 11:59, allowing Lighty to catch the ball at the elbow, attack the rim and draw a foul that leads to the under-12. Lighty hits both frees out of the under-12 to cut the Illinois lead to 16-13.

Misses a point-blank layup at 10:38 after McCamey made a great, one-handed save to him. Got to finish that shot. Ohio State pushes after that miss, with Turner getting into the lane and hitting Lighty for a corner three and a 19-16 game in favor of the Illini. Follows up on the next Illini possession by splashing an open jumper from the left elbow, putting Illinois ahead 21-16 with 10:19 to go.

Air balls a pull-up jumper off one bounce at 8:12, with Illinois trailing 23-21.

Misses a wide open baseline jumper at 4:31, off the screen and roll game with Richardson. No lift on that shot, but Davis was trying to push it through with his follow through.

A bit slow to close out on Turner at 1:41, and the Ohio State junior hits a jumper to put the Buckeyes up 34-33.

Nice job on the offensive glass at 18:35, tipping in a McCamey  miss to cut the ILL deficit to 40-35. Nice interior finish at 16:42 off a good pass from Tisdale, cutting the OSU lead to 43-40. Has a dunk attempt blocked at the rim by Turner at 15:43, but is fouled on the subsequent put back, leading to the under-16. Davis makes one of two free throws out of the under-16 to cut the Buckeye lead to 46-41.

Misses a wide open baseline jumper in the secondary transition at 15:24, with Cole called for a push off on the rebound attempt. Can’t stay with Lighty at 13:09 as the Ohio State junior gets to the basket, hits a difficult layup and draws a foul on McCamey (his third). Lighty hits the free throw to put Illinois down 51-45.

Can’t contain Lighty on the perimeter at 9:13, who dribbles by him and draws a foul on Tisdale at the rim after making a left-handed layup. Lighty hits the free throw to put Illinois down 58-49.

Misses a difficult one-handed runner at 6:21; way too quick in the possession and not a good shot. Nice job at 5:54, tipping a ball off Diebler as Illinois brings the full-court press. Tough break at 5:28, fouling Buford over the back on a put-back attempt. Buford hits one of two to put Illinois down 66-55. Lighty scores on a driving layup at 4:52 as Davis was caught too high on the ball denial defense. Illinois trails 68-55. Nice steal from Turner at 4:08, hitting McCamey for a layup and 68-57 game in favor of Ohio State.

Misses a dunk attempt at 2:30.

Overall: 9 points (4-for-13 shooting) and 11 rebounds in 37 minutes. Didn’t shoot the ball well and wasn’t consistent, but was active and involved at least. Had some great plays and some frustrating ones.

● Mike Tisdale: Nice job on first possession of the game, running the pick and pop game with McCamey, catching the ball and using a head fake and bounce to free open a mid-range wing jumper that is buried for a 2-0 ILL lead. Nice help at 19:23 on a curling Turner, who hits a tough shot in the lane to tie the game at 2. Great help defense at 14:53, when Turner forced and badly missed a difficult layup.

Good job of moving his feet at 4:48, coming off a screen to hedge Turner and then recovering to Lauderdale, who can’t handle a Turner pass.

Catches the ball on the right block off an inbounds at 19:13, but goes up weakly, having the ball ripped out of his hands by Lighty. Gets lucky at 18:53, failing to catch a pass from Richardson that was knocked out of bounds. Follows up with poor spacing at 18:47, getting too close to the inbounder McCamey, whose pass is easily stolen by Lauderdale. Nice interior feed to Davis at 16:42, for a layup and a 43-40. ILL deficit.

Hits an open jumper from just inside the top of the key at 14:46, to cut the Ohio State lead to 46-43. That play was set up by a nice and controlled penetration and kick by Paul. Good defense at 14:30, nearly knocking the ball away from Turner, who was carefree with the ball there. Great one-handed follow up and stuff of a missed Cole shot at 13:39, cutting the Illinois deficit to 48-45. That play was reminiscent of the Michigan State game at the Assembly Hall, where Tisdale had a similar tip-in dunk. Hits a corner jumper at 11:47, cutting the Illini deficit to 53-47. Nice block of a Madsen shot at 11:20, leading to the under-12.

