With its Big Ten schedule about to get straight up nasty, Illinois could not afford a slip up against the Iowa Hawkeyes on February 3rd if it hoped to engage in some March Madness.
Despite the weakened state of Iowa basketball, Carver Hawkeye Arena has never been an easy place to play for the Illini, and this meeting would prove no different.
Where I Was for This Game: I watched this game at my brother’s apartment. I remember this game quite fondly as it was the day when I quit my day job. Let’s just say it was a good day. Not to sound cocky, but if you’ve ever worked for a place that you could not stand, there is hardly a better feeling than walking out on your last day.
What I Remember from This Game:
● Not much, except that Iowa was in the game with about 2 minutes left, causing some butterflies in my stomach.
Some Things That Surprised Me/Stood Out Upon A Second Viewing:
● Entering this game, McCamey was leading the conference with 7.1 assists per game.
● The since-departed Todd Lickliter was 36-50 as the Iowa head coach prior to this game. That’s better than I thought.
● While Illinois led 77-66 in the series against Iowa, the Hawkeyes were 52-18 in Iowa City when playing the Illini. Illinois had won 8 of the last 10 meetings between the schools.
● Roughly 160 Illini fans from the Orange Krush took a bus to the game and were quite vocal, chanting “air ball” every time that Iowa freshman guard Cully Payne touched the ball. Payne threw up two air balls in the first half and was treated as if he was playing a road game.
Before I review this game anymore, let’s take a quick look at the first meeting between these teams earlier in the year. On January 5, Illinois defeated Iowa 59-42 in a rather boring affair marked by Bruce Weber benching two starters (D.J. Richardson and Demetri McCamey) for Bill Cole and Jeff Jordan. Illinois cruised to a big lead at the half, but were outscored 27-22 by the Hawkeyes in the second half. For more on the previous Iowa-Illinois game, see Illini Tale of the Tape: Iowa Hawkeyes vs. Illinois.
Alright.
Let’s do this thing.
Illinois Fighting Illini (14-8, 6-3) vs. Iowa Hawkeyes (8-14, 2-7)
Illinois forward Mike Davis will come off the bench for the third straight game as the Illini go with Demetri McCamey and D.J. Richardson at the guards, Bill Cole and Tyler Griffey and the forwards, and Mike Tisdale at center.
As for Iowa, its starting lineup includes Payne, Matt Gatens and Eric May at the guards, Aaron Fuller at forward, and Jarryd Cole at center.
Announcers: Wayne Larrivee and Kenyon Murray.
Murray says Illinois must open up the floor, get into the thin Iowa bench and go inside to Tisdale. As for Iowa, Murray notes the importance of hanging around early and getting freshman guard Eric May involved offensively and defensively.
And now to the game analysis.
● Demetri McCamey: Squares up and drills a three from the top of the key to put Illinois up 3-0 at 19:35. A bit fortunate on Illinois’ first defensive possession as he was slow to recover on May, who missed a three from the corner. Beautiful bounce pass to Bill Cole for a dunk at 18:46. Misses an open three at 17 minutes, set up by nice ball movement from the Illini. Aggressive crossover and drive into the lane at 15:35, but his pass to Griffey is stolen in the lane. However, the Iowa player steps out of bounds, leading to the under-16.
Back in at under-12. Misses a three at 10:11 as Illinois’ offense was going nowhere. Allows easy baseline penetration by May at 9:32, resulting in a Fuller layup and a 16-13 Iowa lead. Called for a travel at 9:23. McCamey has been sleepy the last few possessions. Great assist to Tisdale off the screen and roll game at 8:52. Curled off the screen, got in the air, drew two defenders and found Tisdale open down low for the hoop and the harm. Nice job of doing the same thing on the next Illini possession, hitting Tisdale down low off another off-the-ball screen. Poor off-the-ball movement and closeout of Devan Bawinkel at 7:03 results in an Iowa three and a 19-17 ILL deficit.
