Valentine’s Day 2010 would hardly be a happy one for the Illinois Fighting Illini, which was coming off two big wins against Michigan State and at Wisconsin when taking on what appeared then to be an even (if not slightly better) Ohio State Buckeyes squad.
With both teams posting 9-3 records in the Big Ten and entering play with 4-game winning streaks, this game had the makings of a good one on paper.
Well, that certainly wasn’t the case, as the Buckeyes shot the lights out at the Assembly Hall with poison arrows from behind the three-point line while the Illini missed, and missed, and missed some more from the outside.
And now to the Valentine’s Day Massacre, when one team that would be a 2-seed in the NCAA Tournament slaughtered another team that would be on the outside looking in come Selection Sunday.
Where I Was for This Game: I was refereeing a youth basketball league out in Wilmette; thus I didn’t get to see this early game on CBS. I did listen to the first 8 minutes or so on the radio and got the grave feeling that the Illini were in for a long game. This will be my first full viewing of this game.
What I Remember from This Game:
● Ohio State coming out like gangbusters, shooting the Illini into an early double-digit hole, and blowing this one out of the water thanks to Evan Turner, Jon Diebler and others.
● My cousin (a student at the U-of-I and in attendance for this game) keeping me updated with text messages on how bad the Illini were playing.
● Hearing and reading about how the Illini really struggled with the 1-3-1.
What Surprised Me/Stood Out Upon This Viewing:
● As bad as Illinois played in the first half, the Illini still had a chance to cut the game to single digits at the break. Unfortunately, the Illini couldn’t convert golden opportunities or get any rhythm.
● Didn’t realize how bad Illinois shot from three (4-for-24).
● Or that the combination of McCamey and Richardson did not make a field goal until there was roughly 14 minutes left in the second half, when D.J. hit a difficult reverse layup.
Alright.
Let’s do this thing, which was the first of three matchups between the teams.
#13 Ohio State Buckeyes (19-6, 9-3) vs. Illinois Fighting Illini (17-8, 9-3)
Here are the starting lineups.
For Ohio State, Thad Matta will go with G Evan Turner (Junior), G Jon Diebler (Junior), G William Buford (Sophomore), F David Lighty (Junior) and F Dallas Lauderdale (Junior).
For Illinois, Bruce Weber will stick with the starting lineup from the Wisconsin game in G Demetri McCamey (Junior), G D.J. Richardson (Freshman), F Bill Cole (Junior), F Mike Davis (Junior) and C Mike Tisdale (Junior).
Announcers: Gus Johnson and Greg Anthony
● Demetri McCamey: Nice job of getting into the middle of the 1-3-1 and finding Bill Cole on the block at 19:09, leading to a layup and a 2-0 ILL lead. Struggles to contain Diebler off the dribble handoff, leading to penetration and a kick out to Lighty, who buries a three at 18:46 to put OSU up 3-2. Pounds the ball into the ground and then rushes a long three at 18:26 that is rebounded by Tisdale. Not the shot that Illinois wants. Need to move the ball through the 1-3-1, get some interior looks and attack the elbows, as Greg Anthony notes. Good job of picking up a loose ball and running a balanced yet patient break at 17:56, leading to an assist on a Davis layup. Great look from McCamey. Long on another three at 15:44; didn’t look set on that shot. Gets matched up with high school teammate Turner at 14:14 but is slow to recover on a screen and roll play, allowing Turner to take some time after turning the corner and then thread a pass to Lauderdale for a layup and a 13-6 OSU lead.
Great over-the-top pass to Tisdale at 13:24 results in an Illinois basket and a 13-8 game in favor of the Buckeyes. McCamey has assisted on all 4 Illinois buckets. Great diagonal pass at 12:55, assisting on a Griffey score at the hoop. Great find. Great interior catch off an inbounds play at 10:26, and then a nice bounce pass to Davis, who takes one dribble and hits a half hook in the lane. Another assist from McCamey. Good penetration at 8:57, but Davis can’t handle the no-look pass. Too bad – that was a dunk there. Down 27-12, feels like he must do it all by himself at 8:27, getting into the lane and using a nice ball fake to throw up a quick shot that is missed.
Completely loses Diebler on a corner three at 7:13, as Illinois falls behind 18 points. Nice find on the next possession, hitting Tisdale off the pick and roll for a dunk and a 30-14 game with 6:54 left. Catches a break at 5:59, dribbling the ball into the ground, overdriving on the baseline and getting caught in the air before a dangerous cross-court pass is knocked out of bounds by OSU. Misses a deep, flat-footed three at 5:40. Gets called for an offensive foul at 5:14 off a nice pass out of the middle of the zone from Keller. McCamey went baseline and it looked like Lighty may have been under the basket on the charge play. Following a long offensive board by Cole, McCamey attacks the middle of the zone and finds Davis down low for a layup and a 34-16 game with 4:14 to go.
