Illini Bounce Back
Illinois players and fans have been trying to forget a 33-point performance earlier in the week. Sunday’s game at Ohio State went a long way to pushing that memory out. The Illini made 8 of their first 9 shots and never allowed the Buckeyes to take a lead.
After being up by five at halftime, it seemed like the Illini were holding onto a one-possession lead for most of the second half. With about 8 minutes to go, Illinois started to pull away and once again it was NQTC favorite Chester Frazier making a big play. After an Evan Turner free throw Frazier hit a three from the corner with an arch that must have just missed the ceiling as the shot clock hit zero.
Mike Davis led the Illini again with 22 points on 11-14 from the field, and Trent Meacham chipped in with 17, including some big free throws down the stretch. The game ended with Meacham missing a free throw on purpose, leaving Ohio State with a 70 foot heave to try for the win, and since this wasn’t Lebron in a Powerade commercial, the Illini got the win.
Illinois is now alone in third place in the Big Ten, a game and a half behind Michigan State for the lead and a game behind Purdue for second place. They will have a good chance to gain some ground this week with two home games, one against Minnesota on Thursday and the second playing host to the Spartans on Sunday.
Again, hopefully this means that the Penn State debacle was an anomoly, but unfortunately this team might always have the chance to lay an egg like that. The good thing is that the defense can keep Illinois in almost any game, and with this huge road win they showed they can deal with adversity and adhere to the cliche advice of taking it one game at a time.
Related Posts:
Comments
Comment from StevieY19
Time February 23, 2009 at 4:07 pm
Mega head case. The Illini just have to hope that eventually he grows up and realizes his full potential. He obviously has a lot of talent, but after he committed to every school in the midwest, I think his status as head case was confirmed. He committed to Michigan twice, then his mom said God told her Alex should be at Kentucky. I guess he was wrong. Anyway, we’re definitely dealing with a guy with instant impact talent, but a project mentally.
Loading ...
Comment from EEKS
Time February 23, 2009 at 1:51 pm
Zero minutes for Alex Legion! The man needs to play some D at Illinois. It’s not Kentucky or the SEC. Just think how good the Illini could be if he would contribute. e’s got talent. Just seems like a head case.