Misses a three at 4:53. Off a curl play, that was a difficult shot early in the shot clock. Gets switched on the bigger Cougill and fouls him in the lane at 3:49, leading to the under-4 timeout. Cougill makes both free throws out of the under-4 to make it 27-24 ILL.
Great body control at 1:37, coming up with a long defensive rebound, pushing the ball, and stopping on the dime (thus avoiding the charge) while hitting a floater in the lane for a 31-27 ILL lead. Another great push on the next Illini possession. After coming up with a Tisdale block of Fuller, McCamey attacks and pulls up on a dime at the free throw line, burying a jumper to put the Illini up 33-27 with 1:03 to go. Hits a difficult left-handed layup at the halftime horn to put the Illini up 8 (35-27) at the break.
Hits a difficult three with 17:56 to go and the Illini shot clock down to 4. Illinois leads 40-30 after McCamey was matched up with Jarryd Cole.
Gets demolished by an inadvertent Cougill elbow with 13:13 to go after the Iowa big man came up with the rebound. McCamey is down on the floor as play is stopped with 13:09 to go.
Misses a difficult reverse layup at 10:07. Good move, but I don’t like the fact that Illinois’ offense is starting to go too much 1-on-5. Gets switched on Cole, crosses him over and draws a foul at 8:28. McCamey hits both free throws to put Illinois up 47-38.
Beautiful crossover at 5:11 but misses the dunk attempt. Good explosion on that play, but a difficult shot over Iowa’s Cole.
Heads-up play at 2:21. After Richardson stole a Gatens’ pass, McCamey pulled the ball back out on the break as the Illini didn’t have numbers and need to kill some time. Misses a difficult step-back jumper with 1:55 to go and the shot clock down. Brutal decision making at 58.2 seconds. After Tisdale tracked down a Davis miss, McCamey tries to throw a lob pass to Cole at the rim. The errant pass caroms hard off the backboard and off an Illini player, giving Iowa a chance to tie the game. Even if that play was there, McCamey shouldn’t have made that pass.
Rattles home the front end of the one and one and misses the second with 19.7 seconds left to put Illinois up 55-49.
Overall: Barring a bad decision late, McCamey had a solid night, with 15 points, 7 assists and 7 boards (along with 3 turnovers) in 35 minutes. Really took over late in the first half, allowing the Illini to take a nice lead into the break. Would have liked to see him bring a little more order to the Illini offense, which struggled in the second half.
● D.J. Richardson: Illinois trying to push early, but D.J. misses a corner three, set up by nice penetration from McCamey. Catches a break at 18:50, as he lost Payne, who missed a wide-open three from the top of the key. Nice feed to Griffey off the screen and roll game results in a layup at 16:25. Misses an open three in the corner at 13:35, set up by more penetration by McCamey.
Back in at 8:01 for Jordan.
Splashes a three out of the under-8, off a nice inbounds play by the Illini, which now leads 22-19. Good help defense at 5:38, coming over to help Paul and get a piece of a difficult Gatens’ shot in the lane. A good job of getting down the court and stepping into and burying an open three from the top of the key, thus putting Illinois up 25-19 with 5:30 to go. Nice dribble drive off the three-point line and penetration at 4:20 draws a shooting foul. Hits both free throws to put Illinois up 27-22. Gets replaced by Jordan.
Illinois with a great set play out of halftime as Richardson hits a curl jumper in the lane for a 37-27 lead with 19:48 to go. Nice dribble drive and baseline attack at 15:56 leads to a blocking foul on Iowa and the under-16 timeout.
Richardson splits the free throws out of the under-16, and Illinois leads 43-32.
Ties up Bawinkel at 13:43. Possession stays with Iowa. Misses an open three at 11:43.
Misses a quick three at 4:14. Way too early in the shot clock. Poor containment of Payne on the ensuing defensive possessions results in easy Iowa penetration, a dish to Cole and a foul on Tisdale (who now has 4 fouls with 4:06 to go).
