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UI men at Indiana, noon today (CBS)

LINEUPS

ILLINOIS (20-5, 8-4 Big Ten)

Probable starters

No. P Name HT. YR. PPG

3 G Chester Frazier 6-2 Sr. 5.2

1 G Trent Meacham 6-2 Sr. 10.4

32 G Demetri McCamey 6-3 So. 12.4

24 F Mike Davis 6-9 So. 10.6

54 C Mike Tisdale 7-1 So. 11.0

Top reserves

23 F Dominique Keller 6-7 Jr. 6.2

25 G Calvin Brock 6-5 Sr. 5.2

33 G Alex Legion 6-5 So. 4.3

INDIANA (6-17, 1-10)

Probable starters

No. P Name HT. YR. PPG

33 G Devan Dumes 6-2 Jr. 15.3

12 G Verdell Jones III 6-5 Fr. 10.0

20 G Nick Williams 6-4 Fr. 15.2

25 F Tom Pritchard 6-9 Fr. 7.2

44 F Kyle Taber 6-9 Sr. 4.0

Top reserves

2 G Matt Roth 6-11 Fr. 3.4

3 G Daniel Moore 6-4 Fr. 2.9

34 G Malik Story 6-5 Fr. 2.6

FACTS & FIGURES

Site: Assembly Hall (17,354), Bloomington, Ind.

Radio: Brian Barnhart and Jerry Hester call the action on WDWS 1400-AM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WDAN 1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM and WPXN 104.9-FM.

TV: CBS. Ian Eagle is on play-by-play duties, and former Runnin' Rebel Greg Anthony provides the expert analysis.

Series: Indiana leads 82-79. Illinois beat Indiana 76-45 in C-U on Jan. 10, the largest margin of victory for the Illini in this longstanding series. Illinois has lost three straight in Bloomington, including a 62-58 loss to Eric Gordon's Hoosiers last season.

Coaches: Bruce Weber (148-52 in sixth season at Illinois, 251-106 in 11th season overall); Tom Crean (6-17 in first season at Indiana and 196-113 in 10th season overall).

STORYLINES

1

Hold the press

Five players were asked Friday if they enjoyed the fullcourt press Illinois used in a 60-59 comeback win at Northwestern on Thursday. The straw poll was unanimous – yes. Chester Frazier has been lobbying for a fullcourt press for much of this Big Ten season. "He said, 'Coach, we've got to press,' " Mike Tisdale recalled. But those clamoring for a fullcourt press will be disappointed. "Coach is a little old-school, though," Mike Davis said. "He probably won't go with it." The UI coaches don't feel this team has the personnel to implement fullcourt pressure for an extended period of time. "The problem right now is we don't have a lot of practice time," Bruce Weber said. Additionally, Illinois leads the Big Ten in field goal percentage defense, and they're not going to fix what's not broken. "We had to do something to change the momentum and speed them up," Trent Meacham said. "I wouldn't expect us to come out pressing (against IU) or anything."

2

I (O) U

With a 68-60 win against Iowa 11 days ago, Indiana made certain it won't be the third team since 1946 to go winless in Big Ten play. The UI coaches are saying that doesn't tell the whole story, how the Hoosiers have remained competitive despite a limited roster. "I'll be honest, I'm amazed how he has continually got them up for games," Weber said. In five Big Ten losses at home, Indiana lost by 6 (in overtime), 10, 4, 12 and 8 points. So they haven't been blown out at Assembly Hall. "I heard the game was sold out," Mike Davis said, correctly. "They're going to be rowdy." In practice Friday, Weber reminded the players that Indiana playing at home is different than the Indiana team crushed by 31 points in C-U about a month ago. "They watch. They know (Indiana has been competitive)," Weber said. "But can they convince themselves, that will be the big thing."

3

Study hall

The secret to Chester Frazier's success this season really is no secret at all. He watches more film than most, if not all, of his teammates, and that gives him an edge. "He can, in a short period of time, really study a guy," Weber said. He watched film of Northwestern and changed the coaches' game plan. The 6-foot-2 guard was going to defend 6-8 Kevin Coble, but Frazier asked to defend 6-3 guard Craig Moore, instead. Moore scored eight points, seven below his average. "He comes in and sits down and watches with the coaches," Weber said. "We have everything in the computer and we can just pull out one player." In practice Friday and Saturday, Illinois prepared for Indiana as though guard Devan Dumes will play today. Dumes was suspended indefinitely after an elbowing incident against Michigan State. Frazier will defend Dumes, IU's leading scorer, who has taken 21 percent of their shots. As a point of reference, Eric Gordon took 23 percent of their shots last season, the Bloomington Herald-Times reported.

PREDICTION

Illinois 68, Indiana 60

How thoroughly did Northwestern control the game Thursday? Let's check the Matto chart, courtesy of UI head manager Matt Scaletta. By the first timeout, Northwestern held a 6-2 lead in the hustle stats. Northwestern's halftime lead was 17-4, which might be the Illini's biggest halftime deficit on the Matto chart. "They definitely out-toughed us (and) outplayed us early," Weber said. "The only reason we got on the floor is because they took our legs out." So there's a simplified explanation for how Illinois overcame a 14-point deficit (on the scoreboard) to complete a wicked comeback in Evanston: the Illini got back to what makes them good. Illinois won the second-half Matto battle 19-9 and only lost the overall score 26-23. The Illini will send the Hoosiers to a record-setting 18th loss before a ruthless crowd at the other Assembly Hall (News-Gazette prediction record: 20-5).