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Several
individuals stepped up for the Illini on Tuesday night and carried them to
victory. Below is the LDN Hero List for "the game":
1.
Cory Bradford — The junior from Memphis broke out of a
season-long slump with 22 points and made six huge 3-point baskets,
including four during a five-minute stretch in the second half where
Illinois extended a one-point lead to a 10-point lead. Bradford also
played solid defense on Michigan State freshman Marcus Taylor.
2.
Brian Cook — Lincoln’s favorite son scored seven straight
points early in the second half, which allowed him to erase a five-point
deficit. Cook also avoided foul trouble and played 33 big minutes for the
Illini. Brian showed the toughness to stand up to the Michigan State big
men and totally shut down MSU diaper dandy Zach Randolph, holding the best
freshman in the Big 10 to just six points. Cook also led Illinois with
five rebounds and two blocked shots.
3.
Robert Archibald — Out of the lineup due to back pain on
Saturday, Archibald made the most of his return, logging 20 game minutes
while scoring seven points and grabbing four rebounds. He also showed a
toughness the entire night and avoided foul trouble besides.
4.
THE CROWD — It was without a doubt the loudest night on record at
the Hall, as several MSU players and coaches said the crowd was the sixth
man and made a big difference. Encouraged to wear orange, most fans did
just that, and a sea of orange helped lead the Illini to victory. The MSU
game was the sixth sellout of the year (out of 10 games to date) and the
final two home games are already sellouts. What's next? Bill Self breaking
out an orange blazer?
5.
Coach Bill Self — I can remember crying in my coffee when I heard
in late May that Lon Kruger was heading to NBA to coach the Atlanta Hawks.
However, Self proved again Tuesday night why he has the inside track at
Big 10 coach of the year. Self called two great timeouts when the Illini
were in danger of getting blown out (early in the first half and early in
the second half), went to the entire bench early (four subs entered the
game in the first five minutes of the game and helped lead Illinois back
into the game) and did not hesitate to sit Marcus Griffin for most of the
second half when it became obvious Archibald was the better player on this
night. Self left the officials alone, even when it appeared several calls
went against Illinois early, and this also paid off as Illinois received
several favorable whistles throughout the game.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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Now,
Illinois must put this victory out of their minds and figure out how to
play their A game on the road. Four of Illinois' final six games before
the Big 10 tourney are on the road, including trips to Purdue this
Saturday (Illinois last beat Purdue during the 1996 Big 10 season) and to
Indiana on Feb. 17. If the season were to end today, Illinois would
receive a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tourney, probably in the Midwest
regional. However, nine games stand between Illinois and this important
goal, and most of those games will be played away from the Assembly Hall.
Illinois will need more energy like the display seen Tuesday night. Time
will tell if the Illini are up to the challenge.
Tale of the
box score
-
Illinois
made 10 3-point baskets; MSU made just three.
-
Illinois
had just 10 turnovers for the game.
-
Illinois
was called for just 16 fouls in the game.
-
MSU
reached the bonus in the last two minutes of each half, while Illinois
reached the bonus at 7:11 in the first and 11:05 in the second.
-
Illinois
was 19-23 from the free-throw line in the second half.
-
MSU
shot just 16 percent from 3-point land for the game but shot 53
percent from the field minus the 3-point attempts.
-
MSU
outrebounded Illinois 35-29.
- MSU outscored Illinois 17-0 in
the first three minutes of each half (7-0 in the first half; 10-0 in
the second half); Illinois outscored MSU 77-49 the rest of the game.
[Greg
Taylor]
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-
Illinois
is now ranked No. 6 in both polls — the highest since ’89-’90.
-
The
Illini have previously appeared 10 times on national TV — six times
on ESPN, three on ESPN2 and once on CBS. Their 11th
appearance was the Feb. 6 blockbuster with Michigan State in Chambana.
-
Every
Illinois Big Ten home contest will be sold out other than the
Minnesota game.
-
Illini
have already appeared in the fourth- and sixth-largest-attended games
in the USA this year: 4th, Illinois vs. Missouri, 22,089; 6th,
Illinois vs. Arizona, 21,885.
-
Illini
reserves have outscored their opponents by nearly seven points a game.
That includes an 18-1 ledger posted against Michigan on Jan. 25 in a
55-51 win.
