Hoosiers confident for Illini challenge

The Hoosiers said the loss they suffered at Michigan State Saturday was hardly a blow to their confidence in this year's Big Ten season. With the Hoosiers sitting in the No. 2 spot in the conference, sophomore forward Sean Kline said the team is still focused on the same thing.\n"We're fighting for our lives to make the tournament and to win a Big Ten championship," Kline said. \nThe next step toward a Big Ten championship will be a home victory over Illinois (13-5, 4-3 Big Ten) tonight at 7 p.m. It will be the first of two home games in a row for IU (11-7, 5-2).\nIU has won nine of the last 12 meetings with Illinois in Bloomington, with the last loss to the Illini at IU in 2001.\nThe Hoosiers' leading scorer is still sophomore guard Bracey Wright, who is averaging 20.4 points per game and scored a team-high 29 points in Saturday's loss to MSU. \nIU coach Mike Davis said Wright has been playing well for the Hoosiers, just as tough as he did last year.\n"You expect for a sophomore to play harder than a freshman," Davis said. "It's important right now that we keep Bracey going in the right direction as far as his intensity and concentration."\nTonight's game has extra meaning for Wright. Wright was a high school teammate of Illinois guard Deron Williams at The Colony High School in The Colony, Texas. \nWilliams had six points in the last meeting between the two teams, and Wright had 16. It was in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis when the Hoosiers last met the Illini and lost 73-72.\nAll five Illinois starters are averaging double figures. Both sophomore guard Dee Brown and junior forward Roger Powell are averaging a team-high 12.8 ppg.\nDavis said after watching Illinois on tape, he believes they have the best talent in the Big Ten.\n"It's challenging," Davis said. "It's going to be difficult for us if we don't come out and play."\nWright said although IU lost on the road at MSU, the team's spirits isn't down. \n"If we get the home win against Illinois, and then we go back on the road and play well again, we'll be right back on top," Wright said.\nLooking at the games before the MSU loss, Davis said he wants the team to play hard like it did in its Big Ten wins.\n"The thing that we can't rely on is just winning our home games," Davis said. "We have to win every game, and if we can win every game, then we have a chance.\n-- Contact staff writer Natalie A. Trout at natrout@indiana.edu.