Nice stutter dribble and drive to the basket at 1:01 after Turner missed a running shot on the break. McCamey was fouled and splits one of two free throws to make it 36-20 OSU. McCamey with one point thus far, but Anthony makes a good point in that he has done well in terms of orchestrating the offense. McCamey with 6 assists. Good hustle at 36.9 seconds, but can’t come up with a long rebound that he knocks out of bounds. Illinois’ energy has been much better since Weber’s timeout at 4:31, but the Illini haven’t converted. This could be a 10-point game.
Lazy cross-court skip pass to Davis on the interior is stolen by OSU at 19:02 of the second half. Poor decision. Aggressive attack on the next Illini possession, missing a layup that is tipped up and in by Tisdale. Poor defense at 17:52, allowing the shooter-happy Diebler to dribble drive on the baseline and hit Lauderdale, who is fouled by Cole on a shooting attempt. Lauderdale hits one of two to put the Buckeyes up 39-22. Nice high low feed against the 1-3-1 at 17:35, hitting Tisdale for a layup and a 39-24 ILL deficit. Measures and misses a long three at 17 minutes after OSU went to the man. The long rebound goes to OSU, which gets on the break only to have Turner called for basket interference on a Buford layup attempt. Great dribble drive and kick out to Davis at 16:36, but Davis misses the open jumper. More good penetration at 16 minutes, hitting Cole for a great reverse layup. Fouls Diebler on the hand and on the floor at 15:48, leading to the under-16.
Bad decision at 15:01, running the break and trying to make a spectacular yet extremely difficult and not available pass to Tisdale when Richardson was open right on the baseline. Soft inbounds pass to Richardson is stolen by Turner at 14:37. A great play by Turner, but McCamey didn’t put enough mustard on that dish. Misses a runner at 13:30 off a good head fake at the top of the key. No field goals yet for Demetri. Gets his first field goal on an aggressive driving lefty layup at 11:45, cutting the Illinois deficit to 49-34.
More good penetration at 10:32, finding Richardson for a baseline jumper and a 50-34 game in favor of the Buckeyes.
After an Illinois timeout (with the Illini trailing 60-38), makes an aggressive drive and hits a difficult one-handed bank shot to cut the game to 20 with 8:30 to go. 5 points and 9 assists for McCamey. Falls asleep on the help line and loses Diebler on the opposite side at 8:03. Lighty goes baseline and hits the open Diebler, who buries another open three for a 63-40 Buckeye lead. Travels at 7:15, running before he caught the ball and leading to the under-8 timeout.
Hits a difficult runner at 6:37 off a nice shoulder fake and in-out dribble. The game is now 63-42 Ohio State. Overdribbles and gets away with an offensive foul at 5:45 as he runs over Diebler in the lane and hits a layup to make it 65-44 OSU. McCamey looks really frustrated and is talking trash to Diebler after that make. No need for that. McCamey is also starting to get into it with Turner. Is trying to do too much 1-on-5, going at Diebler and having the ball knocked out of bounds from behind at 5:14.
Out for the rest of the game at the under-4.
Overall: Rough shooting game for McCamey, who was just 4-for-12 (0-for-4 from three) and didn’t have a field goal until nearly 10 minutes were left in the second half. Did have 9 assists along with 9 points, 2 rebounds and 1 steal in 37 minutes. Very uneven floor game as he also had 5 turnovers and he didn’t do a good job at times of getting Illinois into an attack mode against the 1-3-1. Still, McCamey was about the only one who attacked the zone well, getting penetration and setting up his teammates for good shots. Had Illinois been able to hit a shot, McCamey would have had double-digit assists. Wasn’t terrible but wasn’t great either.
● D.J. Richardson: Turns the ball over on first possession of the game as he tried to thread a pass through the middle of the 1-3-1 zone with the shot clock under 10. Ohio State pushes on the play but Diebler misses a quick three that Richardson grabs. Good help and hands at 18:02 in knocking the ball away and starting an Illinois break and finish. Fouls Lauderdale at 16:55, on a screen and roll play at the basket. Richardson thought he got all ball there. Lauderdale makes both free throws to put OSU up 6-4. Long on an open three at 16:37.
