llinois bows out of Big Ten Tournament

INDIANAPOLIS — There were 17 minutes to play Thursday when Meyers Leonard took a pass from Tracy Abrams and dunked the basketball over a couple of helpless Iowa defenders.

Illinois' lead was now 40-33 in the opening game of the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament.

Concerned Iowa coach Fran McCaffrey was forced to call timeout.

And energized Illini coach Bruce Weber raced to center court and high-fived his players in an uncharacteristic show of positive reinforcement.

Here it was, Weber thought, a chance to seize control of the game.

But over the next eight minutes, it was Iowa that grabbed the game by the throat, and it was Matt Gatens that led a game-changing run as the Hawkeyes overtook Illinois 64-61.

In the end, it was just one more example of Illinois' inability to close out a game that seemed there for the taking.

And it left Illini fans everywhere asking the same question:

Now what?

Illinois will miss the NCAA Tournament for the third time in the last five seasons. This 17-15 team finished the season by losing 12 of its last 14 games. And after describing Illinois as “an NIT bubble team,” Weber may have coached his final game with the Illini.

He said after the game he had not spoken to Athletics Director Mike Thomas, although Thomas was at the game.

Weber said he'd like to coach the team in the NIT, but Thomas may have other plans. And Iowa may have taken Illinois' NIT bid.

Sources told the Herald & Review that contrary to some reports, there would be no meeting between Thomas and Weber Thursday night.

That said, it seems to be a foregone conclusion Weber's firing is imminent and even national college basketball voices like Dick Vitale were tweeting what amounted to fond farewells.

“Wish Bruce Weber gets chance to just coach like back @ Southern ILLINOIS. Change sometimes is good 4 everyone,” Vitale tweeted.

Illinois' hope to win a game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse vanished when Iowa went on a 20-5 run sparked by Matt Gatens, who hit a 3-pointer out of the corner, then stole the ball and raced in for a dunk that instantly snatched the momentum away from the Illini.

And as Iowa got rolling, Illinois fish-tailed into a deep fade.

Brandon Paul may have had the worst game of his career, going 2-for-11 for five points and with seven ugly turnovers. He angered Weber when he forced passes and bad shots and spent the final minutes of the game watching from the bench.

“I feel like I let (Weber) down, I let my fans down, I let the team down,” Paul said.

Meyers Leonard, who made 9 of 11 shots and finished with 18 points, did not get a field goal attempt in the final 10 minutes of the game.

And Illinois finished without a single free throw attempt, something Weber said he could not remember during his coaching career.

“I thought we played with great energy at the start,” Weber said. “We got a big basket from D.J. (Richardson) just before the half (to give Illinois 31-27 lead). And then you have a little run and go up 40-33 and at that point in the game you can go one way or another. And they made the plays.

“We turned it over and got killed on the boards in the second half. And you could just see our body language.”

Iowa (17-15) crashed the board and grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the second half. Freshman Aaron White added 13 points and led the Hawkeyes with nine rebounds.

After Gatens made a pair of free throws to give Iowa a 64-61 lead with 10.6 seconds to play, Illinois got one final chance to tie the game. But Richardson's 3-pointer missed and the buzzer sounded.

Iowa will meet top-seeded Michigan State this morning in a quarterfinal game.

Weber tried to remain philosophical, but he sounded downcast and was barely audible when talking about a season that has been a career low point.

“It's just like life,” he said. “There are great moments in life and some where it's not so good. Every day you have to approach life with a positive attitude. If you go on a pity party for yourself, nothing is going to happen.

“That's the whole message I've given to our kids. Sometimes it's not fair. What you do about it makes the difference.”

Illinois won't find out about an NIT bid until they are issued Sunday night.