Illini sweating on Sunday

With less than an hour before the NCAA Tournament brackets are released, the Illinois Fighting Illini are surely sweating in their seats.

A win over Big Ten top-seeded Ohio State in the conference semifinals would have all but assured them of an at-large bid. But a devastating 88-81 double-overtime loss keeps Illinois firmly on the bubble.

The Illini had their chances to put the Buckeyes away, but inconsistent play down the stretch did them in again. Illinois has a bunch of players it depends on that simply don’t know how to win close games by executing, much to the dismay of head coach Bruce Weber. It’s precisely why the Illini are on the bubble in the first place. And they don’t have a player like Evan Turner to carry them. As good as Demetri McCamey can be, he’s no Evan Turner, and now his ability to keep his composure is in question after a meltdown versus Wisconsin in a home loss a week ago.

Illinois will find out its fate in mere minutes. But if it finds itself on the outside looking in, it will have no one to blame but itself.

Sunday, March 14, 2010 at 4:23 pm by Raj Sethi

Illinois falls short vs. Purdue, 75-65

The Illinois Fighting Illini wouldn’t go quietly, but eventually faltered in a 75-65 loss to the No. 4 Purdue Boilermakers.

The Fighting Illini team that has played well on the road this year actually led by three heading into halftime against Purdue.

The second half was a different story, as Purdue’s offense finally started to hum.

Illinois had no answer for guard Robbie Hummel, who finished with 22 points, 12 rebounds, 2 steals and 2 blocks.

Head coach Bruce Weber said it’s hard to defend Purdue because they are so balanced in their scoring.

Friday, February 26, 2010 at 7:26 pm by steve

Illinois crushed by Ohio State, 72-53

The Illinois Fighting Illini didn’t look ready to play in a 72-53 loss to the No. 13 Ohio State Buckeyes.

Illinois had just stunned Wisconsin on the road earlier in the week, and it looked like they were still riding high from that victory.

They forgot to show up against an Ohio State team that has been rolling through everyone over the past month.

It was the first time Illinois lost in six games, but it was very costly, as it dropped them a game behind the leaders in the Big 10.

Demetri McCamey led the Illini with just nine points on 2-9 shooting, which tells you what kind of a day it was for the home team.

Friday, February 19, 2010 at 4:27 pm by steve

Illinois knocks off Wisconsin, 63-56

The Illinois Fighting Illini stunned the Wisconsin Badgers at the Kohl Center for a 63-56 win.

The victory puts Illinois into an improbable first-place tie with the Michigan State Spartans in the Big 10.

Illinois trailed by double-digits much of the first half and looked like they didn’t have a chance to upset the Badgers.

By halftime, Illinois had crawled back into the game and they had control for much of the second half.

Beating Wisconsin at home is no easy task, as the Badgers have not lost very often to unranked teams at the Kohl Center.

Sunday, February 14, 2010 at 6:00 pm by steve

McCamey leads Illini past Hawkeyes

If they want to make the NCAA Tournament in March, the Illinois Fighting Illini can’t afford to lose games they’re supposed to win. A trip to Iowa City to face the Hawkeyes qualifies as one of those games.

And despite a late-game surge by the hosts, the Illini were able to hold on for a 57-49 win on Wednesday night. After leading comfortably throughout the game, Iowa cut the lead to just three points late in the contest and had a chance to tie before falling short.

Demetri McCamey turned in an impressive all-around effort for the Illini, leading the team with 15 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Mike Tisdale added 14 points, and defensively they held the Hawkeyes to just 29 percent shooting.

With the win, Illinois moves to 7-3 in the Big 10. A showdown with first-place Michigan State looms on Saturday, a game for which the dynamic has completely changed due to the injury sustained by the Spartans’ Kailin Lucas, who isn’t expected to play.

Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 9:47 am by Raj Sethi

Illini drop second straight, this time against Northwestern

With each January loss, the Illinois Fighting Illini move closer to March irrelevancy.

The Illini lost again on Saturday, this time to the Northwestern Wildcats by a 73-68 margin. The loss was Illinois’ second straight and drops them to 12-8 overall and 4-3 in the Big 10. This loss was particularly embarrassing because Northwestern had dropped its past 11 games to Bruce Weber’s team.

