Vengeance is Purdue's in 65-56 victory over Illinois
INDIANPOLIS - Except for the part where Illinois missed 16 shots in a row, as well as the part where Purdue couldn't miss its first-half 3-pointers, the second Big Ten tournament semifinal on Saturday was almost a game.
Operating with no small amount of motivation, the Boilers erased all memory of their regular-season losses to the Illini by racing out to a 20-point halftime lead and cruising to a 66-56 victory at Conseco Fieldhouse.
Third-seeded Purdue (24-9), which received 19 points and 12 rebounds from a healthy Robbie Hummel, faces fifth-seeded Ohio State (22-9) in today's Big Ten title game.
"They were wounded dogs in the season and we got them at the right time and beat them," said Illinois guard Demetri McCamey. "We won three times in a row, including in this tournament last year, so they had a chip on their shoulder."
And second-seeded Illinois (24-9) all but turned the other cheek as Purdue enjoyed a 32-9 crime spree over the first half's final 16 minutes.
Hummel swished all 4 of his 3-point tries in the first half as Purdue kept making the extra pass to shred Illinois' defense.
The Boilers also dominated the boards and didn't commit a turnover in the game's opening 14 minutes.
"I think (Purdue coach) Matt (Painter) talked yesterday a lot that the first two times we out-toughed them," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. "Today they probably out-toughed us."
Leading the non-charge were sophomore center Mike Tisdale and McCamey.
Tisdale was outmuscled for several rebounds and fouled out at the 6:07 mark with 4 points and 3 rebounds next to his name.
McCamey failed to score for the second time in his career and was benched for all but four minutes of the second half - but not before committing 4 of the game's 14 turnovers.
In Weber's mind, McCamey's struggles (and his team's inability to make a basket in the final 10:15 of the first half) highlighted the need for injured senior guard Chester Frazier.
"If you remember back, both (Purdue) games he was the one who got in the paint and dished it to people," Weber said. "We needed to get some touches inside. I thought we panicked a little bit. I'd say, 'Make a play,' and they'd jack up a 3. And not a good 3, either."
Backup forward Dominique Keller led the Illini with a career-high-tying 16 points. Calvin Brock added 12 points and 5 rebounds while Mike Davis contributed 6 points, 12 rebounds and a game-high 5 assists.
One day after getting 19 shots and scoring 22 points against Michigan, Davis hoisted just 8 shots in 36 minutes with Hummel and 6-foot-10 JaJuan Johnson leaning on him.
"They basically denied me the whole time," Davis said. "They didn't let me catch the ball where I like to catch the ball and shoot.
"They forced me a little bit out of my comfort zone. They did a good job on me. I can't complain. They did a good scouting report on me and they shut me down pretty much."
Davis, like everyone else in the program, seems happy to head into the NCAA tournament, where they might not face teams that know every little Illini idiosyncrasy.
"I hope it's different," Weber said. "We'll have to see. And NCAA success a lot of times is matchups, how you match up with people.
"I'm very proud of our guys and what they've done. Twenty-four wins. I gave them that goal. They reached it.
"Now hopefully they've got a little bit of greed inside and a positive way to keep making this season go for a while. Maybe get 26, 27, whatever."