Nice steal of a Gatens’ pass at 2:27. Poor containment of Payne at 1:39. The Iowa freshman misses a difficult layup, but Iowa gets the board.
Overall: 11 points, 2 assists and 1 steal in 33 minutes. Had a hot stretch in the first half where he had 8 quick points and helped Illinois put some distance between them and the Hawkeyes. Besides that, a bit of a quiet game.
● Bill Cole: Great job of running the floor at 18:46 as McCamey found him for a two-hand slam and a 5-0 ILL lead. Todd Lickliter takes a quick timeout. Good trap at 16:39 and steal off the screen and roll defense. A step slow on a closeout of Gatens at 16:03, resulting in a three and a 7-6 ILL lead.
Back in at under-12. Fails to box out Cougill at 9:50, leading to an offensive rebound. Sloppy post pass to Tisdale is knocked out of bounds at 6:06, resulting in under-8 timeout.
Misses an open three at 19:17; great look off patient ball movement by the Illini. Good help at 18:34, blocking a Fuller shot inside.
Back in for the out-of-control Paul at 13:09. May hits a tough step-back shot over Cole at 11:12; good defense, just a better shot as Illinois’ lead is at 43-34.
Called for a blocking foul at 10:31 as Iowa’s Cole hits a layup. Bill Cole looked like he had position, but he was under the basket. Jarryd Cole misses the free throw, and Illinois leads 43-36. Gets switched on Cully Payne at 9:55, and can’t control the Iowa freshman as he gets to the lane, makes a layup and is fouled. Payne misses the free throw though, and Illinois’ lead is down to 43-38.
Fouled by Gatens off an inbounds pass at 6 minutes. Cole misses the first free throw and then hits the second to put Illinois up 48-40.
Overall: 3 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal in 26 minutes. Pretty quiet night for Cole as well.
● Tyler Griffey: Bad box out of Fuller at 17:36, resulting in an offensive rebound and a quick Gatens’ three for a 5-3 game in favor of the Illini. Nice roll to the basket (after screening Richardson) and finish for a 7-3 ILL lead with 16:25 to go.
Back in at the under-12. Good show on a screen at 10:39, but is slow to recover, leaving his man Brennan Cougill open for a three. Iowa leads 14-13.
Starts the second half on the bench, as Davis gets the start. Comes in at 14:26 for Tisdale, who has picked up 2 fouls in the second half. Struggles to get a body on Jarryd Cole, who comes with up an offensive board. Called for an off-the-ball foul at 12:23.
In for Tisdale at 4:06 and hits a huge baseline jumper with 3:41 to go, putting the Illini up 50-45.
Overall: 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist, and 1 turnover in 11 minutes. Started the game but not the second half as Weber tried to get Davis going. Hit a huge shot late in the second half to put Illinois up 5 just after Iowa had cut the game to 3 points.
● Mike Tisdale: Good use of his length at 17:36, forcing a difficult miss by Gatens.
Gets his first post touch at 14:47, but can’t hit a right-handed half hook. Got pushed out a bit there and seemed one step farther from the basket than he liked. Good help defense (along with Paul) at 14:26, blocking a Fuller shot under the basket after Richardson lost his man. Misses an open corner jumper at 14:12, with the shot set up by good dribble penetration from McCamey. Looked like he was fading to the side on that shot.
Back in at under-12 after Keller replaced him for a couple of minutes. Nice screen and roll, and strong finish at 8:52. A good job of absorbing the contact while banking in the shot (plus the foul). Tisdale misses the free throw, and Illinois trails 16-15. On the next Illini possession, does another good job of setting an off-the-ball screen and diving to the hoop, with McCamey finding him for an easy layup and a 17-16 ILL lead. Nice jump hook at 6:45 ties the game at 19 (good feed from Richardson).
