Fragile Illini face another big test
Illinois squandered a perfect opportunity to get a defining road win during its second-half collapse at Purdue on Saturday.
Did the Illini also squander any chance to rehabilitate their season during the combustible postgame scene in their small locker-room quarters?
Fragile teams such as Illinois either crumble into ashes or emerge anew after such a fiery experience.
The Illini didn't have much time to decide their initial direction prior to today's visit to Ohio State (8 p.m., BTN).
In the wake of the 74-67 loss at Purdue, senior Brian Randle tried his best to point the way his guys should go.
"I want to look at it as Miami of Ohio to Missouri, the way we turned it around," said Randle, referring to Illinois' Dec. 22 win over the Tigers just 48 hours after a home loss to the RedHawks.
"From a loss, you take from it what you can and bounce back. Obviously, Ohio State is a great team and it's a very tough place to play, but you've got to get past it.
"Games come too quick right now and we're in the guts of the season. There's no turning back."
Ohio State isn't the best team for Illinois to try to fix its season.
While the Buckeyes have lost three games in a row, they all came on the road against top-notch teams (Purdue, Michigan State and Tennessee) by a combined 18 points.
The Illini don't match up with the Buckeyes the way those teams do -- starting with the point-guard spot.
When Ohio State won 74-58 in Champaign on Jan. 3, senior Jamar Butler shredded the Illini for a career-high 32 points.
Bruce Weber's bunch never figured out a decent way to stop Butler from coming off high ball screens and destroying them as a shooter, driver or passer.
Illinois led 37-36 with 15:07 to go, but then Butler scored 15 points in a row and fed backup power forward Matt Terwilliger for a pair of 3-pointers to break the hosts' backs.
"We didn't do a very good job on him," Weber said. "We've got to figure out how to guard him and who should guard him."
That means junior guard Chester Frazier might return to the starting lineup tonight, though on Monday, Weber was leaning toward giving freshman Demetri McCamey a fifth consecutive start.
"Demetri has been very good for us, but he also has played like a freshman (sometimes)," Weber said. "It's hard to be consistent. Chester, he is what he is."
Illinois (9-10, 1-5) at Ohio St. (12-6, 3-2)
When: 8 p.m. at Value City Arena
TV: Big Ten Network
Radio: WIND 560-AM
The skinny: Considering all of the troubles Illinois has experienced on Ohio State's home floor since the Buckeyes moved into Value City Arena, this game's biggest entertainment value could come from Gene Keady serving as one of the analysts on the Big Ten Network broadcast. This is the first time Keady has commented live on one of Bruce Weber's games … and he probably has some insights that Weber has expressed privately to him. Ohio State senior point guard Jamar Butler not only leads the Big Ten in assists (6.3 apg) and ranks sixth in scoring (14.7 ppg), but he's second nationally in free-throw percentage (95.8).
-- Lindsey Willhite
Ball St. (3-13, 2-2) at NIU (4-12, 1-3)
When: 7 p.m. at the Convocation Center
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
The skinny: This serves as a great opportunity for the Mid-American Conference's two biggest rebuilding projects to get some feedback on their progress. Former West Aurora star Billy Taylor is trying to pick up the pieces after Ronny Thompson's turbulent year at Ball State. The Cardinals are loaded with Chicago links, including leading scorer Anthony Newell (17.7 ppg, Simeon High School) and assistant coach Jim Molinari. After starting 0-11, the Cardinals have won three of five but still are looking for their first road win. Ball State recently beat Central Michigan by 13 points at home -- the same Central Michigan that just earned a 14-point home win over NIU. Freshman guard Jake Anderson delivered 22 points, 1 off his career high, at Central Michigan.
-- Lindsey Willhite