Illinois-Missouri Full-Court Vision: Live Blogging, Commentary & Analysis

10:13 p.m. Update: Illinois falls apart late, losing 75-64.

See the train wreck in the final four minute recap immediately after the jump.

I’ll say a few things before hopefully recapping this game tomorrow.

Illinois got whistled for a terrible intentional foul late in the game that made a 1-point game a 7-point game.

Yet that call isn’t the reason Illinois lost.

Illinois loses this game because the Illini are the tightest team in America when the game is on the line and Bruce Weber continues to trot out Mike Tisdale late in games when he has no business being on the floor due to his soft, scared and unintelligent play.

By no means was Tisdale the only player whose head was in the clouds in the final couple of minutes, yet he was not physically or mentally tough enough for most of his time on the court tonight, a song and dance that has been all too familiar during the last three seasons. It’s amazing to say this when looking at the box score, which credited Tisdale with 13 rebounds. While he did a good job on the offensive glass, Tisdale was not strong with the ball after coming up with it.

Ultimately, llinois really killed itself with inexcusable mental mistakes late in the game: Brandon Paul turning the ball over on an inbound pass, Paul missing two free throws, Tisdale failing to get back on defense and committing a questionable but dumb intentional foul, D.J. Richardson falling asleep on an inbound pass that led to a Missouri layup, etc.

Quite frankly, this Illinois team does not have much of a basketball IQ and has not changed from last year, especially on the sidelines.

Weber refuses to adjust how he uses the bench, continuing to give Tisdale unearned minutes when he’s playing liking garbage simply because he’s a senior while a Tyler Griffey doesn’t get enough time in my opinion. Illinois is wasting Griffey and Meyers Leonard this season while there continues to be no accountability for Tisdale.

Dear Bruce, it’s time to start building for the future rather than dying over and over again with Tisdale, who is either good or awful (there’s no in-between), with the latter more often the case.

Goodness gracious.

That’s enough for tonight.

Until tomorrow.

Second Half, Out of Under-4 Timeout

• Illinois takes a timeout after failing to inbound the ball against the full-court press.
• A smart timeout there.
• Illinois with its starters in. Richmond started instead of Cole.
• McCamey loses the ball in the screen and roll game with Tisdale.
• Bowers makes a layup over Tisdale.
• Richmond has a shot blocked underneath off of him to Missouri.
• Here comes the collapse?
• Illinois up 57-56 with 2:40 to go.
• Denmon hits a tough pull up over D.J. to put Mizzou ahead 58-57.
• McCamey has a wrap around pass knocked out of bounds.
• Eight on the shot clock.
• Brandon Paul comes in for Richmond.
• Davis has a shot blocked inside and Tisdale is luckily fouled on the put back.
• Tisdale went up weak yet again but Ratliffe fouled him.
• Tisdale hits the first free throw.
• And misses the second.
• 58-58 with 1:40 to go.
• Dixon hits a floating layup over Tisdale.
• Unbelievable.
• Live with Tisdale, die with Tisdale.
• Illinois gets a lucky timeout as Paul nearly had the ball stolen by Denmon.
• Illinois has no more timeouts.
• 1:00 exactly remaining.
• 16 on the shot clock.
• Paul turns it over on the inbound.
• Ratliffe hits a layup as McCamey flops.
• Paul draws a foul on the drive.
• Missouri leads 62-58 with 49 seconds left.
• Paul misses the first free throw.
• And the second.
• Mike Davis with the steal.
• D.J. hits the three.
• Bowers scores a quick layup.
• Tisdale is called for an intentional foul.
• Missouri 64, Illinois 61.
• First off that’s a bad call. As he does when goes up at the basket, Tisdale timidly put two hands on Bowers’ back.
• Second, Tisdale should not be in the game, especially on the back line of a pressing defense.
• Bowers hits both free throws.
• Mizzou leads 66-61 with 40 seconds left.
• Richardson loses Denmon on the inbound and he scores a layup.
• Richardson misses a three and Weber is T’d up.
• He might as well get ejected.
• Denmon makes both free throws.
• Missouri with 8 points in 9 seconds.
• Bowers misses one and one.
• McCamey drives and scores.
• Illinois fouls.
• The Illini trail 70-63 with 22.5 seconds to go.
• Denmon hits both free throws.
• Illinois trails 72-63.
• Davis is fouled down low.
• Davis misses the first free throw.
• Hits the second.
• Bill Cole comes in and fouls Dixon.
• Dixon misses the first.
• Hits the second.
• Illinois is down 73-64.
• McCamey misses a three.
• D.J. misses a three.
• McCamey commits a needless foul with 1.3 seconds left.
• Pressey hits first free throw.
• Illinois empties its bench with 1.3 seconds left.
• Pressey hits second.
• Illinois loses 75-64.