Nice recovery and block of Fuller at 1:11 sparks an Illini fast break. Soft after a defensive rebound with 25 seconds, rushing a pass that is stolen rather than taking his time and sweeping defenders away from him with his elbows.
Not strong enough on a soft post-entry pass from Davis at 18:47, as Iowa’s much smaller Eric May bullied Tisdale to the floor. Fouls Gatens at 18:29 after Iowa came up with several loose balls. For once, Tisdale is not in foul trouble (at least not yet); Gatens splits the free throws to make it 37-30 Illinois. Gets outworked by the smaller Jarryd Cole at 17:26, as the Iowa big man got good post position and then bullied a bank shot over the outstretched arms of Tisdale to cut the Illini lead to 40-32. Murray hits it on the head: Tisdale is really getting pushed around in the second half. Responds to that criticism by securing the offensive board of a McCamey miss at 16:46, and then laying the ball up for a 42-32 Illinois lead.
Gives up inside position to Cougill at 14:27, resulting in an offensive board and Tisdale’s second foul. Tisdale is replaced with Griffey. Called for a travel at 10:49, leading to the under-12. Looked like he was bumped by Cougill, whose girth gave Tisdale problems yet again.
Illinois finally scores at 9:38 as Tisdale hits a layup and is fouled off a nice high-low feed from Davis. Tisdale with a good job of keeping the ball high, but a poor job of finishing the three-point play as he misses the free throw. Illinois leads 45-38. Tisdale is really struggling to get a body on Jarryd Cole, who is getting too many offensive rebounds this half.
Fouled at 6 minutes on another high low pass from Davis. Tisdale got hammered there. He is a bit ginger after getting hammered on that play and thrown down to the floor by Cole on the previous defensive possession. Picks up his third foul of the game (and half) at 5 minutes as he bumped the driving Payne, who then buries a three at 4:27 to cut the Illinois lead to 48-43. Picks up his fourth foul at 4:06, as he is late to recover on Jarryd Cole, who rolled off a screen. Cole hits both free throws, and the Illinois lead is just 48-45. Tisdale is replaced by Griffey.
Back in for Griffey at 3:20. Big offensive rebound of a Davis miss at 1:04, but McCamey turns the ball over quickly.
Fouled with 34.2 seconds left and Illinois clinging to a 52-49 lead. In the one and one here, Tisdale makes both free throws to put the Illini up 54-49. Hits two free throws with 6.1 seconds left to put Illinois up 57-49.
Overall: 14 points (on an efficient 5-for-7 from the field and 4-for-6 from the line), 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 turnovers in 33 minutes. Had a spurt in the first half where he scored often and easily; was a bit soft in the second half as Iowa’s Jarryd Cole outhustled and outmuscled him. Made big free throws when the game mattered to help Illini pull out the win.
● Mike Davis: In at the under-16 for Griffey. Good use of his length when defending and rebounding a Gatens’ miss with just under 14 minutes to go. Called for an offensive, over-the-back foul at 13:35 after Richardson missed a three. Hits a tough shot over Fuller at 11:20. A good job of using his dribble to create some space and then rise and fire.
Difficult step-back baseline jumper is missed off the bounce at 7:20.
Nice job of getting his hands in the passing lane at 3:05, resulting in a steal at the top of the key and a two-handed flush for a 29-24 ILL lead. Misses a tough, one-handed baseline shot at 2:23; was a bit rushed there after getting good post position. Would have liked to see Davis be more patient on that play.
Starts the second half. Poor help defense at 19:05, failing to step out for the screened Cole as Gatens easily drove in for a layup and a 37-29 game in favor of Illinois. Lazy entry pass to Tisdale is stolen at 18:47. Good block of Fuller at 18:36.
Great high low feed to Tisdale at 9:38 results in a three-point play opportunity.
