Illinois-UIC Full-Court Vision: Live Blogging, Commentary and Analysis

Seniors are supposed to be the leaders of a team, the ones you can count on when things get tough.

That was not the case today for the Illinois men’s basketball team in Chicago.

Demetri McCamey, Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale and Bill Cole went a combined 9-27 as Illinois lost to UIC 57-54.

The Illini came out slow on defense and sloppy on offense and never really put things together.

Illinois lost the battle on the boards and shooting percentages, and turned the ball over 16 times while having only 12 assists.

This loss is a bad one for Illinois, which had a real chance to crack the top 10 after Tennessee lost to Oakland, and with a big game with Missouri on the horizon.

Now, Illinois will have to deal with six days of deserved harassment from the media before heading to the Missouri game.

Illinois did not take the lead until the 10-minute point of the second half.

The Illini did not make a field goal for the last 5 minutes of the game as UIC came back to get a huge win.

Illinois had a chance when it had the ball down 2 with only 13 seconds left, but a missed shot.

Two consecutive turnovers on inbound passes sealed the loss for Illinois.

To add to the mess, Brandon Paul went down with an injury and had to leave the game.

There has been no official word yet on his condition.

End Of Game: UIC wins 57-54

Illinois passes ball out of bounds.

UIC makes 1 of 2. Illinois has 1 second to inbound and make a 3 to force overtime.

Illinois fouls with 1 second remaining.

Illinois steps out of bounds on the inbound, turnover. UIC has the ball and the lead with 2 seconds.

UIC makes 1 of 2. Illinois ball with 3 seconds remaining down by 2 points.

Foul on Tisdale with 3 seconds remaining, UIC still up by 1 as it heads to the line. Brandon Paul had to be taken to the locker room as he was injured on the final play.

Illinois is down 1 with 17.7 seconds remaining, Weber is sure to draw up a good play, but with Illinois’ shooting troubles, nothing is a given.

Illinois has a 1 point lead with :45 remaining, both teams are shooting poorly from the line, expect UIC to foul.

This game could come down to the last shot. With Illinois’ shooting troubles that does not bode well.

2:53 Update: Game tied at 51 with 2:28 remaining.

McCamey’s lack of defense comes back to bite him again as his man ties it up with a 3.

Illinois’ depth is really starting to show as UIC’s starters are looking tired while Illinois still has fresh players in.

UIC has a better shooting percentage and more rebounds than Illinois.

2:40 Update: Illinois leads 49-41 with 6:20 remaining.

Meyers Leonard has made several good plays with Tisdale on the bench. It is good to see him get some experience before conference play begins.

Illinois is on a 12-1 run, the best stretch for the Illini all game.

2:35 Update: Illinois leads 43-41 with 10:00 remaining.

Two 3-pointers from McCamey and Richardson give Illinois the lead for the first time all game with 10 minutes remaining.

Everyone on the Illini is standing around on offense, the Illini have gone from all-out sprint pace to no movement at all.

Tisdale continues to have no presence under the basket, the senior missed a shot at the rim and compounded the mistake by fouling, giving him 4. Tisdale leads the Big Ten in fouls per game.

2:27 Update: Illinois-Chicago leads 40-37 with 11:40 remaining.

Illinois is making very sloppy passes, yet the players seem surprised that they are turning the ball over.

Illinois has only made 12 baskets in the first 24 minutes of the game; they have 12 turnovers and only 7 assists.

Illinois has reached a very critical point in the game. McCamey and Tisdale are on the bench with foul trouble and the Flames are pulling away. There is pleanty of time left, but Illinois has not shown any intensity all game.

If Illinois has one positive at this point in the game, it is that the Flames have several players in foul trouble.

2:15 Update: Illinois-Chicago leads 37-30 with 16:10 remaining.

McCamey continues to play poorly; he has turned the ball over twice this half and has allowed his man to score 5 points.

Illinois is shooting 33% for the game while the Flames are over 45%.

Illinois has been much better about pushing the ball under the basket this half, but the shots are still not falling.

Illinois looks much more alert on defense in the second half.

1:50 Update: Game tied at 28 at the half.

Illinois-Chicago has never trailed this game and has led by as much as 10.

The Illinois bench is really playing well this game. With Davis and Tisdale already on the bench with two fouls each, it is important that the bench plays well.

1:40 Update: Illinois-Chicago leads 26-25 with 3:00 remaining.

Jim Delany is in attendance. You can bet that fans at the game will let him know what they think of the conference’s new division names.

Illinois is shooting terribly from the line, going 3-for-7..

1:36 Update: Illinois-Chicago leads 24-23 with 3:41 remaining.

Illinois is coming back in the game, but it is still rushing shots and not running the offense. You can bet that Weber will let his team hear about it at half time.

McCamey looks to be out of it today. He is 2-7 and has been very lax on defense.

After starting the game 2-13, Illinois has settled down and made its last 4 shots.

Illinois is making a lot of sloppy passes. UIC is taking full advantage and already has 3 steals.

1:28 Update: Illinois-Chicago leads 20-14 with 7:44 remaining.

The poor shooting seems to be taking its toll on the Illini. No one on the Illini seems to want to take the open shot.

Illinois’ last 3 possessions: air-ball, unforced turnover, turnover. Illinois needs to calm down and play smarter.

Illinois is leaving assignments wide open under the basket.

1:18 Update: Illinois-Chicago leads 14-8 with 11:49 remaining.

The Illini are still rushing the offense and are not getting good shots. The Flames have let Illinois stay in the game by turning the ball over, but Illinois needs to slow things down.

The referees are really letting the players play under the basket and not calling fouls.

Illinois is still just throwing up 3-pointers. The Illini are 1-6 from behind the arc.

Rebounding continues to be an issue. Illinois is being out-rebounded despite its large size advantage.

1:09 Update: Illinois-Chicago leads 14-5 with 16:20 remaining.

Illinois has learned nothing from the close game against Northern Colorado. The Illini are not running any offense, just running down the court and throwing the ball up.

Illinois-Chicago is 4-4 from behind the arc.

Illinois needs to take advantage of its big size advantage and get the ball to the post.