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Illinois began the game absolutely on
fire, jumping out to leads of 6-0 and 10-2 in the first three-plus
minutes of the game, forcing coach Gene Keady to burn a 20-second
timeout. Luther Head started the game with an alley-oop dunk
courtesy of a Deron Williams pass, Brown made one of two free
throws, Williams nailed a 3, Brown scored on a breakaway, and Powell
gained an easy put-back on the offensive boards to give Illinois the
eight-point lead.
Kenneth Lowe, the senior standout for
Purdue, single-handedly kept the Boilers in the game, scoring seven
of the team's first nine points. Despite this one-man effort,
Illinois stretched the lead to 10 at 19-9.
But Purdue wouldn't quit, and a 6-0 run
got them right back in the game at 19-15 as the teams entered the
third media timeout of the first half. Jump shots by David Teague
and Brandon McKnight fueled the run, and Illinois had several shots
blocked during this four-minute period.
Weber burned a 20-second timeout of his
own and Mackey Arena finally came to life. Illinois bounced back
somewhat and moved the lead back to seven at 23-16, with 21 of the
points coming from Brown, Williams and Head.
Purdue, however, continued to hit
outside shots and get to the free-throw line, and an 8-0 run gave
them their first lead of the night at 24-23 at the 3:36 mark of the
half. At this point, Illinois had been whistled for 10 fouls, while
Purdue had been called for just four, a repeat of what transpired in
Champaign on Jan. 10, when Purdue won 58-54.
The remainder of the first half saw the
Illini big men in serious foul trouble, as Powell and Augustine were
each saddled with two fouls and Nick Smith had been whistled for
three. Illinois found themselves in survival mode, hoping to hold on
until the second half without their three big men who play the
majority of the minutes.
The halftime score was 30-30, and
Illinois should have felt thankful Purdue didn't have a lead. Brown
led the Illini with 11 and Williams had eight, but Powell, Augustine
and Smith combined for just two points. TWO POINTS? If Illinois had
any ideas of clinching a tie for the conference crown on this night,
Augustine, Powell and Smith would have to step up during the final
20 minutes. Purdue shot 45.5 percent in the first half, while
Illinois shot just 33 percent during the first frame.
The second half began with Purdue
continuing their strong outside shooting and Illinois unable to
score from the outside or unwilling to take it inside. Purdue
started the half on a 11-5 run and forced Weber to burn his second
timeout at the 15:57 mark of the game. Illinois looked in danger of
being blown out, and one wondered how this Purdue team lost by 36 on
Sunday at Wisconsin.
The Boilers' seven-point lead was
reduced to one at the 12-minute mark of the game as Illinois got
huge buckets from Williams, Augustine and Head and began to dig in
on defense.
Illinois got a stop out of the timeout,
and Williams nailed a 3 and was fouled in the process. Even though
he missed the freebie, Illinois had regained the lead at 50-48 with
11 minutes to play. Illinois went from down seven at 45-38 to up
five at 58-53 as the teams broke for a media timeout at 7:57 for the
game.
Illinois' Augustine was huge down low,
and Head nailed three huge outside shots. Purdue answered with a
four-point play from Lowe (3-pointer, fouled, made the free throw)
and was right back at down one with seven minutes to play. The teams
traded baskets and Weber called a timeout at 5:24 to ready for the
stretch run with Illinois leading 62-61 and the Mackey crazies going
bananas.
The Illini sandwiched a Williams 3 and
an Ingram 2 between a McKnight jumper to stretch the lead to four at
67-63, before Illinois was whistled for bizarre calls by Zelton
Steed. First he called Williams for palming the ball and McKnight
nailed a jumper. Then, right in front of the Illinois bench, Head
was called for a questionable offensive foul 30-feet from the
basket, and Teague's finger roll tied the game at 67.
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An Augustine hook gave Illinois the
lead, but McKnight nailed another jumper and Illinois called timeout
at 40 seconds to set up a shot. Williams missed from 18 feet and
Purdue held for a final shot. Lowe's runner missed, Smith grabbed
the rebound, and the fans were treated to free basketball as they
headed to overtime.
The overtime period began with Nick
Smith nailing a 3-pointer for Illinois, giving them a 72-69 lead.
Kartelo followed with a field goal, and then Head and Lowe traded
free throws. Illinois finally got a stop on defense and Smith again
was good from 3, this one hitting the front of the rim, bouncing
straight up in the air and falling through the net for a 77-73 lead
at the two-minute mark of overtime.
Purdue called timeout and Illini fans
could smell their fourth conference title in the past seven seasons.
But would Purdue have yet another answer?
The answer was a loud yes, as Teague
nailed a 3 with Head's hand in his face, and Purdue was back within
one at 77-76. After a miss, Illinois was awarded the ball and called
timeout at 1:15. Smith missed from 3-point land, and Purdue had a
chance to take the lead.
But great defense by Williams forced
Lowe into a travel (should have been an offensive foul), and Smith
was fouled with 22.7 left. Smith calmly sank two free throws in the
one-and-bonus situation, and Illinois looked good to go at 79-76.
But Lowe nailed a 3 in traffic to tie
the game at 79 and set up some great drama. Powell appeared to have
his shot hit after it hit the glass, for goaltending, but the refs
swallowed their whistles and this writer wondered if Illinois was
not destined to win. But Luther Head followed up the miss with a
twisting put-back, and Illinois was up 81-79 with 0.9 seconds left.
Purdue looked in vain for another
miracle and Illinois clinched a tie for the title! GO ILLINI!
Head led the Illini with 19 points and
eight assists, while Brown finished with 15 points and seven
rebounds, and Williams played all 45 minutes and had another
double-double, with 16 points and 10 assists. Augustine chipped in
with nine points and nine boards, and Smith was unbelievable --
finishing with 12 points and scoring eight of the team's 12 overtime
points.
Illinois wins at Purdue for just the
second time in 10 years and will go for the outright title Sunday at
Ohio State.
Illini
notes
- Keady is still the master of
intimidation, and once again his act had second-tier officials
Rick Hartzell and Zelton Steed calling everything under the sun
against the Illini. For the half, the Illini were called for a
season-high 12 fouls, and Purdue attempted 11 free throws,
compared with just five for Illinois. This writer understands
Keady is the dean of Big Ten coaches and has been pulling this
"thing" for years, but my question is simple. Why does the
conference send their three best officials, Ted Hillary, Steve
Welmer and Ed Hightower, to work the Wisconsin-Michigan State
game, and Illinois is forced to play Purdue on the road with Steed
and Hartzell (along with Hillary)?
- The Illini had at least 1,500
fans at Purdue (probably closer to 2,000), and the team came out
after the game and went into the stands to say thanks.
- Weber becomes just the sixth
coach in the Big Ten in the last 30 years to beat every conference
team during his first conference campaign.
- Illinois locked up at least the
No. 2 seed in the upcoming conference tourney in Indianapolis.
[Greg
Taylor]
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