Illinois crushes Valparaiso in NIT opener

[March 15, 2017]  In its first game since head coach John Groce was fired, Illinois broke out to a big lead and rolled to an 82-57 victory over Valparaiso in first-round NIT action on Tuesday night at State Farm Center in Champaign, Ill.

Second-seeded Illinois (19-14) got 25 points from senior swingman Malcolm Hill in just 27 minutes of action, while sophomore power forward Leron Black added 13 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season.

Illinois pounded the undersized Crusaders 43-26 on the boards to earn another home game for interim head coach Jamall Walker, Groce's top assistant, who will guide the Illini against the winner of Tuesday's game between third-seeded Utah (20-11) and Boise State (19-11).

Seventh-seeded Valparaiso (24-9), the Horizon League regular-season co-champion, couldn't cope with Illinois' size while playing its fourth game without Alec Peters, the conference player of the year who sat out again with a stress fracture in his right foot.

Junior guard Tevonn Walker paced the Crusaders with a career-high-tying 25 points as he canned 9 of 14 shots from the field, but the rest of the team hit just 12 of 43 shots (28 percent).

Illinois needed just 5:07 to set the tone with its first double-digit lead. Hill, who had his run of 25 straight double-figure scoring efforts snapped when he scored just four points against Michigan in the Big Ten tournament, triggered the 16-6 opening run with back-to-back 3-pointers. Black capped it with a dunk.

The Illini pushed the margin to 41-24 by the break as Hill (13 points) and Black (11 points) equaled the Crusaders' production.

Valparaiso never got closer than 15 points during the second half. When Hill drilled a 3-pointer from the corner with 7:42 to play -- his fourth 3-pointer of the night -- to give the Illini a 63-41 lead, it signaled the chance for Walker to substitute liberally.

Illinois gave all 14 eligible players a chance to play at least two minutes and Champaign native Clayton Jones, a junior walkon, took advantage with a four-point play in the final minute for his first points of the season.

[© 2017 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2017 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.