Illinois routs Penn State 68-51
So much for Illinois and Penn State living up to their reputation as the nation's most tightly contested rivalry over the last five years.
With the Illini eager to erase the memory of last week's loss at Indiana — and the Nittany Lions perhaps weary after a four-hour drive from Evansville to Champaign on Tuesday morning — the hosts didn't let Talor Battle work his usual late-game magic.
Mike Davis threw down five dunks en route to a season-high 22 points as Illinois pick-and-rolled its way to a 68-51 Big Ten victory before 3,470 blizzard-braving fans at Assembly Hall.
Freshman forward Jereme Richmond added 8 points and a game-high 10 rebounds for the Illini (15-7, 5-4) as he made his first start since Dec. 29.
Bill Cole came off the bench and contributed 10 points as the Illini looked different from the squad that lost four of its previous five games.
“We needed this one even more because emotions were kind of down,” Cole said on Illinois' postgame radio show. “It was good to see our swagger come back on offense. I felt like we moved the ball great.”
The Illini handed out 21 assists on their 24 baskets and committed just 8 turnovers as they took advantage of a flaw in Penn State's defense of the pick-and-roll.
“It really looked good when we moved the ball and made shots,” said Illinois coach Bruce Weber.
Demetri McCamey's shooting slump continued as he scored just 6 points on 2-for-9 shooting, but the Illini didn't exhibit their usual dependence on the senior point guard.
Illinois outscored Penn State 24-8 during the 9 minutes, 48 seconds that he spent on the bench.
In each half, McCamey took a rest around the 12-minute media timeout and the Illini offense took off.
Sophomore guards D.J. Richardson (10 points, 4 assists) and Brandon Paul (5 assists) kept finding open men — primarily on pick-and-rolls — as Illinois took control.
Battle led Penn State (12-9, 5-5) with 12 points and 4 assists, but he made just 4 of 11 shots as the Illini didn't give him much room to maneuver.
Penn State didn't just lose a game. Senior forward Jeff Brooks went out late in the ffirst half with a dislocated right shoulder. That took the Nittany Lions' top rebounder and No. 2 scorer out of the equation for the near future.
While Penn State hopes to be able to fly home in a day or two, Illinois begins prepping for Saturday's game at Northwestern. It will be the first regular-season CBS-TV broadcast at Welsh-Ryan Arena.