Illini slug their way past Indiana

By Greg Taylor         

[FEB. 20, 2006]  CHAMPAIGN -- The Illini earned their eighth conference win of the year on Sunday with a 70-58 battle against the Hoosiers. Illinois was led by senior James Augustine, who scored a double-double with 18 points and 10 rebounds before fouling out at the 1:19 mark of the game. The name of the game Sunday was defense, as both teams brought a physical, in-your-face effort on the defensive end. Illinois improves to 8-4 in the conference title chase, just one-half game behind Iowa, and is now 22-4 overall for the year.

Sunday marked the beginning of the end of the Mike Davis era in Indiana. The embattled coach, who succeeded legend Bobby Knight before the 2000-2001 season, announced his long-sought resignation on Thursday after weeks of speculation. Many in the sell-out crowd wondered how Indiana would respond to this adversity, and early on Indiana drained two long 3s to grab an early 6-5 lead. However, Sunday would belong to the Illini and their power-packed inside game.

Illinois jumped out to an early 14-6 lead behind the strong inside play of Pruitt, Augustine and Warren Carter and two early 3s from Springfield's Rich McBride.

Illini center Shaun Pruitt, matched up with Indiana big man Marco Killingworth, played just four early minutes in the first half before landing his second foul of the game and a spot on the bench. Illinois began to own the game inside against the undersized Hoosiers, as the Illini went on a 13-2 run to extend a six-point lead to 27-10 at the 7:58 mark of the half. Augustine, Brian Randle and Marcus Arnold scored all the points during the run as Davis was forced to burn his second timeout of the half. Overall, the run was 22-4 and Illinois was in good shape with eight minutes to go in the half.

Indiana battled back and began to draw fouls on the Illini as the half wore on. In addition to Pruitt's two fouls, Dee Brown and Augustine both finished the half with two fouls, and the Hoosiers scored their final five points of the half from the foul line.

The play of the first half had to be the one-handed monster slam by Randle with just over four minutes left in the half. Randle, who had injured his right wrist earlier in the half, took two dribbles and soared over Killingsworth for a 3-point play.

The score at the half was 38-25, and Illinois appeared to be in control for much of the game. The Illini shot 53.3 percent in the first half, but made just two of 10 3-point attempts. Augustine led the way in the half with 10 points and seven rebounds, while Randle chipped in eight points. Not counting the 3-point attempts, Illinois was 14-of-20 from the field during the first half.

The second half was really an ugly half offensively, as both teams struggled to get much going in the half court. Indiana, which entered the game as one of the best 3-point shooting teams in the land, made just four of 22 for the game and went 24 minutes of game action between 3s. Indiana was led by fifth-year senior Marco Killingsworth, who had 15 points and six rebounds.

Down the stretch, Illinois had enough to hang on for the win, never allowing the Hoosiers closer than 10 in the final 30-plus minutes of the game. The Illini were able to avenge their two-point loss to Indiana on the road in January and now control their own destiny in their surge for a third straight Big Ten title.

Freshman Jamar Smith did not play on Sunday -- his first game of the year without any minutes of action. He was the fourth member of the team to be held out of an entire game for not "taking care of his business." Carter, Chet Frazier and Calvin Brock each sat out games earlier in the year.

Several positives were evident on Sunday for the Illini:

• Illinois was 22-of-33 from the field (66 percent) when attempting 2-point shots.

• Illinois held Indiana to just 4-of-22 from 3-point range.

• The Illini had a solid effort from the free-throw line, making 11 of their first 12 and finishing 17-of-22 for the game.

• The Illini outrebounded the Hoosiers 37-25 for the game.

• Illinois held a double-digit lead for the final 30 minutes of the game.

A couple of negatives were on display as well, however:

• Illinois had 18 turnovers, including 11 in the second half. Many were unforced.

• Illinois shot just 17.6 percent from 3-point land (3-of-17).

• Illinois battled foul trouble again, with Pruitt playing just four minutes in the first half and Augustine fouling out of the game. Dee Brown picked up two in the first half and finished the game with four.

• The Illini continued to struggle against the zone defense at times. Jamar Smith would have helped against the Hoosier zones.

• Illinois had several "very sloppy" possessions at key points of the game.

Illinois now travels to Michigan for a Tuesday night national TV game. With a win, the Illini would move into a first-place tie with Iowa ahead of the Illini-Hawkeye matchup on Saturday in Champaign.

[Greg Taylor]

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