Illinois 84, Boise State 77: Unhappy return
Read the Live Report from Assembly Hall here
CHAMPAIGN – The Illinois veterans lurched into the postgame press conference.
"I've got to do a better job of leading this team," Demetri McCamey mumbled.
"They dominated us inside," Mike Davis said.
"We can't keep going through the motions," Mike Tisdale said.
You would've thought Boise State had stolen their lunch money – or a win. Gloom and doom followed Illinois' 84-77 triumph at the Assembly Hall on Saturday.
"It's pretty bad when you get a disappointing win," Tisdale added.
Eight games into the season, the Illini still believe they are light years from playing their best. The Broncos hung around and hung around and hung around until the Illini finally iced the game by making 6 of 6 free throws in the final 19 seconds.
"If they don't turn it over (23 times), we're really in trouble," coach Bruce Weber said.
"If one or two of those threes go in for us, it might tighten up a little more," said Boise State coach Greg Graham.
It took big statistical games from McCamey (game-high 23 points) and Davis (16 points, 12 rebounds) for Illinois (6-2) to close out Boise State (4-3). The concerning stat, however, is the one that shows Boise State shot 72 percent inside the three-point line.
"We keep saying once the Big Ten gets here we're going to be all right," said Tisdale, who once again came alive in the final moments and finished with 10 points. "We're not going to be all right if we keep taking it easy. We've got to step it up."
Here's a change from the past few seasons: Illinois' biggest problem is defense. Weber said defense comes from three things: experience with their concepts, pride and effort.
"They've got to want to get better," Weber said.
Boise State's 55 percent shooting was the highest mark for an Illinois opponent, and Vanderbilt visits the Assembly Hall on Tuesday having scored 89 and 84 points against Missouri and Arizona. The last two visitors – Wofford and Boise State – clearly weren't scared to play at the Assembly Hall, and it seems the Illini have misplaced some of their mojo at home.
"We never became intimidating in here. That's got to change," Weber said. "I think they think they're playing at home and they're going to just win. That's not the case all the time."
What happened
Boise State arrived at the Assembly Hall at an opportune time - and the Broncos nearly stole an upset. The result wasn't certain until Illinois made 6 of 6 free throws in the final 19 seconds to finish off an 84-77 win. The time of the matchup made Bruce Weber anxious, mainly because it was sandwiched between games against Clemson and Vanderbilt.
What it means
The shaky defense at Memorial Stadium made its way to the Assembly Hall on Saturday. Bruce Weber's Illini love to score points, but playing strong defense has been too optional for his liking. Boise State shot 55 percent from the field, the highest mark by an opponent this season. Overmatched teams can hang around if you don't get stops.
What the Illini said
"Coach Zook, you just feel so bad how they lost that game. My thinking is, how it got down to the end, man, all the sudden something's going to bounce the wrong way for us." - Coach Bruce Weber
What the Broncos said
"We tried to make it a WAC sweep today, but I didn't have a seven-point play to go to." - Coach Greg Graham
What's next
About 1,500 tickets remain for the Vanderbilt game at the Assembly Hall on Tuesday, according to the UI ticket office. None of the 11 games remaining on the home schedule are sold out. Coach Kevin Stallings quietly has done a great job of recruiting at Vandy, and the Commodores are 6-1 with wins against Arizona, Missouri and DePaul.
I understand that Coach was trying to improve the defense in the second half, but by doing that, he seriously hampered the offense. I'd like to see the starters play together more, but instead saw way too much Billy Cole and Jeff Jordan. They're role players and the defense didn't dramatically improve when they came in. When McCamey went to the bench in the second half, all our scoring went with him. All Cole did was draw five fouls tonight and didn't add much else, but it seemed like he was constantly out there.
"WE have to get tough" Mike Davis said . . where is the desire to play at your best and get the team to jell like the Illini of 2005 and 1989? This team's members don't seem to have the motivation and heart. Bruce Weber was lucky to inherit players in 2005 that had that desire to be the best not just squeak by. Seems Weber can't instill that pride and desire and get his team to play with fervor and maximum effort. What is this team waiting for???
Bill Cole, Keller and Griffey were out there because they played with effort, more effort than the starters. Cole was afraid to take his shot (maybe afraid to get yelled at and sat down). Seems some of the players have the desire to play all out while others coast, especially on defensive end. The ones that aren't playing with maximum effort and concentration can be a contagious disease and affect the rest of the team and team play.
The veteran Illini comments are telling. Their comments show they understand what's ailing them but don't explain why they don't have the desire to do those things to be exceptional and play their best. That is disappointing and a measure of character. Guys, college goes by fast, you either make your mark and show what you are made of or you will forever be haunted by what might have been.
To a small degree I agree with you RPeterE. But before getting carried away about measuring character, lets remember this team did come back from 20+ down in the second half, just last game. I think character is established all year, one can argue you cant judge the team solely by this Boise State game, or the Clemson game but by the body of work throughout the year.
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