Illinois looks to bounce back vs. Missouri
CHAMPAIGN — Thirty minutes before Illinois' players needed to be in the gym for practice Monday afternoon, one creature stirred near the south basket.
Senior power forward Mike Davis.
Despondent after his 4-point, 1-rebound effort in Saturday's shocking loss to UIC, Davis responded by redoubling his effort.
Time and again, he grabbed the ball and swished 10-foot turnarounds. Judging by the sweat on his brow, he hadn't just shown up at the Ubben Practice Facility.
As one member of the program yelled at Davis as he jogged out of the gym for a brief break before practice's start, “Have you been here three hours already?”
Most, if not all, of the other Illini showed up early for Sunday's practice and stayed late — then came in Monday morning for optional work.
This renewed work ethic came hard on the heels of a players-only meeting Saturday night. They crowded into one Chicago hotel room after watching the Bulls-Clippers game at United Center.
“It was just a long night of everybody just getting the frustrations out and coming in and growing up,” said senior point guard Demetri McCamey, who consulted the other seniors on the merits of such a meeting.
“It lasted a good 30-45 minutes of serious talk. No laughing.”
Last season Illinois held a similar meeting after its 5-point loss Jan. 23 at Northwestern. That sparked a five-game winning streak that included Michigan State and Wisconsin among the conquests.
“Obviously, we all know that we stunk the (UIC) game up and we've got to improve,” said senior center Mike Tisdale, who fouled out with just 2 points in 21 minutes. “We told each other that no matter what Coach (Bruce Weber) says and no matter what happens we've got to stay positive with each other.”
Going solely by The Associated Press rankings, Wednesday night's Braggin' Rights battle with No. 9 Missouri ranks as No. 21 Illinois' toughest nonconference game.
The Tigers (10-1) continue to thrive off their ability to press all over the court. They force opponents into turnovers on 27.6 percent of their possessions, which ranks fourth nationally, according to Ken Pomeroy.
Illinois' nine-year winning streak over Mizzou ended last season in large part due to the Illini's 22 turnovers. McCamey and fellow starting guard D.J. Richardson committed 4 miscues apiece.
“They just kind of punked us, I'd say,” Richardson said after that game. “We couldn't practice how they played.”
But Illinois can practice what it needs to do regardless of the opponent, which apparently explains the improved commitment to practice.
“Well, the lump of coal won't feel as heavy (if we win), there's no doubt,” Weber said. “I'm sure then we'll be great again in people's minds. My biggest thing is I'd like an effort. We have to have a great effort on Wednesday night and compete.”