Indiana 46; Illinois 75

There's really not a lot to write about.  This was the true definition of a slaughter.  The Illini led by 19 points less than seven minutes into the game.  They made shot after shot after shot, and....well, let's face it folks.  Indiana is about as godawful as any team in America.  And you know what?  They deserve it.  They sold their soul to the Devil for one year of Eric Gordon.  They hired the scummiest coach since the demise of Clem Haskins, and in exchange, they got a disappointing tournament run, and probation.  

HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!

Honestly, I feel kinda bad for some of the kids on the team.  It's not their fault.  But the only way that this game could have been better is if it had been played in the other Assembly Hall.  It's very nice watching Indiana totally suck this year.  

Anyway, this was never really a contest.  The Illini scored early and often.  Trent Meacham, who struggled against Michigan, lit up the Hoosiers from outside, converting seven of his nine three point attempts and finished with 21 points.  Dominique Keller, not noted as a long range gunner, made three of four three pointers and finished with 15 points of his own (which I assume is career best).  The Illini shot 51% from the field, 52% from long range, while holding Indiana below 40% shooting.

Four Illini finished the game in double figures, with Demetri McCamey and Mike Davis adding 12 point performances to the 21 and 15 poured in by Keller and Meacham.  The Illini knocked down 26 shots, and recorded assists on 17 of them.  For the season, Illinois is assisting on almost 75% of its field goals (301/415).  For reference, UCLA, with one of the country's best backcourst, is averaging an assist on just more than 50% of its field goals (220/403).  North Carolina is around 60% (308/513).  That's an impressive statistic for the Illini, and it tells me that after the last couple years of a stagnant offense, often due to the black whole that was Shawn Pruitt, the Illini are back to executing Bruce Weber's offense the way it's supposed to be executed.  Excellent ball movement.  Dribble penetration when available.  Kick it back out if you don't have a good look.  If there's a reason to be excited about Illinois basketball season this year, that's it.

The road gets tougher from here.  Michigan is in Champaign on Wednesday night.  Michigan State is up after that, followed by Ohio State, Wisconsin, and Minnesota.  That's a tough stretch.  If they can win three of those games, it will be a VERY successful stretch, and will give the Illini some good early buzz, which goes a long way toward making the tournament.  

There is funny, there is absolutely hilarious....

And there is "so batshit insane that it made me laugh for days."

Then, there is this:

IMO, the NCAA is fishing. They have an ax to grind ever since Coach Sampson got around his recruiting restrictions by text messaging. The NCAA is trying to "find" evidence against him so that the university will overreact and terminate him.

Just look at the evidence that the NCAA has, 2 Purdue recruits, 1 Illinois recruit, and a high school teammate of that Illinois recruit. In a court of law I don't even know if these witnesses would even hold up in court. Purdue and Illinois are obiviously Indiana's biggest rivals, I have a feeling both teams wouldn't mind seeing Coach Sampson fired and IU hurt. Doesn't anyone find it interesting that Matt Painter was the one that called out the bag, shirt, and shorts for Eltson? Painter has wanted Derek Eltson from the get go, and I am sure he wasn't happy when Eltson committed to IU.

The bottom line is, I think these allegations of lying are TOTALLY FALSE. The NCAA is just digging for stuff to get Coach Sampson fired. It isn't about justice or truth, but it is about making an example. I would be willing to bet that if Indiana stood behind their coach, did their own invesitgation, and took the NCAA to court, they would have a good chance of winning this case. The NCAA's allegations and evidence are weak, and it is obivious they have a grudge against Kelvin Sampson.

That, folks, is grade A hilarity. Delusional, but hilarious.

Indiana is going down, and they're going down hard. But who could have imagined that a guy who had made 500,000 illegal phone calls would commit additional violations and lie about them?

The sad thing is, Indiana didn't have to do this. They have multiple national championships. The state is hoops crazy. They were the last school to go undefeated. They should have had their pick of top coaching prospects. Yet they settled for a guy who is a) dirty, and b) a mediocre coach to begin with. Well done, Hoosiers. Way to hire a crappy, dirty coach.

Hope Eric Gordon was worth it. One season, in which they won't get to the final four (probably won't get to the elite eight) in exchange for multiple sanctions. Damn I love Schadenfreude.

Sports Filled Thursday

Lots to take in last night, so I'll briefly touch on the four sporting events that kept me from watching the new episode of Lost.

Kings 5; Red Wings 3

Absolutely amazing third period for the Kings, as they potted four goals to turn a 3-1 deficit into a 5-3 victory. Alexander Frolov has been terrific since returning to full health, and the Detroit broadcasting crew named him their player of the game last night. I thought Brad Stuart was awful over the first two months of the season, but he's been terrific over the last month or so, and the Kings really need to think about extending his deal.

I understand the sentiment of those who don't necessarily want to see the Kings win at this point of the season. Barring a miracle, they won't be playing in the post-season, and every point threatens their chances at acquiring the top pick. But this is a team that needs to learn how to win, and they've been doing that over the last month. That experience may prove invaluable heading into next season. Confidence is a curious thing, and when a team has it, it can be very powerful. If they can go into next season not believing that they can be good, but knowing that they have been good, that will be more valuable than the difference between the first pick and the fourth or fifth pick. I hope they keep winning.

Florida Panthers 4; Ottawa Senators 5

I know, this seems out of place, but a fiend of mine is a gambler, and he suddenly decided that he wants me to start picking hockey games for him. I don't gamble, but I've been "owning" the picks I make, so I was very interested in this game, and it actually caused me to miss the beginning of the Kings comeback. After blowing a 3-1 lead, and a 4-3 lead, Ottawa was the first team to five, and only a couple of great saves by Ray Emery preserved the victory.