-
Illinois
has held opponents to a miserly .371 field goal percentage and a Big
Ten-leading 35 percent in league tilts.
[to top of second column in
this section]
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-
Illini
are first in the Big Ten in blocked shots, averaging 6.1 per game.
Brian Cook and Robert Archibald have recorded 14 swats each.
-
Overall
Cook is the team leader with 30 blocks, good for third in the league
with two per game. Cook is also third on the team in rebounds with 6.2
per contest. In addition, he is an incredible 15-of-40 for 38 percent
on 3s and 75-of-150 for 50 percent field goals.
- Illinois is second in the Big
Ten in steals, with Frank Williams leading at 2.7 steals per game.
Sergio McClain is second with 2.14 steals per game.
Big Ten
tournament
Tickets
for the Big Ten tournament are available by calling (312) 559-1212.
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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Official
results of the Jan. 31 seeding meeting:
1.
Springfield Lanphier
2.
Mount Zion
3.
Springfield Southeast
4.
Danville
5.
Rantoul
6.
Lincoln
7.
Quincy
8.
Champaign Centennial
9.
Champaign Central
10.
Decatur MacArthur
11.
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin
12.
Decatur Eisenhower
13.
Urbana
14.
Mahomet-Seymour
15.
Springfield
16.
Jacksonville
There
was probably little doubt that Lanphier and Mount Zion would be the top
two seeds. What was up for doubt, though, is who would be No. 1 and who
would be No. 2. Lanphier has been on a roll lately, but Mount Zion had won
an earlier matchup with the Lions. I tend to reward the victors in
head-to-head competition … but, then again, I didn’t have a vote.
I
would say that you would have to place Southeast solidly in third.
After
that the next several slots are a dice roll. Danville probably takes the
4-spot by virtue of their win here in Lincoln — too bad that narrow
Railer loss on an off night came back to haunt them now. A 4-spot
selection would have guaranteed that the two regional games would have
been played in the friendly confines of Roy S. Anderson gymnasium.
Rantoul
is a question mark to me in the 5 hole. Their record looks good, but who
have they played? I find it hard to believe that either they or Danville
have lined up with the kind of competition that Lincoln has. Say what you
will about coach Alexander, but he’ll play anyone, anywhere!
If
I were given a butterfly ballot, I could have made a case to put Lincoln
anywhere from the third to the sixth spot.
[to top of second column in
this article]
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The
guy who may be fuming today could very well be former Railer coach and
current Quincy coach Loren Wallace. The Blue Devils took home the lucky 7,
which may include an all-expenses-paid trip to Mount Zion — not an easy
road for sure, but if I were the Braves, I STILL wouldn’t want to play
them.
The
Champaign schools garnered positions 8 and 9. This year I don’t know
much about either team. As I’ve done a lot of scouting the last few
years, I’ve come away very impressed with Central’s coach, Scott
Davis. I think he does a nice job with his kids and always seems to get
more out of them than what you might think is actually there. I admire
that in a coach. Coach Alexander is the king of that in my book.
The
always-very-athletic Decatur schools hold down the No. 10 and the No. 12
seeds. They also have two of the best coaches in Mel Roustio and one of my
favorites, Clark Barnes. Don’t be surprised to see either one of those
teams spring an upset on the way to the PCCC!
Jim
Drew has done a great job turning the fortunes around at Griffin. As a
Railer fan I hate to face their match-up defense again, but at least we’ve
seen it before and we’d be playing them at home. It’s always possible
that a seed switch could occur because of travel, but there’s been no
indication of one at this time.
Holding
down the last four seeds are Urbana, Mahomet-Seymour, Springfield and
Jacksonville. Any of those teams is capable of shocking someone on a given
night. They could sure help the Railers’ cause if they would do just
that.
Lincoln’s
brutal schedule continues this weekend as the Railers travel to Chatham
and to Centralia. The game against the Orphans should be a dandy. It also
might point the direction those two teams are going, come playoff time.
Looking
into the crystal ball, the LDN sees a game two rematch with our friends
from Southeast. BUT, this time we predict a different outcome: first, a
tough, hard-fought win over Griffin; then, in game 2, Lincoln in a
squeaker; and then it’s on to the PCCC!
Good
luck, fellas, and, as always, GO RAILERS!
[Jeff
Mayfield]
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