Illinois knocks off No. 9 Purdue in OT
NCAA Basketball Betting Lines
12/30/2008 - West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Tisdale scored 18 points to lead the Illinois Fighting Illini to a 71-67 overtime victory over the ninth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers in the Big Ten opener at Mackey Arena.
Alex Legion and Mike Davis both scored 12 points for the Illini (13-1, 1-0 Big Ten), who have won seven straight games. Trent Meacham added 11 points while Demetri McCamey scored 10 in the victory.
E'Twaun Moore scored 17 points for Purdue (11-3, 0-1), which saw its six-game win streak halted. JaJuan Johnson totaled 16 points and 15 rebounds and had a chance to win the game at the foul line in the final seconds of regulation, but came up short. Lewis Jackson registered 11 points and Robbie Hummel notched seven points and 11 boards in the loss.
The second half began with Illinois holding a three-point lead and the score remained close throughout the first portion of the stanza. With 7:15 to play in the game, a three-pointer by Moore brought Purdue within 43-42.
At the five-minute mark, the contest was knotted at 47-47 before Legion connected from beyond the arc to make it 50-47. Moore answered with a bucket and following an Illinois turnover, Hummel drilled a bucket that was originally counted as a three-pointer but after review it was only worth two and the hosts held a 51-50 lead.
Two foul shots by Tisdale put Illinois back on top, but Moore answered with a field goal on the other end. With just over two minutes to go, two successful shots from the charity stripe by Johnson gave Purdue a 55-52 edge before Meacham drained a bucket to again make it a one-point game with 1:32 on the clock.
A pair of missed shots by both teams eventually led to the Illini gaining possession, and after a timeout with 12.5 seconds to go, Meacham found Davis all alone in the paint and an easy layup gave Illinois a 56-55 lead. The Boilers quickly made their way to the other end and a foul put Johnson on the line with 1.9 ticks to play and two shots with a chance to essentially win it.
Johnson made the first to tie the score at 56-56, but his second attempt hit the front rim and the game went to overtime.
Purdue led 60-58 nearly two minutes into the extra session, but a jumper by Legion from the right side tied it up. A long alley-oop that was converted by Calvin Brock with 2:30 remaining gave Illinois a two-point edge and an ensuing bucket by Davis increased the margin to 64-60 with 1:13 to play.
Foul shots for both teams created a 65-62 score and Moore's driving layup brought Purdue within one with 38 seconds to play. Another free throw gave the visitors a three-point edge and a miss by Moore from the lane was Purdue's final threat.
The contest was tight in the first half with the teams trading baskets for most of the opening 20 minutes. Bobby Riddell's three-pointer brought Purdue within 6-4 over five minutes in. Near the midpoint of the stanza, with the Boilermakers holding a four-point lead, Tisdale's bucket cut the Illinois deficit to 12-10.
From there, a 10-2 run by the visitors gave them a 20-14 advantage with just over five minutes to go. The spurt was capped by an Legion basket. Two free throws by Johnson brought his team within 24-22, and after another free throw by Riddell and Meacham's running floater from the lane as the clock expired gave the Illini a 26-23 lead at the break.
Game Notes
Purdue fell to 8-2 at home this season, while Illinois improved to 2-0 on the road...Purdue leads the all-time series, 88-83...Illinois shot 42.9 percent from the field and made only one shot from three-point range (1-of-9)...Purdue won the battle on the glass, 47-41.
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Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence
Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.
Work left to do:
Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.
Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.
DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...
West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.
Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.
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