The Illini got a bad break at the end of the game but lost this game because they played tight and foolish yet again when it mattered.

9:53 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 58-55 at the under-4 (3:56 remaining).

D.J. Richardson just hit a big shot with the shot clock running down and Mike Tisdale followed up by drawing a charge.

Illinois must score out of this television timeout.

No forced or rushed shots, please.

Second Half, Under-4 Timeout

• Illinois comes out of the under-8 with D.J. McCamey, Richmond, Davis and Tisdale.
• Richmond has a shot blocked down low but stays with the ball, kicking out to Richardson, who finally hits a jumper.
• Tisdale takes a charge.
• Illinois leads 58-55 at the under-4.

9:49 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 55-54 with less than five minutes to go.

Demetri McCamey has gotten hot but the Illini are starting to go too much 2-on-5 on offense.

Second Half, Under-8 Timeout

• Safford misses the first free throw and rattles in the second.
• Illinois comes out with Richmond, Davis, Tisdale, Richardson and McCamey.
• Davis with a bad foul off the ball.
• Illinois with 6 turnovers.
• English gets the corner on Richardson and hits Safford, who drills a 15-foot jumper.
• Tisdale with a nasty slam off a nice touch pass from Mike Davis.
• It’s about time Tisdale played with a little toughness.
• Safford faces and drills a jumper over Richmond.
• Tisdale misses a corner jumper.
• D.J. skies in for a weak-side rebound and hits a jumper.
• Missouri misses a quick shot but gets the board.
• Safford misses a tip of an English miss.
• Davis with a strong rebound.
• Davis misses a wide open bunny off a nice pass from Richardson.
• Davis gets back and knocks a Missouri pass out of bounds.
• Paul comes in for D.J.
• Griffey in for Davis.
• Mizzou leads 46-45 with 9:10 to go.
• Safford hits a jumper as Griffey was a bit slow to close out on the switch.
• Griffey hits a long two.
• Safford drives and scores.
• Safford with Mizzou’s last 8 points.
• McCamey buries a three over Safford to tie the game.
• English misses a rushed layup.
• McCamey pushes and hits a tough layup.
• Illinois leads by two.
• Ratliffe gets a step on Griffey but misses a layup.
• Paul misses a rushed three.
• Ratliffe beats Tisdale down the floor for a layup to tie the game.
• Illinois takes a timeout with 6:31 to go. The game is tied at 52.
• McCamey air balls a three with the shot clock down.
• Bowers hits Ratliffe over the top for a layup.
• And Weber is going to Tisdale for some reason.
• McCamey hits a tough three. Too much one on one but I’ll take it.
• English misses a shot and Richmond outworks him for the board.
• Matt Pressey fouls McCamey on the floor.

9:36 p.m. Update: The game is tied at 41 with under-12 minutes to go.

Illinois had gone on a 12-2 run to take the lead, with Brandon Paul doing everything well.

However, a Missouri switch to the zone defense has slowed down the Illini offense and suddenly swifted the momentum back to the Tigers.

Just when the Illini look like they’re going to take off, they are grounded.

Second Half, Under-12 Timeout

• Davis makes the free throw. The game is tied at 37.
• Illinois picks up full court pressure.
• Davis, Richardson, Paul, Tisdale and McCamey are in the game.
• Illinois forces a Missouri timeout with a great trap in the front court.
• A nice job by Bruce Weber of putting some pressure on the Tigers.
• Brandon Paul knocks the ball out of bounds, getting in the passing lane with his left hand.
• Dixon throws up an air ball.
• Illinois has responded. Paul hits McCamey, who feeds Tisdale for a dunk.
• Paul takes a charge on Dixon.
• Paul is becoming an X-factor as the Illini have suddenly brought the defense.
• Tisdale posts and misses a post-up jumper.
• Dixon is fouled on the floor by McCamey .
• Tisdale with good help as Bowers missed a turnaround in the lane over Paul.
• Paul with a penetrating layup.
• Denmon pushes and loses the ball off his knee.
• Missouri takes another timeout with 14:01 to go.
• Illinois is on a 12-2 run, with Brandon Paul all over the floor right now.
• Paul’s ankle looks good tonight.
• Both teams with 8 turnovers.
• Missouri goes 3-2.
• Davis hits a fadeaway over Dixon.
• Bowers misses an open jumper but Tisdale with a lazy outlet pass that is stolen by Denmon.
• Denmon is fouled by Tisdale.
• Denmon hits both free throws to cut the Illinois lead to 41-39.
• Meyers Leonard is in for Tisdale. I would have liked to see Griffey here.
• McCamey’s over-the-top pass is just too high for Leonard.
• A bad turnover there.
• Denmon misses a corner three but Davis can’t corral the board.
• Missouri ball out of bounds.
• Leonard blocks a Matt Pressey shot but Pressey gets the rebound and scores.
• Brandon Paul misses a baner and Leonard misses a rebound dunk attempt.
• Safford attacks and draws a foul on Leonard.

