Illinitalk

Welcome to the Big Ten! The conference season is going to be fun, although I may not have any fingernails left. (My mom did mention that I could wear gloves during the games...) Illinois is 1-0 in Big Ten play, and improved to 13-1 overall. And Purdue is a very surprising 0-1 in the conference. The Big Ten will beat up on each other all season, but the Illini stole one that, as Bruce said after the game, isn't one that many other teams will get.

The Illini played fairly well against the pre-season favorites to win the conference. And they played fairly well for a conference road game. Both teams were tight and missed way too many gimme shots underneath. But what a game!

The Illini jumped out to a quick lead, Purdue roared back, and then Illinois went on a run again and led (barely) for most of the game. Not an easy thing to do on the road in conference play. When Purdue grabbed the lead with just over 3 minutes to go, I figured the Illini had played really well on the road, but that they would inevitably not be able to hold on in such a hostile environment. Thanks for proving me wrong, boys!

This game bodes well for the rest of the season, and there was a lot to like:

• Ball security. Only 6 turnovers in 45 minutes of play (although a couple of those were very costly). Keep it up!
• Assists. The Illini passed to the open man, and racked up 21 assist on 30 baskets. And some of Chester's passes were really pretty.
• The bigs. Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale aren't a typical Big Ten frontcourt, but their 2-man game is fun to watch. They don't hesitate to pass to each other and shoot open jumpers. Tisdale has a beautiful shot, and Davis is unpredictable.
• Balanced scoring. Tisdale led with 18 points, but Davis and Alex Legion each had 12, Trent Meacham had 11 and Demetri McCamey had 10.
• Free throw shooting. When they did get to the line, the Illini did well, at 10-14. Yes, it was painful to watch McCamey miss 3 in a row, but that won't be typical. It was nice to be on the other side of poor free throw shooting, as Purdue gave away the game by making only 15 of 27 at the line.
• Bench play. Calvin Brock and Legion were solid off the bench, and although Dominque Keller didn't have the stats that Davis and Tisdale gathered, he helped out. It will be interesting to see how bench minutes shake out during conference play.
• Coaching. Give Weber and his staff credit for much of the Illini success off of planned in-bound plays. And for helping the boys maintain their focus in overtime. And for drawing up plays to keep the Illini in overtime after Tisdale fouled out.

But there are a couple areas that the Illini will need to work on to build on this big upset.

• Strength going to the basket. The Illini, especially Tisdale, need to go to the basket like the mean it underneath. That's how you draw fouls. The Illini had only 14 free throw attempts to the Boilermakers' 27. That's a really big difference. And Tisdale had several short shots blocked because he didn't go up that strong. He has a height advantage. Put a little strength with it, and he'll head to the line a bit more often -- where he will do well.
• Rebounding. Purdue one the battle for rebounds with 44 compared to 38 for the Illini. But the bigger concern is that guards Chester Frazier and Calvin Brock lead the team with 7 rebounds each, compared to 6 each for Davis and Tisdale. Rebounding guards are very valuable, but the big guys should lead this category.
• Conditioning. The Illini ran better in this game than they did against Clemson, but they seemed to be pretty tired by the end of the game. Granted, Purdue was tired too, but it will be a long couple months in conference play, and they will need to be in good shape.
• Cheap fouls. A cleaner game in the back court and away from the ball will make a big difference. Hard fouls underneath are understandable, but those away from the basket or the ball really hurt. And that last foul in regulation on an airball...ouch.

But wow! The Illini won a big game that just may push them into the top 25 next week. They've already exceeded expectations, and this promises to be a very interesting season.

Go Illini!

Labels: Illini basketball