Illini's Davis steps up after talking down NIT

CHAMPAIGN -- Illinois used a big second-half run to beat Kent State 75-58 on

Mike Davis said some things Friday that revealed his excitement for Illinois' NIT prospects.

Alas, the junior forward used the same conversation to declare some better-publicized truths - such as he'd rather lose an NCAA Tournament first-round game than win the NIT.

Given an opportunity to fix his words with deeds Monday night, Davis didn't waste it.

He stacked up 16 points and an NIT school-record 16 rebounds to help guide the top-seeded Illini to a 75-58 second-round victory over Kent State before 10,032 at Assembly Hall.

"I just want to make something clear," said Davis, who posted his 15th double-double of the year. "Last time I talked to you guys, I let my emotions get control of me a little bit. The NCAA Tournament was going on and I said a little couple things I shouldn't have said.

"But I just love to compete. I'd rather be in the NIT and keep playing and try to win a championship, you know? Only two teams end on a win and hopefully we'll be one of them this year."

Illinois (21-14) hosts third-seeded Dayton (22-12) at 8 p.m. Wednesday on ESPN2 for the right to reach the NIT's Final Four at Madison Square Garden.

"That's the Mecca of basketball right there," said Illinois junior point guard Demetri McCamey. "They love basketball out there, so everybody just wants to get there and play their best."

McCamey contributed his second consecutive double-double (15 points, 10 assists), while Mike Tisdale added 17 points, 7 rebounds and 4 blocks.

The juniors spearheaded Illinois' big second-half move.

Fourth-seeded Kent State (24-10) forged a 31-31 halftime score as the Illini's man-to-man couldn't stop big man Justin Greene (15 points) on the pick-and-rolls and Rockford native Anthony Simpson (14 points) on the 3-pointers.

In the second half, Illinois opened up a quick 8-0 run by holding Kent State off the board for more than four minutes.

Tisdale swatted a pair of layups during that stretch, while he, Bill Cole, Brandon Paul and Davis each delivered a layup or a dunk.

Illinois' 11-point lead fell back to 51-45 midway through the half, but that's when McCamey went on a 7-point burst in just 65 seconds. He drove the lane for an acrobatic scoop layup, knocked the ball away from Mike McKee for a breakaway 3-point play, and drilled a 19-foot pullup jumper.

That forced Kent State to call a timeout. When the Golden Flashes' Chris Singletary chirped at McCamey as the teams left the floor, McCamey calmly tattled to the officials rather than engage the MAC's runner-up in the player-of-the-year voting.

It's as if everyone in an Illinois uniform learned a lesson from Davis' mistake.

"I'm not trying to say Mike Davis said the right things," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "But if you read the whole story and not the two paragraphs it's not as bad as it seems.

"It wasn't very intelligent, to be honest, what he said. We weren't very happy with it. The coaches told him, 'You have to back it up.'

"I told them today at the shootaround: 'This is important. It's important for our program. It's important for our progress as a team - it's important enough that 10,000 people would buy tickets to come.

"I didn't specifically shout out to Mike Davis, but he knew who I was talking to. A couple of assistants grabbed him and said, 'You know, you said some stuff. You better react and have one of your better games.' And 16-16 is pretty good."