Dribbles into and rushes a quick shot against the 1-3-1 out of the under-16, resulting in a long Turner rebound. Illinois catches a break when Turner hits Buford, who attacks the rim but steps on the baseline before kicking to an open Diebler in the opposite corner.
Nice activity on the board, nearly tipping in a Griffey miss at 11:04.
Nice job on first defensive possession of the second half, guarding Turner off the curl and forcing a tie up on a shot attempt. Great defense at 17:12, getting posted by Turner but knocking the ball out of bounds off the Ohio State star.
Gets caught under a screen at 15:26 and does not get over quick enough, allowing Turner to take and make an easy jumper from the top of the key for a 41-26 Buckeye lead. Forces a three at 15:14 and misses everything. Way too quick of a shot, which only came off two passes. Great help defense at 14:47, sliding over and taking a charge against Lighty, who was dribbling a bit out of control. Hits a tough reverse layup at 14:05, marking the first field goal from him or McCamey all game. Good find by McCamey on that play, and a smart decision by Richardson, who could have fired a three but used a head fake to go baseline and score inside. Misses two wide open threes between the 13-minute and 12-minute mark. Great hands at 11:27, knocking the ball away from Turner and getting on the floor for a loose ball that stays with Ohio State.
Nice catch of a McCamey pass and use of a crossover dribble on the baseline to hit a difficult shot at 10:32, cutting the Ohio State lead to 50-36.
Back in the game at under-4.
Overall: Like McCamey, a cold shooting night, finishing just 2-for-10 from the free and an absolutely frigid 0-for-7 from three. Had 4 points, 2 assists, 2 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 29 minutes. As bad as it went defensively, Richardson displayed great defensive competitiveness against Turner in the second half, even when the game was clearly over.
● Bill Cole: Scores behind the 1-3-1 zone at 19:09, set up by a nice penetration and dish from McCamey. Nice slashing play by Cole, who puts the Illini up 2-0. Steps out of bounds at 18:23 after receiving a pass in the corner. Poor awareness of where he was on the floor. Nice pump fake on the baseline frees up a driving layup attempt at 16:09, but Cole gets caught in the air a bit too long and misses the shot. Got to finish that one. Fouled on the wing by Lighty at 13:59, leading to the under-16 timeout.
Back in at 9 minutes for the struggling Paul. Gets immediately posted by Turner, who spins middle and kicks to Kyle Madsen on the baseline for a jumper that rattles in and gives Ohio State a 27-12 lead.
Slow to close out on Buford out of the under-8, leading to more dribble penetration and a kick-out to Diebler, who buries a three for a 30-12 OSU lead with 7:13 remaining. McCamey lost track of Diebler there and was very late to recover. Actually, he didn’t recover. Misses an open but flat-footed three at 4:17, but tracks down the long rebound. That shot was way too mechanical.
Misses a shot on Illinois’ first possession of the second half, a long three with the shot clock down, but does a good job of getting down court and deflecting a Buckeye pass, which caroms off the backboard to McCamey at 19:09. Nice job of running the court at 16 minutes, hitting a nice reverse layup after McCamey got into the lane and found him. Illinois trails 39-26 after that great feed and finish.
Illinois just can’t get the bounces. Cole has a layup attempt spin in and out off an inbounds play at 15 minutes. Thankfully, Cole was fouled on the play, which was created by a great inbounds pass by McCamey. Cole hits one of two to cut the OSU lead to 41-27.
A half-second slow to get off a screen for Diebler, who makes the Illini pay with a three that extends the Buckeye lead to 46-29 with 13:47 to go.
Hits an open three at 4:13, cutting the Illinois deficit to 67-47. Cole can’t stop Turner on the other end as the Buckeye hits a difficult jumper off a nasty crossover to put the Buckeyes up 69-47 with 3:45 to go. Cole is left shaking his head there. Follows up by missing an open corner three at 3:30. Slow to close out on Diebler at 3:21, leading to a foul and the under-4. The usually stoic Cole is a frustrated picture of the day’s events for the Illini.
Overall: Tough matchup for Cole, who really didn’t have anyone he could guard on Ohio State. Finished with 8 points, 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 24 minutes. Played hard as he always does.
● Mike Davis: Good job of running the court at 17:56 after an Illinois steal, with McCamey finding him for a layup and a 4-3 ILL lead. Nice save of a hot pass from Richardson on the baseline at 17:26. Nice job of getting back and stealing a sloppy pass from Evan Turner in the secondary transition game. Rattles home a long baseline jumper at 15:14 against the 1-3-1 to cut the OSU lead to 8-6. Gets caught high side on a screen and allows penetration to Lighty, who kicks out to Diebler for a fading three with McCamey in his face. OSU leads 11-6 after some nice draw and kick action. Misses a quick baseline jumper at 14:18. That was just like his last shot: a bit too early and far out against the 1-3-1.
