Wisch: Illini Short On Expectations, Long On Experience
What exactly would you call this season for the University of Illinois basketball team?
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What exactly would you call this season for the University of Illinois basketball team?
The last time Illinois and Colorado squared off in a game that truly meant something, the Fighting Illini fell far behind, staged a furious comeback and escaped with a dramatic one-point victory.
Deshaun Thomas, playing perhaps his final home game for No. 14 Ohio State, scored 19 points Sunday to lead the Buckeyes to a 68-55 victory over Illinois, keeping alive their hopes of a Big Ten title tie.
Illinois used double-figure scoring from five players to hold off stubborn Nebraska Saturday, 72-65.
Trey Burke had 26 points and eight assists to help No. 7 Michigan bounce back from a slow start to beat Illinois 71-58 Sunday.
D.J. Richardson scored 18 points and Illinois opened up a big first-half lead that buried Purdue 79-59 on Wednesday night.
On Monday morning, a Facebook friend posted a status asking where people thought Illinois will be seeded in the NCAA Tournament. His guess: as a No. 8 seed.
A great week for the Illini got even better for guard D.J. Richardson.
D.J. Richardson scored a career-high 30 points, Brandon Paul added 14 and Illinois ended a three-game losing streak with a 71-51 victory over Nebraska on Tuesday night.
Jared Berggren scored 15 points and grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds, and Traevon Jackson added a career-best 14 points to lead Wisconsin over No. 12 Illinois 74-51 Saturday.
Brandon Paul scored 14 points and D.J. Richardson overcame a shoulder injury to add 11 and help 10th-ranked Illinois hold off Norfolk State 64-54 on Tuesday night.
Joseph Bertrand made 3-pointers on consecutive possessions and scored every point in a 10-0 run to ignite No. 22 Illinois to a 75-62 victory over Georgia Tech on Wednesday night in an ACC-Big Ten Challenge game.
Illinois caught a huge wave of scoring in Hawaii and rode it all the way to the Maui Invitational title.
D.J. Richardson drained a 3-pointer at the overtime buzzer, capping a comeback from a 16-point second-half deficit and giving Illinois a wild 78-77 victory over Hawaii on Friday night.
Tim Hardaway Jr. scored 15 points and Evan Smotrycz added 13, helping No. 22 Michigan remain unbeaten at home with a 70-61 win over Illinois on Sunday.
Brandon Paul shook off a poor-shooting game to score 18 points, including two free throws with 45 seconds left that gave Illinois the lead in a 42-41 victory over No. 9 Michigan State on Tuesday night.
Jordan Taylor scored 19 points and Jared Berggren added 18 to help Wisconsin upset No. 22 Illinois 67-63 on Sunday.
D.J. Richardson, Brandon Paul and Joseph Bertrand are beginning to look a bit like Dee Brown, Deron Williams and Luther Head did back in 2003-04.
Robbie Hummel didn't have to do his usual damage for Purdue to overwhelm Illinois.
In an attempt to slow the 7-foot-1 Illinois center, Mitchell and Coppin State turned to a zone-heavy defense, but the hot-shooting Illini handled it with ease in an 80-63 win over the Eagles on Sunday night.
Meyers Leonard scored 21 points and helped Illinois hold No. 19 Gonzaga's Robert Sacre to two second-half points Saturday in an 82-75 upset.
Meyers Leonard had a double-double with 22 points and 12 rebounds as Illinois defeated Richmond 70-61 on Tuesday night in the Cancun Challenge.
Northwestern didn't have a chance when they took the court against Illinois. The Fighting Illini took a 23 point lead at the half. The Wildcats put up a second half fight, but were too far behind for a comeback.
Merry Christmas, Illini Nation. Bah, humbug. For Illinois basketball fans, there are few – if any – things worse than losing to Missouri in the annual Braggin' Rights battle.
