Illinois 68, Penn State 61: Hoops Musings for the Morning After
By Editorial Staff
The Illini get a much needed home win against the pesky Nittany Lions before heading back out on the road for another two-game stretch.
Despite the small crowd due to the blizzard, the Illini seemed to snap out of their poor shooting stretch and won their first home game since the loss to #1 Ohio State.
Here are some thoughts on the Illinois-PSU game.
● Illinois really needed this win after the Indiana loss. After falling out of the AP top 25 rankings for the first time this season, the Illini’s tournament hopes were legitimately threatened. If Illinois can take care of Northwestern on the road this weekend, it should move back into the rankings. Consecutive weeks ranked in the top 25 is something that the selection committee looks at when picking teams, so it is important that the Illini get back to the top 25 as soon as possible.
● In the competition for “Big Ten Freshman of the Year Not Named Jarred Sullenger”, Jereme Richmond is pulling away from Ohio State’s Aaron Craft and Purdue’s Terone Johnson after another big performance. The freshman led the Illini in rebounds and is one of a few Illini who crashes the offensive boards after a miss.
Here are some quick player observations:
Demetri McCamey
6 points (2-9 from the field, 2-6 from three, 0-0 from the foul line), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 29 minutes
○ McCamey regained some of his ball control, recording 5 assists and only 1 turnover, but continued to struggle to get his shots to fall. The senior played a season-low 29 minutes. For the first time in two seasons, the Illini offense seemed fine without him on the court. While this is a good sign for the years to come, the team will need McCamey to get his shot back before the upcoming road trips.
D.J. Richardson
10 points (3-9 from the field, 1-6 from three, 3-3 from the foul line), 1 rebound, 4 assist, 1 steal, 1 block and 1 fouls in 33 minutes
○ Richardson had a very solid game, scoring double digits for the first time in 6 games. When he wasn’t scoring, Richardson made several good passes that led to assists and had an impressive block. Most importantly, he held Talor Battle to only 12 points after the senior put up 26 against the Illini in the last meeting.
Bill Cole
10 points (4-5 from the field, 2-3 from three), 4 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 block and 2 fouls in 24 minutes
○ Cole took his movement to the bench in stride and continued to perform well. He was in all of the hustle plays and had the best shooting night of any Illini. If Cole continues to bring the energy and production from the bench, he can expect to keep averaging more than 20 minutes a game, which is more than he had in some games that he started this season.
Mike Davis
22 points (7-14 from the field, 8-10 from the foul line), 7 rebounds 1 assist, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover and 2 fouls in 36 minutes
○ Davis was the only senior who had a solid performance against Penn State. Unlike Mike Tisdale, the fast-paced play of the Nittany Lions did not seem to bother Davis as much. While he took some questionable shots, he took care of things from the foul line and had a season high output for points.
Mike Tisdale
7 points (3-4 from the field, 1-1 from the foul line), 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 2 blocks and 2 fouls in 25 minutes
○ Tisdale was not comfortable all game, with Penn State a smaller team lacking real big man in the post. The speedy play of the guards was often too much for Tisdale, whom watched Battle blow by him at least several times on Tuesday.
Brandon Paul
5 points (1-4 from the field, 1-4 from three, 2-2 from the foul line), 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 block, 2 turnovers and 3 fouls in 17 minutes
○ Paul did not have his best night in terms of shooting, but his career-high 5 assists helped get the ball to players who were scoring. Paul did a really good job running the offense while McCamey was not in the game.
Jereme Richmond
8 points (4-7 from the field, 0-2 from the foul line), 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 turnover, 4 fouls in 30 minutes
○ Richmond may not have had the most points, but it can be argued that he was the best Illini in the game. He outrebounded both senior Mikes, including 4 offensive rebounds, and also had 3 assists. Richmond did not disappoint after being moved to the starting spot, and expect him to start for the rest of the season.
Meyers Leonard, Tyler Griffey, Crandall Head, Joseph Bertrand, Kevin Berardini, Jean Selus
○ None of these players scored as they were put in with under a minute left and the Illini leading big.
The Illini really needed this win, which keeps them in the top half of the Big Ten.
With Purdue’s loss to Wisconsin, the race for second place in the conference is wide open.
The top 5 seeds in the conference get a bye the first week of the Big Ten tournament, so Illinois needs to win out at home and steal at least 2 of their 5 remaining road games to secure the bye.
The Illini are 5 wins away from a 20 win season (the 6th 20 win season in Weber’s 7 years as head coach), and it is hard to see a 20 win Illinois team being left out of the NCAA tournament this year.
That’s all for now.
Until next time.