Struggles to contain Lighty from going baseline at 13:05 when the OSU junior jab steps left and then blows by him right. Paul fouls Lighty at the rim, and Lighty hits both free throws to put OSU up 15-8.
In for Tisdale out of the under-12. Nice defensive rebound of a Turner miss at 10:33 but nearly turns the ball over on the pass attempt. Similar to a play at the end of the Wisconsin game. Davis sometimes panics with the ball rather than taking his time and being strong. Nice jump hook at 10:17, cutting the OSU lead to 21-12.
Hits a bunny at 4:14, off a nice feed from McCamey, to cut the OSU lead to 34-16. Trying to get the Illini fired up as he runs down the court. Great help defense at 3:57, swiping the ball from Turner and initiating an Illini break during which Richardson misses an open three. Misses a wild reverse layup at 3:36 off another Illini steal. McCamey overpenetrated a bit and Davis had to take a bad angle. Anyways, that quick shot results in a Ohio State break and Lighty dunk for a 36-16 game with 3:20 to go. Can’t come up with a great lob pass, which goes right through his hands at 2:37, leading to the under-4. That would have been a dunk.
Nice offensive rebound of a missed Paul three at 1:18 but can’t throw his return flip shot into the basket.
Nearly tips in a missed Cole three at 19:12 of the second half. Good activity, but another close shot that wouldn’t fall for the Illini. Illinois can’t buy an outside bucket as Davis misses an open baseline jumper at 16:36; luckily, Tisdale was fouled off the ball after that flat-looking shot, which hit the rim and then died. Misses an off-balance and rushed turn-into-the-lane shot at 16:30. Weber and Davis want a foul, but there wasn’t one. No time to complain, when considering the deficit Illinois is facing.
Can’t handle a routine Paul pass at 9:29, and has the fumbled ball ripped out of his hands by the more aggressive Lighty, who hits Turner up court for an uncontested dunk and a 57-38 ILL deficit. No toughness from Davis there.
Overall: 8 points (on 4-for-11 shooting), 7 rebounds, 1 steal and 2 turnovers in 31 up-and-down minutes. As it was the case for Cole, Ohio State is a bad matchup for Davis, who basically has to guard a perimeter player like Lighty or Buford. Liked Davis’ energy in the first half; as for the second 20 minutes, he was pretty quiet. Has not been able to knock down the jumper consistently in the Big Ten season thus far.
● Mike Tisdale: Nice work on the offensive boards at 18:26, rebounding a forced McCamey three early against the 1-3-1. Picks up his first foul at 17:40 when a driving Turner got into the lane. Poor communication by the Illini, with Tisdale failing to call out a ball screen for Richardson, who got crushed by Lauderdale. Turner hits one of two free throws to tie the game at 4. Travels at 17:12 after Cole found him down low with an over-the-top pass against the 1-3-1. The pass was a bit over Tisdale’s head, who traveled after securing the ball. Illinois does a good job of getting back in transition after a missed McCamey three with 15:44 to go, but Turner gets mismatched with Tisdale, who doesn’t allow baseline but gives up a crossover dribble into a made jumper for an 8-4 OSU lead. Illinois will live with Turner hitting that difficult shot rather than getting into the lane.
Nice over-the-top catch of a McCamey pass at 13:24 and a good job of sticking with the ball after missing his first attempt leads to a layup and a 13-8 OSU lead. Good job of keeping the ball high. Nice catch of a difficult Griffey pass at 12:08 but bricks a hook shot 5 seconds letter. Got bumped out about a step too far by Lauderdale, and was clearly not comfortable with that shot.
Back in at 9 minutes for Griffey.
Nice pick and roll to the basket at 6:54, with McCamey finding him and Tisdale slamming the ball through the hoop for a 30-14 OSU lead. Nice offensive rebound of a missed McCamey three at 5:38 but misses the bank shot put back in the lane. Got bodied out there and looked rushed on that shot, which took place about one step inside the free throw line. Turner got his seventh rebound there, blew by McCamey and then drew a foul on Tisdale on a drive. What acceleration there. Tisdale with two fouls. Turner hits one of two free throws to put OSU up 31-14 with 5:32 left.
