IU falls to Illinois in final regular season game

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – After the Hoosiers defeated Illinois on Jan. 27, IU coach Tom Crean celebrated by hugging his wife and cheering with the fans in attendance at Assembly Hall.

On Saturday in Champaign, Ill., though, he walked off with a look of dismay.

Crean’s team was outplayed on both ends of the floor in Illinois’ lopsided 72-48 win at home.

“I don’t think it’s the energy, it’s the will,” Crean said.  “The energy is what you make it.  It’s the will of getting things done.  We didn’t have that will today.”

The problems for IU began early on and never ceased, as the Illini jumped to an early lead it would never give back. 

Forward Mike Davis opened the game with a layup and continued his prowess inside – along with fellow senior Mike Tisdale - for the remainder of the half.

And with the defense of IU focusing on Illinois’ big men, guard Demetri McCamey was left open for mid-range and 3-point jump shots. 
McCamey led all scorers at half with 16 points, as the Illini went into the locker room with a 46-27 lead after 20 minutes.

IU sophomore guard Jordan Hulls said much of the problems in the first half stemmed from a lack of transition defense.

“We came in and they blew us out,” Hulls said.  “Our transition defense wasn’t the best in the beginning. We just got to get back on D and play a lot better defense.”

And while Illinois appeared unable to miss offensively, IU couldn’t seem to find the bottom of the net. 

Rushed and contested shots lead to the team shooting only 39.3 percent in the first half.  The final 20 minutes was worse, in which the Hoosiers connected on only 24.1 percent of their attempts.

Crean said poor shot selection played a part in the low offensive statistics.

“You don’t even have a chance – it doesn’t matter what your defense looks like – if you are shooting 17 percent from three and in the low thirties for the game,” Crean said. 
“We took too many jump shots early when we needed to try to attack them at the basket.  Then when we needed jump shots, they didn’t go either.” 

Davis said a major reason for his team’s strong play, especially early in the game, was based around wanting payback. 

He felt IU’s celebratory actions after the win in January “disrespected us.”

“Last night on film, we used them storming the court and the coach going and kissing his wife after the game as motivation,” said Davis.

The Alexandria, Va., native ended his season on a high note, while the Hoosiers finished with their eighth straight loss.

Junior guard Verdell Jones described Saturday’s effort as “disappointing and embarrassing.”

“Our performance tonight explained itself,” Jones said.  “We couldn’t hit anything on the offensive end but all started by not guarding anybody.  They had too many points in transition and in the half court. 

“They took it to us tonight.”