Good closeout at 11:18 on a missed Lighty shot from the corner. Hits a deep jumper from the right wing at 10:42, cutting the ILL deficit to 53-49. That was just a step inside the three-point line, off the pick and pop game with McCamey. Poor job of squaring up on the driving Buford at 7:54, who banks in a shot and is fouled, leading to the under-8. Tisdale now has 4 fouls. Buford hits the free throw out of the under-8 to put Illinois down 61-51.

Fouls out at 7:24 as the much smaller Buford got better position when rebounding a Diebler missed three, and then got hacked when going up for the put-back attempt. Buford hits both free throws to put Illinois down 63-51.

Overall: 10 points (5-for-7 shooting), 3 rebounds, 3 assists, 4 blocks, 1 turnover and 5 fouls in 26 minutes. Was quiet at times, but did a really nice job of keeping the Illini in the game early in the second half before fouling out.

● Brandon Paul: In at 13:49 for Cole. Misses a nice curl jumper within the offense at 13:33. Good look and off-the-ball movement there. Good defense at 13:13, contesting a Buford miss. Prior to that play, Paul showed good hands, knocking a pass to Buford out of bounds.

Back in out of the under-8. Good dive to the goal at 7:03, where McCamey fires him a pass for a layup and a 28-23 game. Hits a long two off a ball screen at 6:19, cutting the ILL deficit to 28-25. Rushes and misses a quick three on the next Illini possession at 5:48. Is slow to get off a ball screen at 5:33, and Turner makes him pay with a long jumper putting OSU up 30-25. Nearly stuffs in a missed McCamey pop-back jumper at 4:57, just missing the tip dunk with his left hand. Great crash and incredible athleticism there. An emphatic dunk at 4:05 as McCamey got into the middle of the 1-3-1 and found him for the two-hand slam, which cuts the ILL deficit to 30-27.

Fouls Buford on a three at 2:37. Very ticky-tack call there. A couple of those types of calls have gone against the Illini in the first half. Buford hits two of three to put OSU up 32-30. After the tough fall call, goes baseline and finishes strong with his left-handed, tying the game at 32 with 2:26 to go and drawing a foul. Paul makes Illinois’ first free throw to put the Illini up 33-32. Fires a quick three on the break at 2:00 – a heat check, but not a good shot at all after Illinois forced a touch Ohio State jumper. Misses a quick leaner at 1:00. Going too much 1-on-5 in the last couple of possessions. Needs to work more within the framework of the offense. Misses a pop-back three with 1.4 seconds left in the half. The refs inexplicably give the ball to Ohio State after an inadvertent whistle but Turner misses a half-court heave.

In out of the under-16. Guarding Turner. Misses a jumper off the crossover at 12:27. Another quick shot, not within the context of the offense.

Misses a desperation heave with 8:33 to go and the shot clock expiring. Bad possession for Illinois. Good hands at 8:27, knocking the ball out of bounds and away from Madsen, who had good post position.

Overaggressive drive at 7:36, getting caught in the air and throwing the ball away. Picks up his dribble against the 1-3-1 and makes a horrible pass at 7:15, which Cole hustles down. Makes a fall-away jumper at 5:44, off of another overaggressive drive, to cut the OSU lead to 65-55.

Overall: 11 points (5-for-12 shooting), 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 turnover in 18 minutes. Had a nice stretch in the first half but forced a lot of shots outside of the offense. When he calms down and plays within himself, he can be a great spark, as seen at times.

● Tyler Griffey: In at 11:13 for Mike Tisdale. Nice assist on a Davis jumper at 10:19. Can’t corral the rebound off a  missed Turner shot at 10:06.

In at 5:28 of second half for Paul.

Misses an open three from the top of the key at 3:45. Nice job tying up Turner at 2:46, with the possession arrow going to Illinois. Badly air balls a corner jumper at 1:30. A half-second slow to close out on Turner at 1:00 left and the OSU junior hits a three to put Illinois down 73-57.

Overall: 0 points (0-for-2 shooting) and 1 assist in 7 minutes.

