|
He said that it would make me slow, lethargic, and reduce the
quickness in my reflexes. The Illini looked like they consumed mass
quantities prior to Friday night’s tip in the State Farm Center and
therefore were lucky to gain a lead and eventually a win 94-85.
To be fair the Illini continued to play at less than full strength
and in last night’s case…way less. Illinois was without 3 starters
Trent Frazier, who hurt his leg in Kansas City, Andre Curbelo, still
feeling the effects of a concussion he suffered more than a week
ago, and Jacob Grandison who was out with an undisclosed illness.
So, it took a performance for the ages one not seen by a Big Ten
team for 25 years [at least according to one Illini board poster] to
get the victory! What was it? Two teammates both scoring 30 or more
points-Kofi Cockburn slammed home a career high 38 points to go
along with 10 rebounds and Alphonso Plummer got loose for 30,
canning five 3’s from distance AND went 8 for 8 at the charity
stripe! They were the first pair of Illini teammates to both score
30 or more points since Andy Kaufmann and Deon Thomas pulled off the
feat in 1990 [AK with 46 and DT with 34 in a 2OT win over
Wisconsin-Milwaukee].
Da’Monte Williams dished out a career-high 8 assists and 6 rebounds
and Ben Bosmans-Verdonk tallied 6 dimes himself. Coleman Hawkins and
Luke Goode both turned in clutch, solid performances on their way to
13 and 5 points respectively. [to top of second column] |
The Illini struggled on the defensive end all night and came
close to catastrophic results because of it. Illinois chased the
faster and quicker Vaqueros all game long. The Illini did out
rebound the Vaqueros 31-26, but bad entry passes led to an 8-13
disparity in turnovers. Their conversion of 20 of 24 free throws
for 83% was a big factor in securing the victory. Having fans
back in the building this season with over 12,000 in attendance
last night, also makes a difference. Not having that momentum
and the crowd energy for the players last year was a crime.
The Illini were finally able to fend off the after-effects of
the turkey and secure the win and came away with a 94-85
victory. Illinois is now 4-2 on the young season and will host
Notre Dame on Monday night at 8pm. [By JEFF MAYFIELD]
Respond to the writer at
jeffqmay@gmail.com.
|