Misses an open elbow jumper at 6:43. Has not been hitting that shot in the past couple of weeks. Way too mechanical looking. Lazy reversal pass to D.J. Richardson is nearly stolen by the suddenly energetic Payne with just under 4 minutes to go. Allows post position to and fouls Fuller at 3:20, leading to the under-4. Fuller hits both free throws to cut the Illinois lead to 50-47.
Responds at 2:48 with a huge pull-up jumper from the free throw line to put the Illini back up 52-47. A big shot, set up by great penetration from McCamey. Fails to box out Fuller at 1:37. Fuller gets the offensive rebound of a Payne miss and is fouled on the head by Davis, who looked like he got ball. Anyways, Fuller makes both free throws to cut the Illini lead to just 52-49.
Overall: 6 points, 5 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 block, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 29 minutes. Had some nice moments (a big shot late in the game and nice steal and dunk in the first half) but was not active enough in my opinion.
● Brandon Paul: In at the under-16 for Cole. Crazy drive at 15:18 results in a forced and badly missed shot. Illinois catches a break as Iowa gets down court but Payne air balls an open three. Nice job of getting his hands in the passing lanes at 13 minutes, stealing an Iowa pass and then missing the layup. However, he sticks with the shot, grabs the board and lays it in for a 9-6 ILL lead. Looked like he took off too early on the first shot.
Back in at under-8.
Nice box out of the bigger Cougill leads to a defensive board at 5:09. Nearly travels as he picked the ball up early while pushing up court. Very passive closeout of Gatens at 4:25 results in another Iowa three and a 25-22 game in favor of the Illini.
Misses a difficult pull up at 3:20. Poor shot selection there as that shot wasn’t within the context of the offense, but rather 1-on-5.
In out of under 16 for Cole. Nice defense on Gatens at 15:29, knocking the ball from behind and off Gatens. Misses a very difficult three with 14:53 as the shot clock was down to 10 seconds. Paul with tunnel vision there; saw shot clock and was set on taking a shot. Had McCamey open behind him. Weber could be heard yelling at Paul to move the ball earlier in the possession. That was a questionable three, fading away from the top of the key. Very sloppy with the basketball off a loose ball at 14:07, dribbling way too recklessly and carefree as Jarryd Cole comes from behind and steals the ball. Catches a break around 13:30 when Gatens beats him but misses a runner in the lane. Then misses a layup off a curl play at 13:13. Is playing out of control and with poor focus right here.
Back in for the final minute. Good position defense and use of his hands as Gatens misses a three with 21 seconds left and Illinois up 54-49.
Overall: 2 points (on 1-for-7 shooting), 3 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 12 minutes. Was really out of control during an ineffective performance.
● Dominique Keller: In at 13:35 for Tisdale. A bit slow to close out May at 12:35, resulting in a corner three and a 9-9 tie. Nice job of crashing the boards and trying to tip the ball in after a Paul missed three at 12:09. Good trap of Lickliter on the baseline but is slow to recover to his man Fuller after receiving a bounce pass. Fuller scores a layup and Illinois trails 11-9 with 11:38 to go.
Back in at 4:20 for Tisdale.
In at 13:09 for Davis.
Overall: 1 rebound and 1 missed shot in 6 minutes. Not giving Illinois consistent energy off the bench.
● Jeff Jordan: In at 13:35 for McCamey. Good on-the-ball defense on Iowa guard John Lickliter at 13:18 results in a 30-second timeout. Lickliter picked up his dribble there and Jordan pounced.
Out of the under-12, gets in the lane and hits a right-handed push shot to put Illinois up 13-11 at 11:01. Nearly turns the ball over at 9 minutes after dribbling with his head cut off and throwing a pass off Tisdale. Luckily, Illinois tracks down the loose ball.
Poor containment of Cully Payne at 2:47, allowing the Iowa southpaw to go baseline, draw the defense and kick out to the top of the key to Cougill, who buries an open three to make it a 29-27 game in favor of Illinois.
