Illinois holds down Georgetown 58-48      

By Greg Taylor

[DEC. 9, 2005]  CHAMPAIGN -- Well, the weather outside was frightful, but the basketball in the Assembly Hall was pretty darn delightful. OK -- that was lame, but Illinois was awful sharp for most of the game Thursday night in the midst of a major snowstorm. Georgetown, a team that makes you think of Ewing and Mourning and Mutumbo, came to town hot off an upset road victory at Oregon and ready to give Illinois a serious challenge to their 25-game home-court winning streak.

What happened in the first half, however, was a defensive clinic by the hometown heroes wearing orange. Although it was a slow-starting team for much of the early season, head coach Bruce Weber had the Illini ready to go, especially on defense, and the Hoyas seemed to struggle to get any kind of offense going from the very beginning of the game. Illinois held Georgetown to just 13 first-half points, and the visitors from D.C. shot just 22 percent from the field in the first half. Somehow we were actually able to play a college basketball game and see only five free throws attempted in the first 20 minutes -- a welcome sight to this reporter. James Augustine and Brian Randle were especially strong on the boards and on defense during the first half. The 13-point defensive effort in the half were the fewest allowed by the Illini since holding Northwestern to just six points in the first half back in 2000.

The Illini were not exactly a picture of great offense in action themselves but did lead at the break by 15, thanks to strong 3-point shooting by Dee Brown (2-4), Rich McBride (2-2) and Jamar Smith (1-3). Their five long-range bombs accounted for more than half the Illini points in the half, and the home team led at the break 28-13. Illinois used a 10-0 run to start the game and another 10-1 run later in the half to secure its double-digit lead.

Georgetown tried to get a rally going to start the second half, twice cutting the Illini lead to single digits, but several key plays by different Illini helped them sustain their lead. First came strong inside rebound baskets by Randle and Shaun Pruitt. Next was a long-range bomb by Jamar Smith. Shortly thereafter, Dee Brown scored on back-to-back layups. The Hoyas, however, refused to quit and began trying to drive to the hoop on almost every possession. Jeff Green scored 20 points in the second half, most close to the hoop, as he single-handedly kept Georgetown in the game.

But in the end, there was too much Illini defense and too much long-range shooting from Illinois. Illinois finished with a double-figure rebound advantage and forced Georgetown to play from behind most of the night. Augustine was a stud once again, with 10 points and 13 rebounds, and Brown led the way with 16 points on the night. The Illini won 58-48 in a game that was more "workmanlike" than "artistic."

Illinois will return to action on Saturday night with a trip to Portland, Ore., for a neutral-site game against the Oregon Ducks.

Illini notes:

• Illinois learned that freshman backup Chet Frazier will be out four to eight weeks with a muscle tear in his thigh. This injury will seriously damage Illinois' depth at the guard position and will force Rich McBride to play the point when Dee Brown is out of the game.

• Illinois beat Georgetown for the second straight year and is now 4-1 all-time against the Hoyas. The only loss for the Illini in the series came during the 1994 NCAA tournament.

• The Illinois crowd was wonderful on Thursday night, as over 13,000 braved the elements to make sure the Illini had a true and loud home-court advantage.

• Key Illinois rivals are really having a tough week, and some are having a tough season. Indiana and Iowa both lost Tuesday night, to in-state rivals Indiana State and Northern Iowa. Missouri fell to 2-3 on the year, with losses to Sam Houston State and Davidson, and Kansas, coached by former Illinois coach Bill Self, is just 3-4 on the year after losing to St. Joseph's on Tuesday night in New York City. Needless to say, the folks in the land of Oz are not exactly embracing the "high-low" offense at this point, and many have asked how much longer Self can last in Lawrence.

[Greg Taylor]

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