9:24 p.m. Update: Illinois has cut the game to 37-36 and can tie it out of the break as Mike Davis will be at the line for a three-point play.

The pace has picked up and favors Missouri.

Illinois needs to slow this game down and grind it out in the half court as was the case on the last possession, when Paul fed Davis on a beautiful screen and roll.

9:17 p.m. Update: As expected, Missouri jumps on the Illini out of the break, scoring eight quick points to take a 35-29 lead.

Bruce Weber takes a quick timeout not even two minutes into the half.

Second Half, Under-16 Timeout

• Illinois comes out with Davis, Tisdale, Richmond, Richardson and McCamey.
• Michael Dixon buries a three.
• Richmond brings ball up against the press.
• Davis has his lob pass to Tisdale stolen. Lazy pass and non-aggressive post by Tisdale.
• Denmon hits a quick layup.
• Tisdale hits a jumper in the pick and pop game with Richmond.
• English hits a three.
• Illinois takes a timeout.
• Out of the timeout, McCamey finds Davis inside for a layup.
• English turns the ball over.
• D.J. misses a quick three on the push. Good look.
• Dixon pushes but Ratliffe misses an open dunk.
• Illinois needs to slow this game down.
• McCamey gets in the lane and finds Richmond, who is fouled on a shot attempt.
• I wish Illinois had someone as tough as this Dixon kid, who killed the Illini last year.
• Richmond misses the first free throw.
• Paul comes in for D.J.
• Richmond hits the second. Illinois trails 35-32.
• Richmond picks up a bad foul off the ball.
• Richmond has three and will sit.
• Bill Cole is in the game.
• Dixon blows by Paul and hits Ratliffe, who is fouled down low by Cole.
• Dixon is taking over this game.
• Ratliffe hits the first and the second free throw.
• Illinois breaks the press but McCamey has his layup pinned by Bowers.
• Ratliffe misses a chippy.
• Cole with a tough rebound.
• McCamey scores a nice layup.
• Denmon pushes and Cole blocks the shot. Both teams get on the floor and the possession goes to the Illini.
• Brandon Paul with a great decision, running a nice pick and roll with Davis, who hits a tough layup and is fouled.

8:57 p.m. Update: Illinois and Missouri are tied at 27 at the break.

The Illini should be up but are shooting a little more than 30% from the field.

Illinois was up 27-20 but the Tigers closed out the half on a 7-0 run.

Illinois was better in the first half but has nothing to show for it.

Marcus Denmon hasn’t gotten going yet, which should scare Illini fans.

Mike Davis and Jereme Richmond were good and Mike Tisdale was active but not effective.

Demetri McCamey needs to sharpen up his game, Brandon Paul needs to settle down and D.J. Richardson needs to wake up after a soft first half.

Illinois has a 25-16 advantage on the boards, but the game is tied. Yikes.

Illinois needs to slow this game down and execute in the half court out of the break or this will be the program’s second straight loss to Missouri.