Gets matched up off a switch on Turner at 18:29, and the future Philadelphia 76er buries a jumper off bounce over Tisdale for a 38-20 OSU lead with 18:29 to go. Follows up six seconds later by getting down court and tipping in a missed McCamey layup to cut the game to 38-22 in favor of Ohio State. Nice job of making himself a post presence at 17:35, catching a high-low pass from McCamey behind the 1-3-1 and putting in an easy layup for a 39-24 Ohio State lead.
Tisdale gets pushed out of the way by Lauderdale off an inbounds play at 14:18 in which Turner came off a curl screen and hit a banker for a 43-27 Ohio State lead. That was a blatant foul by Lauderdale.
Overall: 8 points (4-for-8 from the field), 8 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 24 minutes. Played aggressive on the offensive glass at times (5 offensive rebounds), but this was a tough matchup for Tisdale as well. Got switched with Turner several times off the screen and roll game, and that mismatch didn’t go well for the Illini.
● Brandon Paul: In for Cole out of the under-16. Goes under rather than over a screen at 12:39, resulting in a wide open three for Buford and an 18-10 OSU lead. Got caught too high on that screen and then went under for some reason. Would have been better off to just go over as the angle for the pass was not there if Buford had to fade out to the corner. Does not fully closeout out Diebler at 11:45, and the Buckeye guard releases the ball quickly, draining a three for a 21-10 ILL deficit. Paul initially did a good job of closing out but did not fully commit. I think he would be better off to get into Diebler’s body, cutting off the three and forcing the shooter to put the ball on the deck. Has a crossover dribble knocked out of bounds by Diebler at 11:18, leading to the under-12.
Good offensive rebound of a Richardson tip in attempt at 11:04 but throws up a wild shot in the lane, which is rebounded by OSU and leads to a Griffey foul on the crash. Misses a wide open three at 10:26, set up by a very nice skip pass from Richardson. Overaggressive and out-of-control drive at 9:35 leads to a wild running attempt that is thrown hard off the glass, initiating a Ohio State break during which Lighty throws down a nasty dunk for a 25-12 OSU lead.
Back in out of the under-4. Nearly steals a reverse pass to Turner and then gets on the floor to knock the ball out of bounds. Nice defensive rebound at 2:00 as Illinois got lucky on that possession, leaving Lighty open for a missed three, giving up an offensive rebound to Lighty (Keller didn’t track it down) and then watching an open Diebler miss a three. Misses a three at 1:23, a deep bomb that killed the possession. Not playing with much smarts today as he fails to get a shot off with 1.4 seconds left. Was wide open at half court but doubled pumped for some reason while in the air.
In at 13:03 for Cole. Illinois finally hits a three at 12:54 when Paul buries a shot from the corner pocket to cut the OSU lead to 46-32. That play was set up by Keller, who tapped out a missed Richardson three to McCamey, eventually leading to Paul’s look. Good dribble drive and kick at 12:10 to Richardson, who misses an open three in the corner. Gets screened off the ball at 11:54, leading to a Diebler three and 49-32 OSU lead. Paul with good activity there and recovered as fast he could, but Diebler doesn’t need much room as he hit another dagger.
Called for a tough foul at 10:59 as he allowed penetration to Jereme Simmons but appeared to knock the ball away from him. Paul did come down on the hand, and Simmons hits one of two to make it 50-34 OSU. Bad pass against the 1-3-1 at 8:50, with his interior feed easily stolen by the Buckets. Anthony is right to say that Paul looked uncomfortable against the zone on that possession; he should have added the whole Illini team, which just hasn’t found any consistency in attacking the 1-3-1. Simmons will hit a three off that turnover, and the Illini will be down 60-38 with 8:42 to go, prompting a Weber timeout.
Back in the game at under-4. Called for a holding foul on Diebler before the ball is inbounded, but Diebler misses the front end of the one and one. Steals an inbounds pass at 1:37 but fires a three on the break. Hits a three at one minute, to cut the Illini deficit to 72-53. Misses a three at 30 seconds.
Overall: Not an effective game at all, finishing with 6 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 16 minutes. As has been the case many times this season, Paul took some terrible shots that were not within the context of the offense and played mostly out-of-control like a freshman.
● Tyler Griffey: In for Davis at 13:05. Comes in and quickly scores at 12:55, off a great diagonal pass from McCamey, for a 15-10 ILL deficit.
With the shot clock down, is forced to take a difficult fade away out of the under-12.
In for Davis out of the under-8 of the second half. Unfortunately gets matched up with Turner at 4:42, and the OSU star easily breaks down the defense before hitting Lauderdale in the lane for a dunk and a 67-44 OSU lead.
