One last chance for Illinois seniors
Every disgruntled Illinois fan — as if there's any other kind these days — can recite the disappointing numbers.
No NCAA Tournament wins since 2006. No Big Ten titles since 2005.
That means no living up to expectations for the four Illini seniors, who are trying to embrace their last opportunity for a legacy.
Ninth-seeded Illinois has left no avenue unexplored in its bid to knock off eighth-seeded UNLV (and former Illini coach Lon Kruger) at 8:20 p.m. Friday in Tulsa, Okla.
“In practice we do a couple of drills where a team is up 6 or 7 points with five minutes left and you have to extend the lead or you run,” senior forward Mike Davis said.
“So we've been doing that for the past couple of weeks and putting in some different schemes and different plays and keeping us moving — because we get stagnant late in the game and we wait for Demetri (McCamey) to make a play.”
Even if the Illini (19-13) had figured out ways to protect half of their late-game leads during the regular season — and remembered how to run the motion offense — they would have finished 24-8 and earned no worse than a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Instead, here they are as underdogs with top-seeded Kansas looming even if they win Friday.
“You go through 6-7 games this season and they all had the same script,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. “We'd lead by 1, lead by 2, lead deep with under 4:00 in the game … and now you've got to make plays.
“I think we'd stand and look at each other. Who's going to make it? Who is going to make the play?”
It's probably not encouraging for Illinois fans that Weber and the players believe UNLV, of any Big Ten team, most closely resembles Purdue.
UNLV doesn't have scorers like JaJuan Johnson and E'Twaun Moore, but the Rebels have perimeter defenders who cause problems all over the floor. Sound familiar?
Illinois built leads against the Boilermakers in both meetings this season — including a 13-point margin March 1 at Purdue — and couldn't handle the defensive harassment.
“A lot of times in the Big Ten they get after you, pressure you, foul you,” senior center Mike Tisdale said. “That's what we've focused on the last couple days and that's the way to go.”
When Michigan rallied from 12 points down to defeat Illinois last week at the Big Ten tournament, it started switching defenders and double-teaming McCamey beyond the 3-point arc.
That led to disjointed possessions, ill-advised shots and a painful loss. That puts the onus on the nation's leading active assist man to make quick and correct decisions.
“There's a stat,” Weber said. “It's like we're 16-0 (actually 14-0) when he has 7 or more assists. What is the key? He's got to take care of the ball. We have to take care of the ball. He's got to get it to the open man.”