Illini survive ISU scare    

By Greg Taylor

[JAN. 5, 2004]  After Tuesday's dominating performance against highly regarded Illinois-Chicago, many of the Illini talked about how nice it was to start the conference season with a 9-2 record. As this reporter heard these comments, I could remember the Illini playing only 10 games? One Illini junior clarified my confusion -- "We will be 9-2 after we beat ISU Saturday." I wondered at the time if the Redbirds would read about these comments and come out energized and ready to play. Ready to play? After refusing to shake hands with the Illini during the introductions, the Redbirds came out ready for blood and took Illinois all the way to overtime before falling 80-73.

ISU led for most of the game, led by an all-around great effort from Lincoln's own Gregg Alexander, who played 38 minutes and scored 14 points, made three steals, and led his team to within seconds of their biggest victory in years. The visitors from Bloomington-Normal were led in scoring by post player Marcus Arnold (21 points) and shooting guard Trey Guidry (16 points) for first-year coach Porter Moser, a native of Naperville.

Illinois received a huge surprise by getting 34 minutes from sophomore Deron Williams in his first game back from injury. All Williams did was score 20 points, grab four rebounds, dish out three assists and save Illinois from a potentially season-changing loss. In a week where Belmont beat Missouri, Colorado State took down Purdue, the Hoosiers lose at home to a bad Temple team and Michigan State lost their sixth game of the season, the Illini came dangerously close to their first mid-major loss since the 1997 NCAA tourney. Bottom line: Illinois State absolutely outplayed the host Illini and deserved a better fate. Two thumbs up to ISU and first-year coach Porter Moser, who took the loss seriously hard and struggled to address the media after the game.

The LDN noticed several interesting aspects of Illinois' final non-conference game of the season, including:

--Illinois almost lost their first non-Big Ten game at the Assembly Hall in six seasons, dating back to a 64-58 loss to George Washington in November of 1998.

--Illinois was supposed to dominate in the post against the Redbirds, but James Augustine didn't score a field goal and Illinois' post players attempted just 14 of the 50 shots fired up by the Illini.

--ISU's Marcus Arnold had his way with all four of the Illinois post defenders who attempted to guard him. This could be a sign of trouble for the upcoming "bump and bruise" Big Ten conference.

--Illinois' second leading scorer, Roger Powell, attempted only four shots, making all four. Illinois is at its best when Powell is involved in the offense -- the guards have to start looking for Powell and Augustine down low. I'd even like to see the high-low become a regular part of the offense (and I'm not even going to mention that certain coach with a rug from the land of Dorothy and Toto).

--Illinois' freshmen struggled for the first time in several games. Richard McBride, who has carried Illinois from 3-point land, attempted only two shots in 11 minutes, and Brian Randle especially struggled in 13 minutes of action, committing more turnovers than shots attempted. Coach Bruce Weber was especially critical of both freshmen after the game, stating he felt they "showed up not ready to play."

--Illinois flat out loses this game without an unbelievable effort from Deron Williams. The sophomore point guard from Dallas is Illinois' best player at this point. Coach Moser paid Williams a great compliment after the game, stating, "Deron Williams is a superstar -- bottom line."

--Nick Smith, the 7-foot-2 enigma from Florida, drew harsh comments from Weber in the post-game press conference. Smith could become the smartest post player in the conference or could find himself buried out of the rotation.

--Despite a sub-par effort, Illinois should receive credit for refusing to quit and staging a great comeback. Two different times in the second half, this writer turned to others on press row and said, "Put a fork in them -- Illinois is done!"

--Another positive for Illinois: great free-throw shooting -- 27-31 on the day. If they had shot this well from the line in December, Illinois would have beaten North Carolina and the Providence game would have been much different.

--ISU is the best 4-6 team I've seen a long time -- they may be peaking at just the right time for MVC play.

Illinois begins conference play Wednesday night against a struggling Ohio State team at the Assembly Hall. The Illini better bring their "A" game or it could get ugly. That said, Illinois really gets a break from the schedule, as four of their first five conference games are at home and Illinois will play five more times at home this month. Illinois should be able to jump out to a large conference lead in a year when the conference is seriously down. On Wednesday, we will preview each of the other 10 conference teams and share our predictions for the conference season.

[Greg Taylor]

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