In the game at under-4. Hits a nice baseline jumper at 3 minutes to cut the ILL deficit to 69-49. Nice hands at 40 seconds, come up with a strip of a Ohio State player under the basket.
Overall: 4 points, 1 rebound, 1 assist and 1 steal in only 11 minutes. Probably merited more time, but wasn’t ready defensively for such a game.
● Jeff Jordan: In at 10:26 for Richardson. Good off-the-ball defense on Buford at 10 minutes but buys a head fake, leading to one bounce and banker for a 23-12 Ohio State lead. Air balls a hesitant jumper at 7:29. He settled there and wasn’t unsure of whether to take the shot. Fouls Madsen at 7:22, over-the-back on a rebound attempt of a Diebler missed three.
In at 6:29 of the second half for Richardson, who hasn’t been able to hit a shot but has been still playing very hard defense on Turner. Loses Turner right away on the inbound, leading to a curl banker and a 65-42 ILL deficit. Nice drive to the lane at 5:10, but has his layup spin out. Sums up the game for the Illini.
In the game at under-4. Comes up with a steal of an Ohio State inbounds at 2:09 and is fouled on the break at 2:04. Makes one of two free throws to cut the game to 72-50 OSU.
Overall: 1 point, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal in 8 minutes. Illinois couldn’t use Jordan much as they needed someone who could pose a threat of shooting against the 1-3-1. Given how bad Illinois shot all night long, maybe it would have been no different with Jordan, who typically puts the team at a 4-on-5 disadvantage offensively.
● Dominique Keller: In at 5:32 for Tisdale, who now has 2 fouls. Nice defensive rebound of a Turner miss at 4:34, but tries to dribble the ball up court before getting caught in the air and throwing a wild bounce pass that is stolen. Ohio State quickly makes the Illini pay as Lighty buries a corner three to put Illinois down 34-14. Bad turnover there. Good job of getting back after a missed Richardson three and knocking the ball away from behind from Lighty at 3:40. Rattles home a corner three with 3:07 to go to cut the OSU lead to 36-19. That’s Illinois’ first three: now 1/8.
Nice help defense at 1.4 seconds, blocking a driving Turner and leading to a shot-clock violation.
In at 13:05 for Tisdale, and comes up with a nice hustle play tapping out a missed Richardson three to McCamey and extending an Illini possession that will actually result in a made Illinois three by Brandon Paul.
Slow to close out on Lighty at 10:12, and the OSU junior hits a three from the top of the key to extend the ILL deficit to 53-36. Hits a tough banker in the lane at 10:03 (another great find form McCamey) to cut the OSU lead to 53-38. Can’t guard Lighty on the perimeter at 9:38. Lighty went with a jab step from the top of the key, throwing Keller off balance, and then drove to the basket for an easy bucket and a 55-38 OSU lead.
In the game at under-4. Gets switched on Turner, who gets into the lane and finds Lauderdale for a dunk and a 71-49 OSU lead. Misses a three on the other end. Called for an intentional foul on the next defensive possession when he wrapped up Jereme Simmons on the break. Simmons makes one of two free throws to extend the Buckeye lead to 72-49 with 2:09 to go.
Overall: 5 points, 2 rebounds, 1 block, 1 steal and 1 turnover in 12 minutes. Brought some energy at times in the first half, but really couldn’t hold his own defensively when matched with OSU’s perimeter players.
● Richard Semrau: In at 1:37. Defensive rebound of a missed Ohio State three with 8 seconds left.
● Bubba Chisholm: In at 1:37. Chucks up and misses a three with 25 seconds left.
● Stan Simpson: In at 1:07. Nearly tips in a missed Paul three with 28.2 seconds left.
● Bruce Weber: Illinois trails 13-6 at the under-16 (13:59). The Illini have been a bit rushed as of late against the 1-3-1, taking some long shots that are there in the zone. Anthony and Johnson make a good point, saying that Illinois must attack the zone and get into the middle and interior, but be patient as well, forcing Ohio State to go man. When Illinois has been patient, it has gotten good looks and looked well-prepared against the 1-3-1, with 3 assists from McCamey on its 3 baskets. Unfortunately, the Illini have been rushing some shots as of late and not executing the greatest passes, as evident by 3 turnovers. Anthony notes that the 1-3-1 wants to speed up the Illini, and it has in some regard. Defensively, Ohio State is shooting 66% and playing a dribble drive game that is not suited well for the Illini. Also, this is a tough game for a Mike Davis, who has to guard a wing player. Ohio State is 4/6 from the field; Illinois 3/8.
