Illinois beats Indiana at the buzzer 72-70

CHAMPAIGN - On most days, Illinois coach Bruce Weber curses the shot Demetri McCamey lovingly refers to as his "Teardrop."

"I want him to shoot pullup jumpers," Weber said. "I want him to jump-stop. I want him to be old school."

But new school won out on an incongruously intense Saturday afternoon when Illinois wore pink shoes and pink-trimmed uniforms to make a statement against cancer - and Indiana's coaching staff donned sweatsuits and sneakers for the same cause.

McCamey's driving rainbow at the buzzer knocked out Indiana 72-70 in a tense Big Ten battle at sold-out Assembly Hall. McCamey's teammates mauled him under the basket after the game-winner, but his face didn't change expression.

"I knew it was good once it left my hand," McCamey said.

"I get after him about his dang floaters all the time, but this one went in," Weber said. "So it's a positive thing."

Illinois (14-8, 6-3) hadn't won on a "walk-off" shot since Frank Williams nailed a 3-pointer to beat Ohio State on Jan. 6, 2000.

This occasion wasn't too different: The Illini put the ball in their best player's hands and let him go to work.

Weber called timeout with 4.4 seconds left to set up the final shot. While he called a "read play" that allowed McCamey to dish the ball if double-teamed, everyone in the house knew what would happen.

McCamey inbounded the ball to Bill Cole, hurried to get it back near the midcourt line and then attacked the basket.

He edged past Devan Dumes and launched a teardrop over Christian Watford's raised hand that hit nothing but net.

Champaign native Verdell Jones, the sophomore guard who led all scorers with 22 points, was among the Hoosiers in tears after McCamey's play. Indiana coach Tom Crean tried to console Jones as they walked off the floor.

"They had the last possession and they did something with it," Crean said. "Demetri McCamey made a tough shot, obviously. He had to change his shot. They deserved the victory. I don't think we deserved to lose, but -"

Illinois bolted to a 13-point lead in the first half, but Indiana needed a little over five minutes to erase it by halftime.

IU senior Devan Dumes stripped D.J. Richardson and flipped in a half-court shot at the halftime buzzer to make it 36-36.

Indiana (9-11, 3-5) then built a 6-point lead after the break as Jones kept driving for layups and free throws - or he'd find open teammates for 3-pointers.

Illinois needed multiple blasts of McCamey magic to catch Indiana.

With 9:22 to go, McCamey swished a tough 3-pointer with two seconds on the shot clock.

With 5:13 to go, McCamey (19 points, 8 assists) drove the left baseline and somehow hung in the air long enough to spin a scoop off the backboard on the right side.

"When you play backyard basketball, you do crazy shots," McCamey said. "You just get that feel around the basket and throw it up."

Then, on Illinois' next possession, McCamey leaped in the air on the left side and found Cole open on the right for a shot-clock-beating 3-pointer that made it 64-64 with four minutes to go.

The Illini never trailed again, though they left Assembly Hall wondering why they ever trailed.

"It's kind of scary how comfortable and confident we've become even when we get down, just because we've done it so much," Cole said. "And it's not a good thing. But I guess, in the back of our minds, we know we're going to come back at some point.

"But we're going to have to change if we want to beat a good team. That's what we've got to look forward to. We can't be content with beating the bottom-tier teams in the Big Ten. We've got to get better every game so we can go up against the Michigan States, the Purdues, the Wisconsins."