FINAL: Illinois 59, Indiana 53

INDIANAPOLIS -- It's not as if any confirmation were required. Jenna Smith's greatness is well-established, as much a part of daily life for the Illini as a trip to the training table or an early-morning workout.

Smith's prolific work once again was the difference for the Illini, who snuffed out the Hoosiers in front of 5,438 in the first round of the Big Ten tournament Thursday at Conseco Fieldhouse. For her efforts, Smith and the Illini get another crack at top-seed Ohio State in today's 5 p.m. quarterfinal.

Indiana had beaten Illinois in both regular season meetings, but Thursday's was different. The Illini established Smith inside, and she was dogged on the boards. Smith finished with 23 points -- moving within 16 of matching Ashley Berggren's UI career scoring record -- and a Big Ten tournament-record 19 rebounds.

Another UI senior, Lacey Simpson, joined Smith in the we-don't-want-to-go-home department, finishing with 12 points, eight steals, six assists and seven rebounds.

Indiana got within two points twice in the final 30 seconds but Simpson, Smith and Lydia McCully each hit two free throws to close it out.

Illinois lost both games against Ohio State this season, 76-47 in Champaign and 72-61 in Columbus. The Illini shocked top-seeded Ohio State in the 2008 quarterfinals en route to a trip to the tourney's title game.

11:37 left in second half: Illinois 45, Indiana 39

--Can Illinois, which opened an eight-point lead with an early spurt in the second half, close out the Hoosiers? This game is playing out in much the same manner as the January game in Bloomington, which Illinois led most of the way before faltering in the final few minutes.

--There is no doubt that Indiana's offense is centered around its desire to beat Illini defenders off the dribble. Whitney Lindsay, Jamie Braun and Jori Davis seem confident they can beat their defenders 1-on-1. They're often getting near the rim, but their decisions aren't always the best, and they haven't finished shots.

--The game is devolving into a foul-plagued festival. The refs -- a premier crew of Final Four vet June Courteau, Bob Trammell and Dave Stewart -- are starting to call every bump. Might be free throw shooting that decides this one.

--With 11:37 left, Jenna Smith has 17 points and 15 rebounds.

--The defensive brilliance of Lacey Simpson was on display early in the second half. She ended an Indiana possession by getting her hand on a pass, then tip-toed along the sideline to keep it in-bounds, then pushed it toward a streaking Fabiola Josil, who laid it in and was fouled. Great stuff from the player who should have been named the Big Ten's Defensive Player of the Year.

HALFTIME: Illinois 26, Indiana 25

Something about Conseco Fieldhouse and the Big Ten basketball tournament gets the Illinois women ready to play.

The Illini's sense of urgency has been well-established today, and an energized team has played well through 20 minutes. The UI offense has looked to run, but when in halfcourt situations it has moved the ball well and found open looks. The only trouble spot arrived late in the half, when Illinois hit a scoreless patch of 5:43 that cut its six-point lead to one.

Jenna Smith has 10 points and eight rebounds to lead Illinois. Lacey Simpson has eight points. Jamie Braun has 13 points for Indiana, which is trying to use dribble drives to beat Illinois defenders. 

Indiana has been effective at getting inside the Illini defense, as the scatterbug Hoosier guards have proven difficult to defend. But the Hoosiers haven't been able to finish, shooting 28.6 percent.

-- Illinois, which is ninth in the country in blocked shots at 5.9 a game, already has five.

-- Law called one timeout in the half, and Illini players called two others, so Illinois is down to two for the remainder of the game. Could be a factor, considering this one could be decided in the final three minutes.

-- Champaign Central product Hope Elam has four points on 2-for-5 shooting.

11:39 left in first half: Illinois 16, Indiana 10

--The Illini are clearly playing with a big-time sense of urgency, one that has been lacking at many points this winter. It might be emanating from their head coach. Jolette Law is into this game, yelling, moving, urging. It's March, her favorite time of the year, and Law is ready to go.

--Champaign product Hope Elam didn't start for the Hoosiers for the second straight game, but entered at the 17:14 mark. She's instant offense. Elam isn't shy about shooting. She took shots on two of Indiana's first four possessions after she entered.

--The Illini's game plan looks similar to the one they used in the first matchup in Bloomington: run at every opportunity. It worked well in that game.

25 minutes to tipoff

Greetings from Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis for Day 1 of the Big Ten women's basketball tournament. It is one of my favorite events of the entire calendar year, a chance to see all of the Big Ten's teams in a span of about 30 hours. Does it get any better than that?

Illinois' quest this week isn't any different than the previous two years, when it entered as the No. 9 seed, as is the case tonight. The Illini must win four games in four days -- and defeat the No. 1 seed along the way -- to get to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2003. If Illinois stumbles at any point, it likely will be relegated to the WNIT. More on that in a bit.

First things first. Michigan, which had lost twice to Northwestern during the regular season, handled the Wildcats 67-54 in today's first game, and Penn State finished off Minnesota 63-52. The Wolverines' victory emphasizes the tricky proposition that Indiana also faces today against Illinois: The Hoosiers beat the UI twice this season. Can they do it a third time? I'm guessing they won't, but the outcome might be determined by how effectively Illinois can handle the Hoosiers' zone. If the Illini can get the ball to Jenna Smith and Karisma Penn in good scoring positions, they have a great chance to win. Another big game from Lacey Simpson wouldn't hurt, either. Simpson has been terrific in the Big Ten tournament in her career, and she acknowledged earlier this week that the urgency brought on by said event is what spurns her.

"When I get into the Big Ten tournament, I just play like a mad woman," she said Tuesday. "I get out there and leave it all on the floor."

Other thoughts and notes on today's action:

--The Illinois training staff might be running out of those facemasks they use to protect a broken nose. Lana Rukavina, who broke her nose thanks to an errant elbow at Michigan State, is the latest Illini to don the mask, joining guard Eboni Mitchell.

--Illinois is one of five schools that hasn't won a Big Ten tournament title (Michigan, MInnesota, Northwestern and Wisconsin are the others), but the Illini have a respectable record in this event. They're 14-15 overall, and only Purdue (11), Penn State (6) and Ohio State (5) have been to the title game more often than the Illini (3).

--My favorite Big Ten stat this season: Iowa's Kachine Alexander, who stands 5-foot-9, averaged 11.1 rebounds in league play. Michigan State's Allyssa DeHaan, who stands 6-foot-9, averaged 5.6.

--Illini just came onto the floor. Wearing the orange uniforms today.

--I'll be Dave Loane's halftime guest on the radio side.

--If Illinois wins today, we'll be chatting on IlliniHQ at 1 p.m. Friday. If the Illini lose, there'll be no chat, thanks to travel requirements. Hey, if I could chat while driving a car, I would ... but me thinks the Illinois State Police would frown on such a thing.