Illinois trails 21-10 at the under-12. The key stat of the game: Ohio State is 4/6 from three; Illinois 0/3. Ohio State is giving the Illini problems with the ability to dribble drive and then kick. This is an Illinois team that gives up a lot of threes to begin with, so better off-the-ball defense will be needed. Illinois scored a couple of nice buckets in that segment, but has not found an offensive rhythm yet. Ohio State has found a rhythm, going on a 13-4 run in the last 4 minutes.
Illinois trails 27-12 at the 7:22 mark. A bit surprising that Weber has not taken a timeout as Illinois is having a hard time stringing together points. Ohio State is either giving Illinois rushed shots or making the Illini work the clock. Whatever the case, Illinois is cold, shooting just 29%. Ohio State, on the other hand, is a blistering 64% from the field. The Buckeyes are doing a great job of limiting the Illini to one shot and then pushing the ball, leading to easy transition shots. Illinois is having a hard time playing this type of speed game. Ohio State is getting whatever it wants in the half court; Illinois is struggling with the switching defenses. Turner with 6 rebounds, 3 assists and 3 points. Illinois started 3/7 from the field but has since gone 4/16.
Some key stats thus far: OSU is 9/14 from the field, including 4/8 from three. Illinois is just 6/22 and 0/4 for three. The Buckeyes are 5/6 from the free throw line while Illinois has not taken a free throw yet.
Weber takes a timeout at 4:31 after a Keller turnover and Lighty three put the Illini down 20, 34-14. Weber is not happy, getting on the refs. Illinois is 0/5 from three, has 4 turnovers and has not shot a free throw. Bit surprising that it took this long for Illinois to take a timeout, especially when considering that Illinois has 1 field goal in the last 6 minutes.
Illinois trails 36-19 at the under-4 (2:37). Out of the timeout, the Illini energy is much better, with Illinois forcing several turnovers but trying to play too fast, missing golden opportunities on two straight fast breaks. Keller has provided some nice energy as of late. Illinois finally seems to have some urgency, but is trying to hit the homerun play instead of making smart decisions. Davis has mishandled several McCamey dimes that would have resulted in easy dunks. In simple terms, the Illini are letting some excellent scoring opportunities slip right through the hands. Anthony makes a great point: the Illini are not shooting the ball well and need to start attacking the offensive glass.
Illinois trails 36-20 at the break. The defensive intensity picked up big time in the last 4:30, with OSU starting to miss some contested shots and only scoring 2 points the rest of the half. With that said, Illinois was only able to score 6 points in that period, leaving a lot of opportunities on the table. This could be an 8-10 point game but Illinois has not converted. The Illini will need to play with a similar intensity seen in the last 4 minutes and most importantly start hitting some shots if they want to get back into this game. Sans the last 4 minutes, a dominant road performance by the much-sharper Buckeyes.
Here are the key first-half stats. Ohio State shoots 49% (thanks to cooling off in the last 4 minutes); Illinois a frigid 29%. Ohio State hit 6-of-13 threes; Illinois was 1-for-9. As bad as it was from the outside, Illinois was only 40% from the interior, going 6-for-15. The Buckeyes were 6/8 from the line; Illinois just 1-for-2. Illinois got outrebounded 19 to 17. The assist to turnover ratio was 7:7 for Illinois and 10:6 for Ohio State.
The Illini trail 39-26 at the under-16. The urgency is much better on both ends, but the shot making has not improved. McCamey is beginning to penetrate the Ohio State defense with much regularity. The Buckeyes haven’t been exactly tearing it up at the start of the second half, with 4 turnovers, but the Illini just can’t string together a more substantial run. Anthony makes a good point: Illinois looks unsure of how to attack the 1-3-1 at times.
How’s this stat? At this point of the game, Ohio State had a 32-1 scoring advantage in the backcourt. McCamey with just 1 point and D.J. with none. Of course, this stat is a bit skewed as Ohio State starts three guards, but Illinois is getting nothing scoring-wise from McCamey and Richardson. McCamey does have 8 assists (should probably have 10-11 right now) and Richardson is doing a good job on Turner thus far in the second half. Still, the Illini are down 13 and not making much headway.
Down 49-34 at the under-12 (11:15). Illinois is playing with better offensive rhythm in the second half but not making open shots that the Illini usually drill. Ohio State isn’t all that great on offense, but Diebler has hit two back-breaking threes to keep the Buckeyes in front. Illinois just can’t make a run, which requires making shots. This is the coldest shooting game that I can remember from the Illini thus far in doing these Tales of the Tape.
