Illini Give Purdue a Scare but Fall, 93-86
By Jeff Mayfield

[February 23, 2018]  The Illinois Fighting Illini lived up to their nickname Thursday night as they gave the Purdue Boilermakers all they wanted before falling late 93-86. Illinois gave a preview of what future Illini teams might look like, as their offense was percolating for most of the game.

Leron Black continued his stellar play by firing away for 28 points while Trent Frazier tossed in 20 points. Te’Jon Lucas tallied 12 while Da’Monte Williams pitched in 11. And for a while you got the idea the Illini were thinking upset.

Unfortunately, that’s not what the Boilers were thinking as they came in and put up one of the best road shooting performances this witness has seen in quite some time. Carsen Edwards looked other-worldly on his way to 40 points and Dakota Mathias added 18. But they were limited to those point totals only because they didn’t force up more shots. Because it seemed like every time they shot it-they converted. How about shooting nearly 60% on the road while outscoring the home standing Illini by 18 points at the charity stripe?

In addition, Illinois did as good a job on Purdue’s two 7-foot giants as any league team has done against them all season. The Illini some how even managed to outscore them 26-22 in the paint. I’m not sure that’s happened to them all year, though Purdue did command the boards 33-20. But in spite of all the Boiler successes, Illinois was on pace to knock them off.

In the end it was just too much Edwards as the Illini had no answer for him. He scored from the perimeter, he took it to the rim, he was deadly on mid-range jumpers, and rarely misses from the free throw line. And if you give a road team 31 tries at the line in any given game you’ve increased their odds substantially.

The good news is the Illini showed their fight and what they are going to be capable of when the reinforcements arrive. Let’s just hope the recruits are watching these developments as closely as we are and they sense that their contributions will bring the Illini back to their former glory.

Illinois travels to Rutgers for a Sunday afternoon game in New Jersey and then will stay out East as the Big Ten Tournament opens up midweek in New York.

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

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