CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — IU Coach Tom Crean was looking for two things from his players Thursday night.
“Our focus had to be defense and rebounding,” he said. “Anybody that played eight minutes or more got a rebound in this game.”
Those were the keys in the absence of sophomore guard Robert Johnson, who has been one of IU’s best defensive players this season.
The result was a 20-rebound advantage and dominant 74-47 win against Illinois in Champaign.
Though the Hoosiers beat the Illini by 34 just more than a month ago in Bloomington, this time they needed a second half to do it.
After finding themselves down by one at the break, the Hoosiers outscored the Illini 47-19 in the second half behind 27 points from Yogi Ferrell. The senior guard scored 19 of those in the second half on 5-of-10 from beyond the arc.
IU got off to a shaky start to open the game, missing shots and turning the ball over, but was dominant in almost every category after the break.
It started with IU going down low to freshman center Thomas Bryant, who scored the first seven points of the second half — just as he did five days ago against Purdue.
“Tonight, we have to have guys step up and do more offensively, and that’s exactly what (Bryant) did,” Crean said. “He’s getting more and more comfortable with the ball.”
Bryant kick-started what was a stagnant IU offense early on. And it helped the Hoosiers go on an 18-5 run to pull away from the Illini.
Senior guard Nick Zeisloft got the start in place of Johnson, who sprained his ankle in a win against Purdue on Saturday night. Crean said Johnson is still on a day-to-day basis.
Zeisloft, IU’s 3-point specialist, has been struggling from long range during the Big Ten season but came up big against the Illini. He scored 12 of his 14 points from 3-point range on a 4-of-7 shooting night.
Crean said they missed having Johnson on the court, but his teammates stepped up without him.
“For us to play without him tonight and the guys to step up the way they did says a lot about the way they’re improving, says a lot about their desire to get better,” Crean said.
The Hoosiers had to step up more than once Thursday night. Once was for Johnson. The second time was for junior forward Troy Williams, who limped off the court early in the second with what was later called a thigh bruise.
While Williams was able to return later in the game, his team pushed the lead out to as many as 28 with him on the bench.
“The bottom line is that everyone picked up their game defensively, including the first half, and we got a lot better in the second,” Crean said.
The biggest difference in the second half was the Hoosiers knocking down shots, while the Illini weren’t.
With a 10-of-17 effort from 3-point range in that time, IU finished the game shooting nearly 60 percent from the field. Bryant came close to a double-double with 14 points and eight rebounds.
The win moved IU that much closer to clinching first place in the Big Ten.
With another win at No. 8 Iowa next Tuesday, the Hoosiers are guaranteed at least a share of the regular season conference title.