The Fighting Illini actually led at halftime and held a 6-point advantage in the second half before collapsing down the stretch.

Perhaps the most telling statistics from this game were the lines from Illinois big men Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis. After combining for 51 points and 28 rebounds against the Wildcats in a win earlier this season, the two combined for just 14 and 8 on Saturday.

Sunday, January 24, 2010 at 5:58 pm by Raj Sethi

Illinois falls to Purdue, 84-78

The Illinois Fighting Illini couldn’t hold on to a first half lead in an 84-78 loss to the No. 15 Purdue Boilermakers.

It was a chance for the Illini to make a statement against a quality team and the favorite to win the Big 10 title.

Illinois held a four-point halftime lead, but they were unable to keep in the second half as Purdue opened up with a quick, 15-4 run.

Head coach Bruce Weber was puzzled by the lack of energy from his team to start the second half, and the run during that time cost his team dearly.

Demetri McCamey led the Illini with a game-high 28 points. However, he missed six critical free throws, which was ultimately the difference in the game.

Friday, January 22, 2010 at 6:35 pm by steve

Down 23, Illinois rallies for improbable win at Clemson

By Bud L. Ellis

Ever need evidence that you should never turn off a game at halftime?

Presenting Illinois’ contest with No. 18 ranked Clemson Wednesday night.

Down 23 points early in the second half, the Fighting Illini ripped off a 35-10 run to cap the biggest comeback in school history, Illinois coming all the way back from a 51-28 deficit for a thrilling 76-74 victory at Clemson in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge.

Everything that went wrong for Illinois in the first 21 minutes went right in the final 19 minutes. The Illini shot 60 percent in the second half, including 50 percent on 3-point range in the final 20 minutes.

Mike Tisdale’s jumper with 41 seconds left gave Illinois a 76-74 lead, and Tisdale blocked David Potter’s shot on the next possession to preserve the improbable victory.

Mike Davis led Illinois wit 22 points.

—30—

Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 11:49 pm by bud

Tags: ACC, Big Ten, Clemson, David Potter, Illinois, Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale

The Return of (Baby) Jordan?

Michael Jordan could never quite figure out when to hang up the basketball shoes, retiring from the NBA twice before coming back and retiring for good a third time.

Now, his son Jeff seems to have caught the Favre-ian retirement bug, as the former Illinois guard has recently spoken with Illini coaches about rejoining the team.

Jordan’s oldest son left the Illini in June after playing two seasons, saying that he wanted to focus on schoolwork.

However, Illinois spokesman Derrick Burson said on Thursday that Jordan recently met with assistant coaches to discuss a possible comeback. Jordan has not spoken with Illinois head coach Bruce Weber yet.

Jordan was a walk-on at Illinois in his first season before winning a scholarship last year. Last month on his Twitter, Jordan mentioned wanting to work out with the Illini “like old times.”

Thursday, October 8, 2009 at 7:46 pm by bryan

Juice Williams Benched After 1-3 Start

Senior QB Juice Williams has been benched by Illini coach Ron Zook in favor of junior Eddie McGee for Illinois’ upcoming game against Michigan State. McGee will make his first career start against the Spartans, Zook announced on his radio show on Monday.

On a conference call with reporters on Sunday, Zook hinted that a quarterback change could be near, saying he was considering changes at every position. Williams, the Big Ten’s most experience quarterback, has not been his old self this season, ranking last in the league in pass efficiency while only throwing one touchdown to four INTs.

McGee has appeared in 19 games overall in his career. He has gone 19-for-30 for 211 yards, with one TD and two picks on the season.

“Believe me, this is not all on Juice,” Zook said on his show. “The poor guy has at times played extremely well, but the thing you try to do in athletics is you’re trying to get a spark.

“This is not a knee-jerk reaction. This is a lot of thought and what-if, what-if, what-if. But the bottom line is we’re in a part of our schedule now where we’ve got to go play.”

McGee took over for Williams during their only win of the season, as Williams went down early with an injury.

Monday, October 5, 2009 at 6:51 pm by bryan