● Jeff Jordan: In at 9:58 for McCamey, who has two fouls. Comes in and turns the ball over at 9:38, leading to an OSU break and Buford dunk, cutting the Illini lead to 21-18 with 9:33 to go. Jordan picked up his dribble on that play and tried to make an off-balance pass to Davis.

In at 2:26 for McCamey.

In at 1:00 for McCamey, whom Weber does not want to pick up a third foul heading into the half.

Played at the end of the second half, in the game’s final minute.

Overall: 0 points, 1 rebound and 1 turnover in 4 minutes. Illinois’ lack of a backup point guard was apparent when Jordan came in for McCamey in the first half and Ohio State went on a big run.

● Dominique Keller: In for the first time out of the under-8. Poor job getting to Lighty at 4:23, leading to an inside pass to Lauderdale, whom Keller fouls at the rim. Lauderdale misses both free throws. Takes a charge on the driving Buford at 3:31, leading to the under-4.

Misses an open but quick three at 1:25. Lauderdale beats him down court and Keller fouls him at the rim. Lauderdale misses both free throws.

In at 13:15 for Tisdale. Nice defense at 13:11, trapping Turner off an inbounds and knocking the ball out of bounds.

Overall: 0 points (0-for-1 shooting) and 2 rebounds in 7 minutes.

● Richard Semrau: In at 57 seconds of second half. Misses a tip-in of a Chisholm miss with a little more than 30 seconds left.

Overall: 1 rebound in 1 minute.

● Stan Simpson: In at 57 seconds of second half.

● Bubba Chisholm: In at 57 seconds of second half. Badly misses two threes right away.

● Bruce Weber: The game is tied at 8 at the under-16. Illinois was down 8-2 but got back-to-back threes from McCamey and Richardson to tie the game up. In the first meeting between the schools, Illinois was 4-for-24 for three. The Illini are 2-for-3 thus far. Illinois is struggling to contain the dribble penetration early, and Diebler has two threes to show for it. Diebler killed Illinois in Champaign, with all of his 18 points coming from behind the arc. Ohio State has not thrown the 1-3-1 at Illinois yet; that defense gave the Illini fits in the first meeting.

Illinois leads 16-11 at the under-12. After a sluggish start in the first couple of minutes, Illinois has been playing some good basketball. All 5 starters have scored, and the Illini are 4-for-5 from three. Illinois is currently on an 11-3 run. The Illini are doing a better job of guarding the three-point line and cutting off Ohio State’s dribble drive and kick attack. A nice first 8 minutes for the Illini, which badly need this game.

Weber takes a smart :30 second timeout at 8:55 as Ohio State has gone on a 5-0 run to tie the game at 21. It’s no coincidence that the quick Buckeye run has occurred since McCamey went to the bench with 2 fouls. Jordan with an immediate turnover while in for McCamey, who will be back after the Illinois timeout. Ohio State is on an 8-2 run in the last 1:41.

My oh my how the tide has turned. Ohio State is on a 15-2 run since McCamey sat down for a few seconds due to foul trouble, and the Illini trail 28-21 at the under-8. Diebler is a thorn in the Illini side, hitting 2 more threes in that segment to give him 4 on the game. The Illini are taking some quick shots and now missing from the outside. Turner is off to a rough shooting start, though he just scored an and-one and will be at the line out of the under-8. Illinois is way too perimeter oriented, as evident by the fact that Ohio State has a 9-0 advantage in second-chance points.

Illinois trails 30-27 at the under-4. Paul has provided a nice spark, scoring Illinois’ last 7 points. The Illini are hanging in after the run, and doing about as good of a job as possible on Turner (give credit to Richardson). Still, the Illini need to do a better job of limiting Ohio State to one shot, as the Buckeyes are getting too many offensive boards.

Illinois trails 37-33 at the break. The Illini have hung in this game but taken some very quick shots late in the half. Illinois has been really competitive with McCamey on the floor, and not so when he’s had to sit a couple of minutes. Ohio State with 13 free throw attempts to just 1 for the Illini.