Well, any hope of an Illini comeback looks over at 8:52, as the Buckets have gone on a 11-4 run to make this a 60-38 game and force a Weber timeout. Lighty has personally taken over this game in the last stretch, scoring twice against the overmatched Keller and then ripping a ball away from Davis and feeding Turner for a dunk. Illinois just hasn’t gotten comfortable against the 1-3-1 or hit any shots. Illinois is 35% from the field; Ohio State 54%. Don’t even get me started on the three-point disparity. Ohio State also with a 16 to 4 advantage in points off turnovers.
Illinois trails 63-40 at the under-8. The Illini are 2/16 from three compared to 11/19 for Ohio State, which also has a 17 to 11 assist advantage. Turner with 12 points and 9 rebounds; Davis with 8 points and 7 rebounds, though I don’t remember him scoring in the second half. Illinois has tied its largest deficit of the season at 23 points. The last time the Illini were down 23, they came back to beat Clemson. No such comeback is in store on this day.
Down 69-47 at the under-4. Illinois just can’t contain the Buckeyes now, and is clearly frustrated by Turner, who is starting to make some ridiculous shots and assists off the bounce.
Illinois loses 72-53 as the final minutes are nothing but garbage time. Turner finishes with 16 points, 11 boards and 8 assists, but the real assassins were Diebler (18 points) and Lighty (17 points), who were a combined 9-16 from three. Illinois was 4-24 from three in the game, and finished with a grotesque 34.3% clip from the field.
Overall: How does this sound? Ohio State was 50% from three (11-for-22); Illinois 16.7%. (4-for-24). Weber’s Illini could never establish any rhythm against the 1-3-1 and struggled with familiar problems all season long: containing the ball and guarding the three. For the first time maybe all season, the Illini really struggled shooting the ball. Weber could have been more urgent with his timeouts in his first half, as his team needed to be woken up. I also didn’t like the idea of Illinois switching the pick and roll game with Turner, who got matched up against Tisdale, Keller and Griffey at different times in the game. Still, with that said, I don’t think it would have mattered on this day, which was all Ohio State all the time.
Overall: Illinois gets spanked 72-53. The Illini couldn’t figure out the 1-3-1 or get any offensive rhythm, going cold all day long. Illinois couldn’t stop Turner or any other Buckeye guard from getting penetration, resulting in many three-point looks. Diebler and Lighty were assassins, McCamey and Richardson Eskimos. There was an 8-minute mark at the end of the first half and the start of the second half that Illinois made Ohio State look bad offensively. The problem was that Illinois was offensive on offense, unable to generate any sustained run or hit some open looks. Even if Illinois hit shots, it wouldn’t have mattered in the long run. Ohio State was really good on this day, Illinois was not. The best thing about this game is to watch it once, note where adjustments need to be made (attacking the 1-3-1, containing the dribble and penetration, etc.), take some solace in the fact that the Illini uncharacteristically struggled with the jumper and burn the tape.
Player of the Game: For OSU, it could go to Turner, Lighty or Diebler. I’d say Dieber as all six of his field goals were from three and most of his makes absolutely destroyed any chance for Illinois momentum. If you had a gun to my head and I had to choose an Illini, I would say McCamey, who should have had more than 9 assists. Still, with that said, McCamey reverted to some bad tendencies (overdribbling, hoisting up long shots, making sloppy passes, turning the rock over) and couldn’t hit the ocean from outside.
Play of the Game: Nothing stands out from the Illini end, so I’ll say David Lighty’s first half dunk, when he got out on the break and basically threw a windmill/reverse past the passing Mike Davis.
Some Things I Liked:
● Not much, except that Illinois did play with good urgency at the end of the first half and early part of the second half. The Illini just couldn’t buy a bucket.
● Illinois did struggle terribly shooting the ball (which is not usual). Not saying that Illinois would have won this game if they hit some shots (the Illini wouldn’t have), but it would have been closer (say the 6-8 point range). Clearly after this game and the other meetings with Ohio State, any rational Illinois fan would admit that Ohio State was the much better team.
Some Things I Disliked:
● A lot of things, but why waste bullet points? Here they are in parentheses (uncertainty against the 1-3-1, inability to contain the dribble drive, draw and kick, switching our big men on Turner on the pick and roll game, being unable to throw the ball in the goal, probably more, but I’ll choose to stop there).
● Losing to Ohio State (is there a worse team in the conference to lose to?) In my opinion, no way.
Well, that’s it for another Illini Tale of the Tape.
Until the next one, Illinois at Purdue.