Illini upset No. 5 Michigan State, 78-73
CHAMPAIGN - Mike Davis started his Saturday with a star turn on ESPN's "College GameDay." Illinois' junior forward nailed his lines while pretending to mistake Digger Phelps for Bob Knight to open the show.
More than 12 hours later, Davis punctuated his perfect day by deflecting a potential game-tying 3-pointer and throwing down the clinching slam in Illinois' 78-73 Big Ten triumph over No. 5 Michigan State at Assembly Hall.
As the final buzzer went off - not that it could be heard over the crazed sellout crowd - Illini fans rushed the floor and put freshman favorites D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul on their shoulders.
Demetri McCamey jumped on the scorer's table and Davis high-fived half of the students on the floor as the Illini celebrated their biggest win of the season.
"We needed that marquee win on our resume," Davis said. "This is definitely it."
Though it might come with a bit of an asterisk.
Michigan State point guard Kalin Lucas, the Big Ten's reigning player of the year, sat out after spraining his ankle Tuesday at Wisconsin.
McCamey took advantage of Lucas' absence by leading everyone with 22 points and 11 assists - his first double-double of the year.
"I want to give my guys credit," McCamey said. "We played for 40 minutes - probably the first time we did all season. It feels great."
McCamey drilled 6 of 9 3-pointers for the night, including one virtually every time Illinois (16-8, 8-3) needed to fend off the Spartans (19-5, 9-2).
His last 3-pointer came with 37.7 seconds to go, Korie Lucious' hand in his face and the shot clock running low.
It gave the Illini a 73-68 lead, but that wasn't enough to allow the crowd its first exhale of the night.
The Spartans pulled within 74-73 on Durrell Summers' 3-pointer with 17.4 to go. D.J. Richardson answered with 2 free throws, then Davis tipped Summers' game-tying 3 with five seconds left.
Davis, who came off the bench for the fourth game in a row, piled up 16 points as he drilled several clutch 15-footers.
Richardson added 14 points while freshman Brandon Paul came off the bench for 8 points and 6 rebounds.
Paul inspired a crucial run midway through the second half when he grabbed a mishandled pass and flew in for a fastbreak slam, then intercepted a pass and threw it ahead to Richardson for a thunderous dunk that nearly inspired the crowd to self-combust with glee.
"It was a fun day," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber. "Great day. We talked about playing at a high level, a magic level. I thought we did."