Illinois trails 46-40 at the under-16. Both teams have been a bit sloppy at the start of the second half, which has been characterized by a lot of breakdowns. Illinois (McCamey) has twice lost Diebler, who has buried 2 threes and now has 7 threes in the game. The Illini are rushing some shots at times. I think this game is starting to get too frenetic for Weber’s liking.

The Illini trail 53-47 at the under-12. Illinois is hanging in there, with Tisdale having a nice second half. Illinois needs McCamey to become more involved this half. Lighty has been a spark for the Buckeyes. It hasn’t always been pretty, but the Illini are playing a gritty game thus far. Still, you don’t get the feeling that Ohio State, which hasn’t been its most effective, is going to lose control.

Weber takes a :30 second timeout at 8:27, with Illinois down 56-47. The Illini are playing tough defense but are in a drought offensively, drawing out their possessions way too long and not getting enough ball movement or motion in the offense. Illinois trails 60-51 at the under-8 as a McCamey basket is negated by a Buford and-one.

Illinois trails 68-57 at the under-4. Ohio State’s Lighty and Buford have been outworking the Illini in the second half. Illinois has played tough but stalled on offense. The Illini don’t look like they have another comeback in them. Ohio State has a +11 advantage in points at the free throw line and a +12 advantage on second-chance points. Ohio State has shot 24 free throws to just 5 for the perimeter-oriented Illini. After the hot start from three, Illinois has missed 9 of its last 10 threes.

Weber takes a timeout with 57 seconds left as Illinois trails 73-57. The game has gotten away from the Illini late. Illinois’ body language wasn’t good in the final 4 minutes. Ohio State didn’t play great but was clearly the more superior team when all was said and done.

Some key stats: the much-smaller Buckeyes outrebounded Illinois 41-32. Illinois didn’t have much of an interior game and were way too perimeter-oriented. Ohio State shot 44.3% from the field on the game and had 10 threes; Illinois shot 38.3% and 7 threes (out of 23 attempts).

Overall: Weber’s team was better prepared the second time around against Ohio State, but way too perimeter oriented. Illinois hit shots in the first half but struggled to get good offense in the second half. Weber and Illinois were too concerned with drawing out their possessions rather than running good stuff. After a hot start from three (4-for-5), Illinois finished 7-for-23. Ohio State was the tougher team on the interior, getting more second-chance opportunities. The Buckeyes were perimeter-oriented as well, but had better balance, getting into the lane and drawing fouls on the Illini, leading to 19 more free throws.

Overall: Illinois loses 73-57. The final score does not indicate that this game was pretty much a 6-8 point affair until the 8 minute mark of the second half, when Ohio State began to put the game out of reach. In simple terms, Ohio State is a bad matchup for the Illini, with way more offensive weapons and Diebler an absolute killer. For Illinois to compete with this team, McCamey needs to be good, and his teammates need to hit shots. Illinois did this for one half in this game.

Player of the Game: No one from Illinois merited this honor. McCamey, Davis, Tisdale and Paul had some nice spurts, but the consistency wasn’t there. For Ohio State, I would say Lighty over Diebler, who’s becoming an Illini killer. Lighty’s toughness was key in this game.

Illini Play of the Game: Late in the first half, Paul drove baseline, split the defense and banked in a nasty left-handed layup on the right side of the hoop. Paul kept Illinois in the game at this point, and this play showed the freshman’s incredible athleticism. Now imagine if this can be harnessed in the correct way.

Some Things I Liked:

● Illinois with good focus and grittiness in the first half.

● Paul with a nice spark in the first half.

● McCamey with a good first half, both scoring and dishing.

● Tisdale with a nice stretch in the second half; Davis with some good moments at times.

Some Things I Disliked:

● Illinois too perimeter-oriented, especially in the second half.

● The Illini got outworked inside (on the boards) throughout the game.

● Illinois struggled guarding the three, especially McCamey when shadowing Diebler. While doing a better job containing the dribble, Illinois wasn’t resistant enough at times.

● The free-throw disparity (not the fault of the officiating, but more the result of the Illini being a jump-shooting team).

Well, that’s it for another Illini Tale of the Tape.

Until the next one, Wisconsin at Illinois.

Only six games left.

Amen to that.