IU readying for strong defense of No. 7 Illini

The two teams atop the Big Ten's scoring margin category will meet at 7 p.m. tonight in Assembly Hall. No. 13 IU ranks second in the Big Ten averaging 15 points more than their opponents, while No. 7 Illinois sports a conference best 17-point spread.\nBoth teams are 2-1 in conference play with their lone losses coming on the road, but beyond that, the similarities cease.\nIU maintains its lopsided margin on the offense. The team shoots a Big Ten-best 53 percent from the field and a nationwide-best 47 percent from three. They average 80 points a game and have only been held below 70 points twice, both of which were losses.\nIllinois distances itself with defense. The Illini rank among the top 20 in field goal defense, holding teams to 38 percent shooting. They also join Northwestern and Iowa among the nation's top 10 in points allowed, limiting opponents to just 55 points per contest.\nOn the surface, it seems as though tonight's game will be won and lost when IU has the ball. But the Hoosiers' attention this week has focused more on the other end of the floor.\n"We can run our offense and pretty much score when we want to," junior guard Rod Wilmont said. "We just have to lock down our defense and we should be there to win games."\nIU coach Mike Davis said rebounding has become more than just a problem.\n"It's not a concern -- it's scary," he said. "If you're a poor rebounding team, you should get at least 25, but we got 18 (against Michigan State). So maybe we're below poor."\nDavis compared rebounding to shooting free throws. He said the team can consistently work on it in practice, but come game time it simply isn't executed.\n"Errek Suhr is our third-leading offensive rebounder on our team -- Errek Suhr. How scary is that?" he said of the 5-foot-8 guard. "I really can't explain it. We talk about it. We work on it. We watch film, but it's just a matter of going and doing it."\nLast week, assistant coach Donnie Marsh, who manages IU's defense, said the guards play a crucial role in becoming a better rebounding team. Marsh said the wings need to have the presence to recognize a shot, and then crash into the paint to sky over the battling big men. \nIU's most successful rebounding guard has been Wilmont, who averages 3.7 boards per game. Wilmont held the second-highest rebounding total for IU against Michigan State with four boards on a night when senior forward Marco Killingsworth managed only one. But Wilmont said he can still improve his numbers, and that the team as a whole needs to unify on defense.\n"You've just got to have everybody playing hard," he said. "We'll have three guys playing hard at once, and two resting. And when you've got two guys resting, or even one resting, that messes up all the rotation. If we can get five guys out there playing hard for the full 35 seconds, we can beat anybody"