Illinois targets Haston, Jeffries

After junior center Kirk Haston scored a career-high 30 points in the Feb. 11 win against Michigan, interim head coach Mike Davis said if you take Haston and freshman forward Jared Jeffries out of the Hoosiers' mix, they will have a tough time winning.\nSaturday against a strong Illinois frontcourt, Davis' statement proved correct.\nThe Illini defense dominated the Hoosiers inside, leading to a 67-61 win before a sold-out crowd of 17,460 in Assembly Hall. Illinois forced IU to shoot from the perimeter, but the shots weren't falling, and IU finished 6-of-22 (27 percent) shooting behind the three-point arc. \n"They took away our cuts, took away our post up; we had no open shots," Davis said. "They played so hard, so aggressive. It was tough for us to get any shots. They took away everything for us."\nIllinois has held its opponents to 38.5 percent shooting from the field this season, good for the lowest opponent shooting percentage since the 1955-56 season. Saturday, the Hoosiers finished with a 35.2 shooting percentage on 19-of-54 from the field.\nIllinois coach Bill Self said the game plan was to take Haston and Jeffries out of the game. \n "We realized the strength of our team was with their limited depth inside," Self said. "Coming in, we wanted to trap Kirk on a low block, which we never really got to. We wanted to play Jeffries head up. We challenged our guys to make them catch a step further out, where Haston couldn't throw his hook. We wanted to make him a jump shooter as opposed to a low post player."\n Haston, who shot 4-of-15 from the field, led the team with 18 points. He fouled out of the game with 1:04 remaining. Davis said IU was outmatched athletically at every position. Sergio McClain, a 6-foot-4, 230-pound senior forward, said Haston wasn't a concern in the second half.\n"We had a good game plan and we took (Haston) out of the game," McClain said. "He\'s a great player, and the shots weren't falling for him. He got in foul trouble, and he wasn't really a factor."\nAlthough the Hoosiers were stifled on the offensive end, they played one of their best defensive games against one of the nation's toughest teams. IU held its own in the first half and went to the locker room down by one point, 28-27. Junior guard Dane Fife was matched up with Illini junior guard Cory Bradford, who finished with zero points and missed all three shots he took.\n"It was our game plan to stop them on the defensive end, and once we do that, it gives us the opportunity on the offensive end to make some plays," Bradford said. "Fife is a good defensive player and a perfect example of a role player, but we got the better end today and played Illinois basketball the way we're capable of playing." \n \nHOOSIER NOTES\nThe 15 members of the men's basketball All-Century team were announced Saturday. The players were selected by fan voting throughout the state. The team members will be honored in post-game ceremonies after IU's final home game against Minnesota, Wed., Feb. 28. The members are: Steve Alford (1984-87), Damon Bailey (1991-94), Walt Bellamy (1959-61), Kent Benson (1974-77), Quinn Buckner (1973-76), Calbert Cheaney (1990-93), Archie Dees (1956-58), A.J. Guyton (1997-2000), Alan Henderson (1992-95), Bob Leonard (1952-54), Scott May (1974-76), George McGinnis (1971), Jimmy Rayl (1961-63), Don Schlundt (1952-55) and Isiah Thomas (1980-81).