Back in at 13:09, and forces a Payne travel. Can’t handle a curl pass at 12:37.
In at 8:28 for Bill Cole. Air balls a three at 7:18, leading to a shot clock violation and the under-8 timeout.
Poor containment of Gatens at 6:24 results in a dribble penetration and an easy layup for Cole. Tisdale got thrown down on that play and came up limping. Illinois leads 47-40.
Overall: 2 points, 1 rebound and 1 turnover in 15 minutes.
● Bruce Weber: Illinois leads 5-0 at 18:46. Lickliter takes a timeout after a Bill Cole dunk. Illinois is looking to push the tempo here against the outmanned Hawkeyes. Good execution of that game plan early. Iowa got down 13-0 against Michigan in its last game.
Illinois will not get off to such a start, leading 7-6 at the under-16. Both teams are three-point happy, especially Iowa. A good intensity to this game thus far. Iowa may not be the most talented team, but the Hawkeyes are certainly playing hard and getting open looks against an Illinois defense that will give up the three-point shot.
The game is tied at 11 at the under-12. Nine of Iowa’s 11 points are from the three-point line. The Hawkeyes are doing a good job of switching screens defensively, and the Illini have missed some open looks. Still, the Illini are generally getting good shots; just got to hit them. Iowa is hanging around with some ugly but gritty play.
The game is tied at 19 at the under-8. Iowa is really outworking the Illini, getting to the boards and into the lane with much better energy and ease. Iowa is shooting 45% from three, but has missed some wide open looks. Illinois needs to pick it up as Iowa has been the more scrappier team. The Illini are starting to do a good job of getting the ball inside to Tisdale, who had six points in that stretch.
Illinois leads 27-22 at the under-4. The Illini are on a 10-3 run, with Richardson going off on one of his mini-scoring bursts. Richardson with 8 of those 10 points, including 2 quick threes out of the under-8.
Illinois leads 33-27 with 13.7 seconds left as Weber calls a timeout to draw up the final play of the half. McCamey has caught fire, pushing the ball on several possessions and hitting difficult shots after stopping on a dime. Illinois’ activity has been better in this spurt, with Davis also getting in the passing lane, making a steal and getting a fast-break dunk. Illinois has dodged some bullets though, as Iowa is getting way too much penetration, leading to several open threes that have rimmed in and out. Illinois is losing the three-point game, but winning the points in the paint 20-4.
Make that 22-4 as McCamey hits a difficult left-handed layup in the lane at the halftime horn to put Illinois up 35-27 at the break. McCamey really woke up offensively in the last couple of minutes. A nice timeout by Weber, as Illinois got what it wanted on that final possession of the half: an isolation for McCamey.
Here are some key halftime stats. Despite getting some open looks, Iowa is just 32% from the field; on the other hand, the suddenly hot Illini are hitting at a 52% clip. Iowa was 7/18 from three; Illinois 3/9. Illinois dominated with a 22-4 advantage in paint points and a 10-0 advantage in fast break points. After Iowa did a better job on the boards early in the first half, the Illini came back to nod up the rebounding game at 17. There were only 5 total fouls called in the first half: 3 on the Illini, 2 on Iowa.
Illinois is up 42-32 at the under-16. Iowa is playing a rugged half, giving Tisdale some problems with physical play, but the Illini are generally being patient and getting good looks. Give credit to the Hawkeyes: they are playing hard and not quitting. They just don’t have the horses.
Illinois leads 43-34 at the under-12. This game has become a scrambled mess. Iowa is playing very hard but cannot hit an open shot. The Illini are starting to play into Iowa’s hands by forcing things and turning the ball over. Paul was awful in that stretch for the Illini, and both teams have struggled to put the ball in the basket. The Illini haven’t scored in 6:20. This game is getting really ugly. Illinois doesn’t want to fall into this trap.