Halftime

• Illinois comes out with Cole, Paul, Davis, Tisdale and McCamey out of the break.
• English misses a forced step-back jumper.
• Mike Davis hits a nice pull up. Davis with 11 points on 5-7 shooting. Nice pass by McCamey out of the double there.
• Safford loses his footing and knocks the ball out of bounds.
• Missouri with 4 turnovers, Illinois with 6.
• McCamey with a nice drive that goes out. Tisdale misses the tip and gets on floor. Missouri comes up with ball.
• Dixon is fouled on a drive by Cole.
• Dixon hits the first free throw.
• Brandon Paul comes in for Cole.
• Dixon makes the second.
• Illinois leads 27-22 with 2:10 to go.
• Hubert Davis makes a good point. Illinois needs to go inside to Davis, who has had good post position on last two possessions.
• Davis was fouled off the ball and Illinois is in bonus.
• Davis misses front end.
• Denmon drives and hits Bowers for a layup. 27-24 Illini.
• Paul misses an aggressive drive and Davis misses tip.
• Bowers bowls over McCamey for an offensive foul on the other end.
• The pace is picking up.
• Illinois needs to run all 35 seconds here with 53.7 to go in the half.
• Paul forces a terrible shot.
• And Denmon hits a three.
• Paul with a lazy inbound pass that is knocked out of bounds by Dixon.
• The Illini are crumbling here.
• Richardson is called for an offensive foul on a baseline drive.
• 6.5 seconds left.
• Missouri calls a timeout.
• Missouri has the momentum here as the Illini have done a terrible job in the last couple of minutes.
• Dixon air balls a shot at the buzzer.

8:47 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 25-20 at the under-4.

Missouri is cold but this game is starting to swing in favor of the Tigers’ pace.

Demetri McCamey is making some curious decisions out there, looking shaky against the press, taking some difficult shots and driving out of control on the play prior to the television timeout. ;

Illinois has controlled the first half and needs to finish strong as Missouri can turn things quickly.

First Half, Under-4 Timeout

• Illinois comes out with Davis, Griffey, Richmond, McCamey and Paul.
• McCamey and Richmond fall asleep on the inbound, allowing Bowers to get wide open under the basket.
• Bowers is fouled and makes one of two free throws.
• Richmond misses a tough interior shot following a nice post feed from Davis.
• Denmon misses a runner that Griffey rebounds.
• McCamey is fouled on the floor.
• Illinois leads 23-16 with 7:09 to go.
• McCamey gets caught up in the air and makes a sloppy pass that luckily goes off Mizzou.
• Brandon Paul misses a rushed jumper. Griffey rebounds and misses a tough put back.
• Dixon is fouled on a drive. The blocking foul goes against Paul.
• Dixon hits both free throws. Illinois leads 23-18.
• Tisdale comes in for Griffey, who gave good minutes.
• Richmond misses an open jumper.
• Tisdale has the offensive board but loses it because he isn’t strong enough.
• Missouri misses a quick shot.
• McCamey posts up Dixon and hits Tisdale, who drills a jumper.
• Paul with a steal inside.
• Richmond with a bad turnover against the press.
• Ratliffe posts up and draws a foul on Richmond.
• Richmond with 2 fouls with 5:06 to go in the first half.
• I like this Ricardo Ratliffe kid. He brings nice athleticism for a big man.
• Ratliffe misses the first free throw and the second but the ball goes off Davis.
• Richardson and Cole are in for Paul and Richmond.
• Illinois leads 25-18.
• Ratliffe gets away with a travel and scores inside against Tisdale and Davis.
• McCamey shakily gets the ball up against the press.
• McCamey misses a fadeaway jumper but blocks a Dixon shot that is tracked down by Bowers.
• Ratliffe misses a three and Bruce Weber takes a good timeout with 3:59 to go in the first half.
• Out of the 30 second timeout, McCamey picks up a charge.

8:34 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 23-15 at the under-8 timeout.

Missouri had cut a 17-10 Illinois lead to two before Bill Cole and Brandon Paul both hit threes.

Missouri has been a bit sloppy and really hasn’t established the breakneck pace yet.

Illinois is playing much tougher than usual, grabbing 10 offensive boards already.

First Half, Under-8 Timeout

• Justin Safford is at the line to attempt to complete the three-point play.
• Safford is long on teh free throw.
• Illinois has its starting lineup out, with the exception of Richmond for Bill Cole.
• Tisdale is soft with the ball in the post, leading to a turnover.
• Dixon is out of control, losing the ball on the baseline and then goaltending a McCamey layup on the break.
• Illinois leads 17-10.
• Tyler Griffey is in for Mike Davis.
• Missouri misses a three and Tisdale gets high for a rebound.
• Bill Cole misses a wide-open three against the zone.
• Dixon drives and hits Steve Moore for a layup.
• Illinois is lax with the ball against the press, resulting in a 10-second call.
• Weber wanted a timeout but didn’t get it.
• Dumb turnover.
• Compounded by a Kim English three.
• D.J. misses a pull up, Griffey keeps the possession alive and Cole hits a corner three.
• Cole runs down an English miss but McCamey misses a pull-up three.
• Richardson is replaced by Richmond.
• Illinois with 10 offensive rebounds already.
• Ratliffe misses  a tough banker over Tisdale. That was a nice move by the Missouri big man.
• Brandon Paul splashes a three.
• Griffey loses Bowers but fouls him on the ground, preventing a layup.

