Illini Stave Off Tennessee-Martin, 77-74
By Jeff Mayfield

[November 13, 2017]  What a difference two days can make. On Friday the Illinois Fighting Illini could do no wrong as they pummeled the Southern University Jaquars 102-55 and looked to be hitting on all eight cylinders. But just two nights later, last night in fact, it seemed like everything the Illini did was a chore.

After shooting over 50% from the field Friday night the Illini only mustered 45%, so instead of another 100-point outburst, Illinois only managed 77 Sunday night. Luckily that was enough. Illinois also only fired away at a 29% clip from distance Sunday night and many of those misses came in the second half as the Skyhawks made a run at the Illini.

The Illini only outrebounded Tennessee-Martin by a 36-33 margin and only bested them in the turnover department 18-19. The miscues point to a lot of sloppy play for the Illini all night and led to the margin of this game being much closer than it should have been.

Thankfully, Leron Black came to play. Black finished the night with a career-high 23 points to go along with 8 rebounds and got the Illini in some kind of a groove when several other players couldn’t find the rim. Mark Smith was the second leading scorer with 13 points including 5-for-5 from the line. Michael Finke and Aaron Jordan added 12 and 10 points respectively.

A game like this one forced the Illini to grind away most of the night and just when you thought they had put the Skyhawks away, UT-Martin would make a run and be right back in the game. Delfincko Bogan, a candidate for name of the year, tallied 23 points for the Skyhawks and literally kept them in the game.

In the grand scheme of things, this game may be a blessing in disguise. As opponents get tougher as we go, hopefully the team learned last night that you can’t just show up. Missed layups, poor passing, questionable decision-making, and unforced turnovers all led to a sputtering offense throughout the night. On the defensive end, too many missed assignments led to too many easy baskets for the Skyhawks. However, an ugly win is always better than a pretty loss, and you can quote me on that!

Illinois will have to step up their play in the next contest as the DePaul Blue Demons make their way to Urbana on Friday. That game is scheduled to start at 7:30pm. The Illini are now 2-0 on the young season.

[By JEFF MAYFIELD]

Respond to the writer at [e-mail].