Turner leads Buckeyes past Illinois 88-81 in 2 OT

INDIANAPOLIS - Now it's all up to the NCAA Tournament committee.

Do the 10 committee members, sequestered on the 15th floor of the Westin Hotel four-tenths of a mile from Conseco Fieldhouse, believe in the Illinois team that beat Wisconsin and took top-seeded Ohio State into double overtime before falling 88-81 Saturday afternoon in a Big Ten semifinal?

Or do the committee members override the latest Illini stimuli and read more from the team's body of work, which shows a 19-14 record heading into Selection Sunday?

"These past couple of games, we've played our butts off," said Illinois junior forward Mike Davis, who produced 13 points and a career-high 18 rebounds. "This is the hardest we've played the whole season.

"You know, if we play like this in the beginning of the season, we're not in this position, obviously."

Illinois' 50-minute battle with No. 5 Ohio State turned out to be a microcosm of its season. The Illini fell well behind early as they played too frantically and turned over the ball as often as they shot.

Then Illinois tightened up defensively and enjoyed a 14-0 run to build a 37-31 lead at the break - and did it with freshmen D.J. Richardson, Tyler Griffey and Brandon Paul on the floor for much of the spree.

Just when the Illini seemed poised to move into their sixth Big Ten tournament final in the event's 13-year history, Ohio State slapped them with 20 consecutive points in a four-minute, 10-second span to take a 59-50 lead with eight minutes to play.

Evan Turner (31 points, 10 rebounds, 10 turnovers, 6 assists) fueled the run with a 3-pointer and a steal for a fastbreak dunk.

"We had momentum switch a little bit and we definitely smelled blood," Turner said. "They stopped attacking after awhile."

Yet Illinois somehow regrouped to regain control down the stretch.

"We just said in the huddle at the four-minute timeout, 'Just suck it up, suck it up. Come on, man,' " Davis said. " 'Just fight real hard.' "

Davis delivered a 3-point play on a tip-in, then his steal led to Demetri McCamey's go-ahead 3-pointer with 1:17 to go.

Illinois had the final shot in regulation, but McCamey dished the ball to Davis for an unguarded layup that didn't fall - and wouldn't have counted anyway as it came a split-second after the buzzer.

Illinois lost a 4-point lead in the first overtime as nobody could stop Turner from attacking the hoop.

"They just drove it down our throats," said Illinois coach Bruce Weber, whose team couldn't defend OSU's high ball screens.

The Illini again had the final shot in the first OT, but Griffey passed up a 3-pointer with less than a second to go and Bill Cole couldn't get off a 3-pointer of his own.

In the second extra session - the first double-OT game in Big Ten tournament annals - William Buford opened with a 3-pointer and Turner added a fastbreak layup as the Illini never caught up.

The Illini walked off the Conseco Fieldhouse floor with their chins on their chests.

But if they're rewarded with the program's 10th bid in 11 years at 5 p.m. Sunday, they'll puff up those chests and try to repeat their last two games.

"If the look test means anything," Weber said, "I think we showed that we belong."

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