Pruitt guts it out for career-best 24

Playing with a sprained left ankle that he deemed "80 percent," Illinois senior center Shaun Pruitt enjoyed a career day against No. 22 Arizona.

Fighting through a career-high-tying 36 minutes -- the 6-foot-10 West Aurora grad didn't have enough lift to dunk an early breakaway -- Pruitt delivered a career-high 24 points in the Illini's 78-72 overtime loss at the United Center.

"I put a lot of time in getting treatment and doing exercises to get my ankle stronger," said Pruitt, who suffered the injury last Sunday.

Pruitt, who shot a career-best 10 of 11 from the field, suffered his only miss trying to follow an errant Calvin Brock jumper early in overtime.

"Finally, a team didn't double-team me," Pruitt said. "I was happy about that. I just wanted to take advantage of that."

"He showed some courage and played like a senior," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. "We all got off to a good start. He got off to a good start. I think that helped."

Free-throw woes: For the third game in a row and the fourth time in this young season, Illinois failed to shoot better than 50 percent from the line.

The Illini finished 10 of 22, including a 2-for-8 performance in the final 12 minutes of the second half when Arizona erased a 12-point deficit.

"That's not going to get it against a good team," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber.

Freshman center Mike Tisdale, who hadn't missed in his brief career, started the problem by missing a pair.

Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle each missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

"It's almost like a turnover," Weber said. "It's a letdown."

Then, with Illinois trying to go up by 3 with 21 seconds left in regulation, normally reliable Trent Meacham rimmed the second of two.

Weber's Zook moment: When Illinois' football team struggled, coach Ron Zook's postgame answer almost always was to recruit better players.

So what did basketball coach Bruce Weber think after watching his team's offense stagnate down the stretch of Saturday's loss?

"One thing we obviously need is someone who can create," Weber said. "I'm not sure we have that at this point."

Then, Weber was asked, "How do you solve that problem?"

"Get better players, I guess. Somebody that can create."

In the house: There were a raftful of impressionable recruits sitting behind Illinois' bench, but there also was a Very Important Person sitting in the front row along the baseline.

William Wesley, better known as "Worldwide Wes" for his unmatched connections at all levels of basketball, used tickets provided by Illinois assistant coach Jerrance Howard.

The personable Wesley was last seen hugging Arizona freshman point guard Jerryd Bayless 20 minutes after the game and heading with him to the Arizona locker room.

Wait till next year: Bruce Weber said Illinois plans to bring in Georgia for next year's United Center game.