Illinois holds off Michigan charge, 54-52
CHAMPAIGN — Bruce Weber noticed the uncharacteristic silence in the pregame locker room.
He felt the tension at tipoff Wednesday night as Illinois fell behind Michigan. He sensed the gloom down the stretch when the Wolverines drew close to the Illini.
“You could feel the pressure tonight,” Weber said. “I think even the crowd (contributed). It just seemed like the air was thick.”
But when Michigan missed a pair of 3-pointers in the final seconds — including Stu Douglass' hasty left-handed fling at the buzzer that hit the front rim — Illinois emerged with a 54-52 Big Ten win at Assembly Hall.
“It's a relief,” Weber said. “Maybe now we can play.”
Not only did Illinois (17-9, 7-6) improve its record to 3-7 in games decided during the final minute, it welcomed back an old version of senior guard Demetri McCamey.
He drilled 3 early 3-pointers en route to a game-high 18 points. McCamey has been shooting extra late at night — and showed up before his teammates Wednesday afternoon to get up extra shots with assistant Wayne McClain.
“Coach Weber and all the coaches pulled me in last night and told me, ‘Just play basketball,' ” McCamey said. “ ‘Have fun and enjoy the game and shoot the ball. Don't second-guess.' ”
During McCamey's shooting slump that began a month ago, he'd lose confidence if he missed his first few tries. On Wednesday, he nailed three 3-pointers in the first eight minutes. The last one took away Michigan's final lead.
“I miss a couple shots and now I just want to pass and not be aggressive as a scorer,” McCamey said. “I was just second-guessing myself on everything I did, and it showed. I was two steps slower and behind everybody.”
When McCamey drilled a 3-pointer with 6:36 to go, that put Illinois up 50-46. The hosts managed just 4 points the rest of the way as reliable free-throw shooters came up short.
Mike Tisdale, an 83 percent shooter, missed a free throw. D.J. Richardson, who hadn't missed since Dec. 29, missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 23 seconds left.
Bill Cole, who hadn't missed since Nov. 19, missed his second of 2 with 14.6 seconds left. That gave Michigan a chance to win.
Forward Evan Smotrycz's 3-pointer banked long, but Douglass picked up the rebound and flung it in the right direction.
“That would've been something,” Michigan coach John Beilein said. “That would've been a great SportsCenter highlight.”