Indiana 83; Illinois 79 (2OT)

From a purely objective standpoint, this was an excellent game. Fairly well played by both teams. Back and forth most of the night, with Illinois performing their trademark late collapse, losing a double digit lead yet again. Free throw woes continue to plague the Illini. Sean Pruitt missed two free throws at the end of regulation that would have sealed the victory, then did so again in the first overtime. Six of Illinois' losses this year have come by a combined 23 points. That includes three overtime games (one double overtime game). In those six games, they've made 67-122 free throws. That's fifty five points they've left on the court. They're not a bad team when the clock is running, but they've killed themselves at the line all year.

From a purely subjective standpoint, I hate Indiana with the white hot intensity of a thousand suns. This one hurt, and it was really a game that Illinois should have won. I've lost what little shred of respect I had for ESPN, as they continue to lie about what happened in the recruitment of Eric Gordon. He did not re-open his recruitment, no matter how much Pat Forde, Fran Frischilla, and Jay Bilas want to believe otherwise. Decommitting or re-opening a recruitment entails a conversation with the committed coach wherein the kid explains his intentions. If Gordon had gone to Bruce Weber and said "The situation has changed, and while I'm still interested in Illinois, I'd like to explore other options." Doing so would have allowed Bruce Weber to do likewise. But Gordon didn't do that. His family assured Weber that his commitment to Illinois was solid virtually all the way up to signing day. Quite simply, they lied. Whether they were simply malicious, or too pathetic to look coach Weber straight in the eye and tell him the truth makes no difference. They lied, and liars like the Gordons deserve to play for cheating scumbags like Kelvin Sampson.

Lost in all the hoopla, and the loss, was a transcendent performance by freshman point guard Demetri McCamey. He went for 31 points, 7-13 from beyond the arc, and kept the Illinois in the game all night. He definitely outplayed Gordon. It hurts this year, but in the long run, Illinois is probably better off with McCamey for three or four years than Gordon for one.

UCLA 63; Wazzu 59

Great battle in Pullman last night as these teams traded the top spot on the scoreboard all night. But in classic UCLA style, they wore down the Cougars in the second half, created some separation, eventually pushing the lead to 10 points. With LRMAM, perhaps their best defensive player, home with a sprained ankle, the Bruins allowed the Cougars to shoot over 50%, but dominated the glass, outrebounding Wazzu 29-20. Ten of those were on the offensive glass, and it was second chance points that eventually did in the Cougars.

Darren Collison followed a scoreless first half with an 18 point second half, while Kevin Love netted 16, and Russell Westbrook added 14. Josh Shipp continues to struggle on the offensive end, making only three out of eight shots for six points.

UCLA will face Washington on Sunday, and following that game they'll have only three road games remaining. If they can defend their home court against the Bay Area schools, they'll have the inside track on a third consecutive conference championship.

Illinois 58; Indiana 54

First overtime game all year in the Big 10, and fittingly there were all of 12 points scored, many at the free throw line. It wasn't pretty (no Illinois game this year has been), but that win should get the Illini into the tournament. I will be surprised, but not shocked, if the Illini are left out.

One thing about watching Illinois: It's sad to see a team shoot 56% from the line in a game that goes to OT and thing "Gee, I wish UCLA could be that good from the free throw line".

I'll be the one guy who doesn't rip on Rich McBride. They focused on him all night, he could never really get open (though he missed the one open three that he had), but he didn't force up 30 footers, and a couple of times he drove and passed off for shots that either led to baskets or fouls.

And Brian Randle probably wishes he hadn't spent the off-season kicking all those kittens and puppies that belong to Big 10 refs.

Indiana 43; Illinois 51

Imagine that. Illinois actually WON a game in which they had a second half lead. For those still holding out hope that the Illini have a chance to play in the NCAA tournament game, this was pretty much a must win. Pay not attention to the fact that they beat an overrated Indiana team (any national ranking for Indiana is an over-ranking). The Illini had to beat a ranked team, and they had to prove to themselves that they can close a team out when leading in the second half.

Remember when the Illini were fun to watch? Hell, even when they had a rotating line of butchers at small forward earlier in the decade, they still had exciting guys who could bring you out of your seat. This year's team is just kind of boring.

As the score indicates, the Illini did it with defense. They held Indiana to only five points in a fourteen minute stretch that started halfway through the first half. They held Indiana to 20 points in the second half, and six of those were in the final minute when the game had already been decided.

Sean Pruitt had big night on the boards with 13 rebounds to go with his ten points. Rich McBride has responded to the criticism by catching fire lately, adding 15 points last night, including a couple of big three pointers that stretched the lead out to eight points, a lead they would never relinquish. Fortunately, he has stepped up as Jamar Smith continues to slump, due in no small part to his injuries. Since going 6-14 for 17 points against Michigan on January 3rd, he's been awful, 11% from the field, and 7% from three. he's four for his last 37, including just 2-28 from beyond the arc. Ouch.**

The Illini shot 65% from the line, roughly on par with what they've done all season. Warren Carter was 6-6, but Sean Pruitt (who only shot three free throws), was 0-3, while Chet Frazier was 3-7. Any wonder why they've had a hard time holding leads?

I wouldn't call this a signature win, but it is a stepping stone. Perhaps they can build on it and go on a little run. If Jamar Smith gets his stroke back, and McBride keeps shooting well, and Randle gets healthy, they have a chance to go on a winning streak that could put them in tournament contention. But they pretty much need ALL of those things to happen.

**I swear I didn't read Mark Tupper's blog before I posted that. Seriously. But it's word for word what he wrote (although I wrote 'beyond' and he wrote 'behind') so I'll change it.