Illinois ousts IU from Big Ten tourney

CHICAGO -- Bracey Wright needed help as he was escorted off the court into the locker room late in the first half. Just minutes later, Marshall Strickland was taken to the locker room after his head collided with Illinois sophomore guard Luther Head, causing Strickland to bleed profusely.\nTwo freshman guards gone and senior forward Jeff Newton on the bench with foul trouble highlighted a disastrous start to the second semi-final game in the Big Ten Tournament.\nThe IU men's basketball team made every effort to overcome Illinois' 37-21 halftime lead, but came up just short, falling 73-72.\nDespite the loss, coach Mike Davis said he was happy with his team's performance in the conference tournament.\n"I thought we fought every game here and that's definitely an improvement from over the last month and a half," he said. "I'm just looking forward to the NCAA tournament."\nThe Hoosiers exploded out of halftime to put together a 16-5 run that cut the Illini's lead to 42-37 with just over twelve minutes to go. \nIllinois senior center Brian Cook, who committed two quick fouls to begin the second half, was on the bench for nearly the entire run.\nBut he re-entered the game at the 11:50 mark and led the Illini's effort to maintain the lead, which was threatened down the stretch by senior guard Tom Coverdale, who hit three three-pointers with just less than two minutes to go.\nIllinois went seven of twelve from the line in the final 1:20 of the second half to fend off an IU run which began when Coverdale, who led IU with 21 points, hit a three-pointer from the top of the key.\nWright and senior forward Jeff Newton then hit two free throws a piece and suddenly the Hoosiers, who had been down by eleven with three and a half minutes to go, were within three.\nIllinois senior guard Sean Harrington knocked down a pair of foul shots to increase the lead back to five, but IU junior forward A.J. Moye answered with a quick drive to the basket on the ensuing possession to keep the Hoosiers down three.\nIllinois freshmen guard Dee Brown then hit one of two from the line, Wright missed a pair of his own and Head went one of two from the line to make the score 71-66 with 13 seconds remaining.\nBut Coverdale refused to let his Hoosiers die as he drove up the court and sank a quick three that pulled IU within two with only five seconds to go.\nIllinois senior forward Brian Cook, who led all scorers with 25 points, was quickly fouled by Coverdale on the inbound pass. \nCook stepped to the line and knocked down both shots to give the Illini a four-point cushion.\nCoverdale again pushed the ball to the three point line and hit a one handed floater that made the score 73-72 Illinois. \nBut with only four tenths of a second remaining, there was not enough time to put the finishing touches on the comeback as Cook caught the ball and ran out the remainder of the clock.\n"We showed a lot of heart in the past few days to come back like we have," Coverdale said. "Unfortunately for us we were one-point short today, but I think it's a good step going into the tournament. We've got to learn how to put 40 minutes together if we are going to beat a good team like Illinois."\nThe Illini jumped to a quick start on the Hoosiers. After winning the tip, Illinois scored on their first three possessions to grab an early six-point lead. Strickland and Wright erased that deficit with three-point jump shots that evened the score at eight with 16:46 left to play.\nThe Illini answered with scores on back-to-back possessions to regain a three-point lead. IU capitalized on two Illinois turnovers and one field goal to once again even the game. \nBut the Illini heated up as IU shut down. Wright and Strickland exited the game as Illinois was in the middle of a 17-5 scoring run to take a 37-21 halftime lead.\n"We didn't get defensive stops and they took us out of our offense," Coverdale said. "We panicked and they were just pressuring the passing lanes. We didn't react to it well and you can't do that, especially not in a tournament, and expect to win."\nThe Hoosiers learned Sunday they will be a No. 7 seed in the NCAA tournament and will face Alabama on Friday night.\nThe team displayed confidence in their NCAA chances despite the Illinois loss.\n"They were a little fresher in the first half than we were," Strickland said. "But we think we are on the right track and we are going to try to carry that over into next week"