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Illini sweep out the old year

By Jeff Mayfield

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[December 30, 2010]  This is a good day to be clad in Orange. The Illinois Fighting Illini lived up to their nickname and came away with not one, but two victories for Illini Nation last night. The football team disposed of the Baylor Bears 38-14 to capture the Texas Bowl in Houston, and the hoops contingent dotted Iowa's "I" 87-77 to snag their Big Ten opener on the road. It's a great day to be an Illini fan!

And long overdue, I might add. I just didn't see the football win coming. I mean there were times this season that our team played well. However, there were other times when Illinois laid the biggest eggs you've ever seen. Therein lies the frustration. So, when I saw that we were playing a team as quick and as fast as Baylor, I stupidly felt like we might be in trouble. In the past when we've faced speedy teams, the outcomes usually do not favor us. My fears were never realized.

What I didn't take into consideration was how our offensive and defensive lines wanted to make a name for themselves. I can tell you about our stars -- Mikel Leshoure, Nathan Sheelhaase, Martez Wilson, Corey Liuget, Derek Dimke and a host of others -- but if I were a coach, I would give the game balls to our two respective line units. They dominated the contest!

Liuget, Clay Nurse and their teammates camped out in the Baylor backfield. They neutralized Baylor's star quarterback, Robert Griffin III -- so much so that he looked rattled most of the game. Instead of hurting Illinois with his running, he had to resort to the pass, and that was only when he had enough time to heave the ball downfield and hope a teammate in green was somewhere near the football. Illinois' ferocious rush at the point of attack was a sight of pure beauty. Liuget finished the night with five tackles (2.5 of them for lost yardage) and one sack.

And don't forget the contributions by almost forgotten Terry Hawthorne, who was starting his first game of the year, recovering from a foot injury. He led the team with nine tackles (1.5 of them for loss) and helped keep the potent Bears' offense in check all night. Nate Bussey and Tavon Wilson chipped in with eight and seven tackles respectively to aid the cause.

On the offensive side of the ball, Illinois' offensive linemen were creating gaping holes so big that yours truly might have gained some valuable yardage. While that may be a slight exaggeration, that should tell you how their push was coming off the line of scrimmage. Illini linemen were blowing defenders off the ball. It helped Leshoure on his way to 184 yards' rushing for the evening. And when they weren't knocking heads all over the field, there were other guys. Jason Ford was a tank banging his way to another 54 yards of offense.

Then there was Nathan Scheelhaase. All he did was run for 53 yards and a touchdown, pass for another 242 yards (18 for 23), and he may have been working the concession stand between plays for all we know. He was everywhere. The last touchdown was probably unneeded, but it wasn't like he was throwing them deep. I will sum it up this way: He was about as efficient as a quarterback can be. Not bad for a freshman. If he's not the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, I don't know who is. He has to even be in the conversation for best freshman (and yes, I know he's a redshirt freshman) in the country. While I realize that he probably doesn't qualify, all I know is that the kid is pretty darn good. How's that for spot-on expert analysis? His poise and composure went a long way toward stabilizing the team in the early going, even though the Illini were having to settle for field goals.

Pencil me in as a guy who likes our chances every time we start a game with a 24-0 lead! Congratulations to Illini coach Ron Zook on the first bowl victory of his career!

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While all this was going on in the Lone Star State, the hoopsters were putting it on the Hawkeyes up in the frozen tundra of Iowa City. I mean when you hit your first seven 3-pointers and 11 of your first 13, you are going to put your team in a good position. To Iowa's credit, they didn't melt or fold. They kept fighting and made a game of it.

The Illini were once again led by senior guard Demetri McCamey, who torched the nets for 20 points and 10 assists. He did commit five turnovers as Illinois made 17 on the night, which is just way too many for this team. That needs to be fixed as quickly as possible. Possessions need to be prized, and passes can't be thrown up for grabs.

D.J. Richardson continued his improved play as he added 17 points to go with five assists. Mike Davis added 15 points, and here's hoping he is rediscovering his shot. We'll also need some big rebounds out of him over the next few games. Bill Cole came in firing off the bench to add 14 points to the Illini win.

Jereme Richmond also had a nice game by contributing 12 points on hot shooting and pulling down five big rebounds. His tough, hard-nosed play hopefully will inspire his teammates to keep taking it up a notch.

I know that many fans will downplay the win since it was against a rebuilding Iowa team. However, I have been around long enough to tell you and them that any road win in this league is a great win! I would also tell you that IF Illinois can even approach these numbers -- total field goals, 67 percent; 3-point field goals, 72 percent; and free-throw shooting, 77 percent -- for the rest of the season, they will be in a lot of games.

That likely will not happen. Mostly because I predict that an uglier, more physical, defensive brand of basketball is headed to the Assembly Hall in the next couple of games. Illinois stills needs to hit the glass a lot harder but did manage to win the rebounding battle in Carver Hawkeye Arena.

All in all, it was a scintillating night in Illiniland. And to think, going into the night I was willing to settle for a split. The Illini slapped my lack of confidence down and came away with what I felt was an improbable sweep. I'll take it. It's good to be ORANGE!

Have a happy New Year, everybody!

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

Respond to the writer at jmayfield@ctitech.com.

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