Illini give it to Tisdale, who takes it to Michigan
CHAMPAIGN - Any minute, it seemed, Bruce Weber's eyes were going to roll out of their sockets and on the Assembly Hall floor out of sheer exasperation.
During the first half of Illinois' rematch with No. 25 Michigan on Wednesday night, Weber couldn't stand the way his players kept firing quick shots.
They'd shoot jumpers and miss, he'd roll his eyes and scream.
"We're shooting after the first pass! Slow down, Alex! What are we doing, guys?"
Illinois' disregard for running its offensive sets led to the team's first halftime deficit of the season.
But Weber and the Illini solved all their problems and sailed to the school's 1,600th win with a simple plan:
Throw it to Mike Tisdale.
The 7-foot-1 sophomore center poured in 18 of his game-high 24 points after halftime to lead Illinois to a 66-51 Big Ten triumph before 15,535. Tisdale drilled 10 of 12 shots for the game, including his first 3-point attempt since last Jan. 30 at Michigan State.
"I told 'Tiz' in the locker room, 'Let's get you the ball, big fella,' " said Illinois sophomore point guard Demetri McCamey. "Their tallest player is 6-foot-6, (you're) 7-foot. Come on. I'm going to get you the ball, so just finish."
On the second half's first possession, McCamey lobbed the ball inside to Tisdale for an easy layup. That sparked 9 straight Tisdale points over a five-minute stretch that gave the Illini (15-2, 3-1) the lead for good.
Meanwhile, Illinois held the league's No. 2 scoring offense to its lowest point total of the season - and 22 points below its average. Michigan (13-4, 3-2) shot just 21 percent in the second half as Illinois pulled away in the final four minutes.
"The first half, we were a little bit hyper, a little bit out of character," Weber said. "We didn't take care of the ball, shot some quick shots, but we guarded and used the home court.
"The second half, the defense picked it up - almost the exact same game as up there (on Jan. 14) just reversed."
Sophomore guard Manny Harris had 15 of his 20 points in the second half, but the rest of the Wolverines went 1-for-21 from the field after halftime.
Tisdale, who played just 22 minutes at Michigan because he couldn't guard anybody, posted 3 blocks as he helped limit DeShawn Sims to 3-of-14 shooting and 7 points.
"It's aggression, I think," Tisdale said. "Last game I tried to stay back off of him and make him a shooter. Obviously he did that. This game we pushed up on him and tried to control him."
Though Illinois earned its third win over a Top 25 team in the last six games, its road only gets steeper. The Illini travel to No. 7 Michigan State (14-2, 4-0) on Saturday for what figures to be their toughest regular-season task.
McCamey (17 points), who received rare praise from Weber for his defense, sees a chance.
"We've just got to be levelheaded, just play Illini basketball and defend and do what we do," McCamey said, "and I think we should be successful."