8:26 p.m. Update: Illinois leads 15-10 at the under-12.

The Illini are doing a nice job on the offensive boards, scoring its last five points on extended possessions.

The shooting and the pace are picking up.

Jereme Richmond and Mike Davis have been very active.

First Half, Under-12 Timeout

• Davis is at the line and bricks the shot.
• I like Jereme Richmond’s activity early on.
• Illinois comes out with its starters.
• Tisdale rebounds Davis’ miss.
• Davis hits a mid-range jumper from the baseline.
• Ratliffe travels on a rebound of a missed Bowers’ shot.
• Illinois turns it over against the press but Dixon misses a jumper.
• Missouri rebounds but Dixon loses the ball later in the possession.
• McCamey looked shaky getting the ball over the halfcourt line against the Missouri press.
• Brandon Paul is in the game for D.J.
• Paul with a great skip pass to Davis, who hits Richmond on a touch pass for a dunk.
• English hits a pull-up jumper over the arms of Richmond.
• Richmond hits Davis inside for a layup.
• English with a nice drive and wrap around to Bowers, who dunks the ball.
• Brandon Paul misses a jumper. Richmond rebounds. Paul misses an open three. In and out.
• Denmon misses a three that goes in and out.
• McCamey forces a pull-up jumper that Tisdale rebounds.
• Davis scores off the bounce, plus the foul, hitting a nice baseline runner.
• Davis makes the freebie. Illinois leads 13-8.
• Meyers Leonard, Bill Cole and D.J. are in for the Illini with Davis and Paul.
• Safford misses a tough jumper.
• Richardson misses a three. Paul rebounds and scores.
• Safford runs the court and is fouled on a layup that is good. Illinois leads 15-10.

8:18 p.m. Update: The game is tied at 4.

Both teams are frigid from the field.

Illinois is missing a lot of interior shots, though Mike Davis just converted on a difficult layup plus the foul.

Davis will be at the line out of the under-16.

The pace favors Illinois so far.

First Half, Under-16 Timeout

• Illinois comes out in the white uniforms; Missouri in the black unis.
• Brandon Paul is dressed. Let’s see how much time he gets with his sprained ankle.
• Yeah. Bruce Weber starts Jereme Richmond with Demetri McCamey, D.J. Richardson and the two Mikes.
• Michael Dixon killed Illinois last year and will come off the bench following a suspension.
• Phil Pressey will not play due to a fractured finger.
• Richmond misses point blank layup off nice pass from D.J.
• Matt Pressey misses an open jumper as McCamey was slow to recover.
• Mike Davis with a lazy interior pass but Mike Tisdale was luckily fouled.
• Richardson has a three blocked, Davis keeps the ball alive but Tisdale misses two stick backs.
• Kim English badly misses a three.
• Richmond scores inside on a nice feed from McCamey. Richmond is Illinois’ toughest interior player.
• Mike Davis picks up a foul on the floor. He stopped sliding his feet there.
• Illinois with a good trap off the inbound. Mizzou throws the ball off the Illini.
• Nice pace early for Illinois. A snail’s pace.
• Marcus Denmon misses a tough jumper that Mike Davis rebounds.
• McCamey is fouled by Pressey’s brother on the floor. Pressey with two and Micheal Dixon is in the game.
• Mike Davis misses a half hook and Tisdale misses another tap in.
• Laurence Bowers dunks in a missed Denmon shot.
• Both teams are cold.
• Richardson misses a runner. Richmond rebounds and dishes to Davis, who misses another bunny.
• Missouri misses a layup.
• McCamey misses a jumper but the ball stays with Illinois.
• Richardson misses everything on a corner three.
• Richmond is late on weakside help as Ratliff scores on a lob entry pass.
• Mike Davis finishes a tough layup inside off a nice dish from Richmond. Davis will get a free throw out of the break.

Alrighty.

Let’s see what the Illini are made of tonight after that disappointing but deserved loss to UIC on Saturday.

Illinois has struggled all year when other teams have pushed the tempo, with Missouri upping the ante when it comes to frenetic play.

It’s time for Bruce Weber to open up the bench a bit and the seniors to start playing as if  things have really changed from last season.

The Braggin’ Rights game tips off in less than 30 minutes on ESPN2.

Join Writing Illini throughout the game.