Illinois 70, Ohio State 68

Finally, an Illini game I was able to watch and enjoy. My personal plus-minus is quite good over the last few weeks, considering that I didn't watch the losses to Minnesota, Wisconsin, or Penn State, and got back from class with 5:00 or so left in the Northwestern game (after which, of course, Illinois went on a 17-2 run to close the game and win by 1 point). The Illinois offense found sustenance after the 33-point debacle against Penn State, scoring 70 points in just 57 possessions thanks to shooting 58.3% from the field and 9-17 from 3. In so doing, the team won its third straight conference road game, quite a feat after beginning conference play 1-4 on the road.

Although I was rather pleased with the Illinois offense, one shouldn't overlook the fact that Ohio State scored 68 points in 57 possessions themselves, and indeed it was an uncharacteristically poor showing by an Illini defense ranked sixth in the country in defensive efficiency. In particular, their defense broke down at the end of the game. On four straight possessions, Thad Matta called a simple play where B.J. Mullens set a pick for Turner at the top of the key, giving Turner room to drive to the basket or pull up for a mid-range jumper. And on all four, he scored, although he twice had to get his own rebound to do so. I'm not sure if Illinois was executing poorly or if Turner is just that good, but it was quite frustrating to see Ohio State run the same play over and over without Illinois being able to stop it.

Plus-minus chart:

Player	P/M	Minutes
Demetri McCamey	-1	37
Trent Meacham	+2	39
Chester Frazier	-2	34
Mike Davis	+4	37
Mike Tisdale	+8	30
Calvin Brock	-1	11
Dominique Keller	-3	9
Jeff Jordan	+3	3

The Illini starters all played 30 or more minutes, and McCamey, Meacham and Davis all played 37 or more minutes. These are unusually high totals but given that their next game isn't until Thursday, this was a good strategy by Bruce Weber. As we are nearing the end of the season, I suspect that Weber will continue to shorten his rotation and play his starters more and more. The one player who stands out on the plus-minus chart is Mike Tisdale who was +8 in 30 minutes. Although Chester Frazier is probably Illinois' best player, Tisdale is in some ways the team's most important player, since Illinois doesn't bring any size off the bench. Keeping him on the court will be critical if Illinois goes up against any teams with size in the NCAA Tournament.