Back-to-back disappointment for Illini
CHAMPAIGN -- The last time Illinois lost back-to-back home games, point guard Chester Frazier was in sixth grade.
Frazier and all of his Illini teammates looked like grade-schoolers Thursday night trying to stop Ohio State senior point guard Jamar Butler.
Wriggling free off one high ball screen after another, Butler poured in a career-high 32 points and handed out 6 assists as the Buckeyes pulled away for a 74-58 win in a Big Ten opener at maudlin Assembly Hall.
Butler reeled off 15 straight points during a 3-minute, 40-second stretch in the second half to turn a 1-point Illinois lead into an 12-point Ohio State jailbreak.
"Butler just put on a show tonight at our place," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said.
Coming hard on the heels of Sunday's shocking loss to Tennessee State, the Illini (8-6, 0-1) are stuck with consecutive home defeats for the first time since Feb. 24, 1999.
Not coincidentally, that's the last time Illinois missed the NCAA Tournament.
"It's times like this where we figure out our true character, whether that be us as individuals or collectively," Illinois senior Brian Randle said. "We just need to stay positive. We can't get down.
"There's 17 games left and the Big Ten tournament and, perhaps, a postseason."
That there's a need to throw a "perhaps" into the conversation doesn't bode well for the Illini.
Perhaps Illinois should focus on its first 25 minutes of action against the Buckeyes (10-3, 1-0).
The Illini built a 30-29 halftime edge as they found several ways to crease Ohio State's 3-2 matchup zone.
Learning from their foibles against Tennessee State, the Illini attacked the lane, hit cutters with passes and made shots. Senior center Shaun Pruitt was the primary beneficiary as he went 5-for-5 in the first half.
"We had better movement, we had cutters flashing to the ball," said freshman point guard Demetri McCamey, who contributed 10 points and 2 assists off the bench.
"It was just basketball. We were playing basketball in the first half and enjoying it."
Ohio State switched to a 2-3 zone after halftime in order to shut off Pruitt's inside forays.
Not only did that limit Pruitt to 3 shots and 2 points in the second half, the move wound up making all of the Illini more hesitant and apprehensive.
Illinois held a 37-36 lead with 15 minutes to go, but that's when Butler reeled off 15 consecutive points during a six-possession stretch.
When the Illini finally switched from the 6-foot-2 Frazier to the 6-8 Randle in an effort to slow down Butler, he calmly fed wide-open big man Matt Terwillinger on pick-and-pops for a pair of backbreaking 3-pointers.
"I really believe he was making great reads," said Ohio State coach Thad Matta. "I don't think he forced anything … he made plays. He read what was given and took it."
Illinois pulled as close as 58-52 with 5:31 to go on Mike Davis' putback, but the hosts managed just a Pruitt putback and a McCamey free throw over the next four-plus minutes as Ohio State ran away.
"In my freshman year, we didn't start the Big Ten season well at all," said Randle, referring to 2003-04. "And we came back, went on a run and ended up winning."