Hoosiers get revenge against Illinois

With a 56-46 victory at Assembly Hall Sunday, the IU men's basketball team (13-7, 3-4) took revenge against Illinois (13-8, 2-6) for its overtime loss in Champaign, Ill. on Dec. 31.

Both teams entered the weekend on losing streaks. The Hoosiers had dropped two straight games by single digits after leading in the second halves of both contests.

IU Coach Tom Crean said his players took their disappointment from their five-point loss at No. 3 Michigan State on Tuesday and transferred it into energy for their preparation for their matchup against Illinois.

Crean described Illinois as a desperate team. The Fighting Illini arrived in Bloomington on a five-game losing streak and they were looking for their first win since Jan. 4.

“We played with the same level of desperation,” he said. “I never follow that whole ‘must-win’ theory. It’s about putting yourself in a position where you take the next step and that’s exactly what these guys did.”

Several of the Hoosiers’ role players carried the scoring load in the first half, when IU's top five scorers, in terms of points per game, scored only seven points.

The team’s main scoring options, freshmen forward Noah Vonleh and sophomore point guard Kevin “Yogi” Ferrell, entered Sunday averaging nearly 30 points per game but they were held to two points each in the first half.

Crean said defenses pay so much attention to Ferrell and Vonleh that he doesn’t think IU has to define its third and fourth scoring options. Instead, he said IU needs multiple players to contribute offensively, which is exactly what fueled the Hoosiers before halftime.

Redshirt sophomore forward Austin Etherington scored a season-best seven points, all of which came in the first half. Etherington assumed the role of IU’s sixth-man Sunday, which was a major promotion after not playing against Michigan State on Jan. 4.

Freshman guard Stanford Robinson, who earned his second start of his career, and freshman forward Troy Williams each scored six points before halftime.

After not making a shot in the first half, Ferrell scored 15 points after halftime, including six free throws in the final minutes of the game. Robinson, Ferrell’s running mate in IU’s backcourt, finished with 10 points and five rebounds.

Despite recently logging some of the best point totals of his young career, Robinson said he views his role as being a “lock up” defender.

“I take pride in guarding my man,” he said. “When I bring energy on the court, the team, they follow along. We all ride up on that defensive edge.”

Illinois committed 13 turnovers and the Fighting Illini’s 46 points is the lowest output for a Big Ten opponent since Crean took over the reigns of the program in 2008.

Excluding redshirt junior guard Rayvonte Rice, who scored 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting, Illinois made 25.6 percent of its field goal attempts.

IU’s dominance on the boards went hand-in-hand with Illinois’ inability to score. The Hoosiers out-rebounded Illinois by 14, limiting the Fighting Illini to four offensive rebounds and no second chance points.

Vonleh, who only recorded four points, grabbed 14 rebounds in the game.

Crean said IU would have lost earlier in the season if the Hoosiers had logged similar statistics to the ones they recorded against Illinois--41 percent shooting as a team and only four points from Vonleh.

“We’re in the hardest league in the country,” he said. “And you’re forced to get better because everybody else is.”

“Games like this exponentially raise their confidence level, and we just have to continue to move forward with it.”

Follow reporter Andy Wittry on Twitter @AndyWittry.