Indiana Loses By Double Digits, Again

At least Bob Knight didn't have to stick around to see the finish.

Kevin Turner, Jarrod Gee and Matt Heldman each scored 16 points Tuesday night as No. 22 Illinois beat Indiana 82-72, giving the Hoosiers a second straight double-digit loss for the first time in eight years.

Knight was ejected in the second half after picking up his second and third technical fouls of the game and later called the officiating "the greatest travesty" he had ever seen as a coach.

Illinois (21-8, 13-3 Big Ten) can tie Michigan State for the conference regular-season championship if Purdue beats the Spartans on Sunday. Indiana (18-9, 9-6), whose 112-64 loss at Michigan on Sunday was its second-worst in Knight's 27 years, finishes at Iowa on Saturday.

Indiana rallied from 17 points down to get within 54-44 before Luke Recker was knocked hard to the floor, starting a chain of events that sent Knight to the locker room with 9:37 to go.

Knight, who already had received a technical foul in the first half, protested right away that Recker's shot should have counted as a basket because of goaltending. Then, when he walked on the court to check on Recker, who was still lying on the floor, he was given a second technical, and an automatic ejection, by referee Ted Valentine.

Knight then flew into a rage and received a third technical. He started to leave the floor, then turned and started walking toward Valentine as if he was going to say something. He walked very close to Valentine but didn't say a word as he went by. Knight kicked something as he left the floor and headed to the runway.

Michael Lewis hit two free throws in place of Recker, who had left the game, but Heldman hit three of four on the technicals against Knight. Turner added another free throw seconds later, and Heldman followed with a basket as Illinois pushed the lead to 61-46.

Three-pointers by Lewis and A.J. Guyton, who led Indiana with 25 points, helped pull the Hoosiers within 77-70 before Illinois got its final five points on free throws in the last minute.

Illinois, which beat Indiana by two points at Champaign at the start of the conference season, trailed 8-3 with four turnovers in the first four minutes. The Illini caught the Hoosiers midway through the period, then built a seven-point lead as Indiana managed only one field goal over a seven-minute span.

The Hoosiers pulled within three on two free throws by Charlie Miller and two more free throws by Larry Richardson on the same possession after a flagrant foul by Victor Chukwudebe.

But the Illini began pulling away after two technical fouls on the Hoosiers one on Richardson and the first on Knight. A 3-pointer by Luke Jiminez cut the Illinois lead to 33-28 at the half, but the Illini scored the first nine points of the second half to take control.

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