Illinois leads 47-38 at the under-8. The Illini were able to snap a scoring drought with a Tisdale layup, but still have no rhythm on offense. In general, Illinois looks a step slow in the second half. Iowa has more energy and is making all of the 50/50 plays. Iowa has a 10-8 advantage in points in the paint during the second half. Illinois is a bit lucky as Iowa has to work so hard just to get shots that the Hawkeyes are missing many of them (Iowa is 0-for-6 from three in the second half), or turning the ball over (on unforced errors). Not a very impressive half thus far for the Illini, which have just 12 points in 12 minutes. Iowa’s Jarryd Cole is outworking everyone else on the court.
Illinois takes a timeout at 4:06 as Iowa has cut the game to 48-43 with Jarryd Cole shooting two free throws. Illinois has been unable to extend its lead, and Iowa finally got a three from Payne, who has picked up his play in the last minute. Illinois is living dangerously yet again, having missed its last five shots.
Illinois leads 50-45 at the under-4 as Griffey just hit a big shot (Illinois’ first make in its last 6 shots). Iowa is not going away though, as the frustrating Davis fouled Fuller inside, leading to 2 free throws out of the under-4. Illinois with just 15 points in the second half.
How’s this for a surprising stat? Iowa is 3-1 in games decided by 5 points or less; Illinois 3-4.
Illinois leads 52-49 with 58.2 seconds left after McCamey just turned the ball over following a terrible lob pass to Cole. A poor decision there. Iowa takes a timeout and cut this game to one or tie it up with a three. Illinois dodges a bullet as Payne gets into the lane and misses a layup with 37 seconds left.
Tisdale is fouled with 34.2 seconds left and hits both free throws to put Illinois up 54-49. Illinois takes a timeout and comes out with a defensive lineup of McCamey, Richardson, Paul, Cole and Davis. Illinois gets a defensive stop and salts the game away by making 3-of-4 free throws to win 57-49.
Illinois and Iowa played to a 22-22 draw in the second half. Much like the first meeting between these teams, Illinois was better in the first half, but didn’t bring the greatest energy in the second 20 minutes. Illinois got outrebounded 38 to 32 in the game after the boards game was nodded at 17 at the break. Thank God Iowa shot 29.6% from the field for the game, and just 8-for-26 from three.
Overall: Illinois didn’t do anything great but pulled out the win. Only 22 points in the second half was disappointing, as Illinois’ offense seemed a bit more concerned about milking the shot clock than getting good movement and shots. With that said, this was a classic trap game, and Illinois avoided the quick sand. Generally speaking, Illinois did a good job of focusing on its size advantage in the post, which proved to pay dividends in the first half.
Overall: Illinois wins 57-49. If this wasn’t an outmanned Iowa team, the Illini may have lost, as they gave up a lot of good looks that weren’t converted and were outhustled in the second half. Such an effort wouldn’t get the job done against an opponent like Michigan State and barely got it down against Iowa. With that said, a win’s a win, especially with this Illinois team.
Player of the Game: Hard to call for the Illini as no one was truly consistent all night long. I’ll say McCamey, given the balance in his stat line (15, 7 and 7), and his mini-run to the end the first half.
Play of the Game: On two occasions late in the game, Iowa cut the game to three. Illinois responded with a corner jumper from Griffey and a free-throw line jumper from Davis to extend the game back to five.
Some Things I Liked:
● Not much, except that the Illini hung on to win.
● Points in the paint advantage was 22 to 4 in the first half in favor of the Illini.
Some Things I Disliked:
● Got outworked in the second half (see the rebounding edge going to Iowa).
● Poor decision making late (McCamey’s lob pass to Cole with less than a minute left gave Iowa a chance to tie the game with a three).
● A bit too much emphasis on running the shot clock down as opposed to running good offense in the second half.
Well, that’s it for another Illini Tale of the Tape.
Up next, the ESPN Gameday battle against Michigan State.
Until then.