Illinois Vs. Purdue: Big Ten Game 6

The atmosphere is great, Purdue is a top 15 team, and Erin Andrews is in the house... good game! The Illini need to come out and match the energy that the crowd is giving. We have talked about why this is a big game and why it would be big to win on ESPN, so let's see it.

Final Score: Purdue 84 Illinois 78

Purdue's going to win this one, but the Illini made it close in the end. A lot went wrong to start the second half, and the big comeback at the end was just a little too late.

McCamey hits a three, and it's a three point game with 18 left.

Demetri is fouled again and sent to the line. After hitting both, it's 75-79.

D.J. Richardson hits another 3. 72-77 with 47 seconds left.

The Illini made it tough to get the ball in and almost drew a 5 second call, but JaJuan Johnson found an opening at the three point line on the other end.

Another three by the Illini, and it's now down to a doable number... but it would take a lot. 6 point deficit with 1:17 left.

Bill Cole hits a three, but it appears to be too little, too late for the Illini. A good first half is followed up by a rough outing in the second. Purdue leads this one 66-75. It appears the 3 game losing streak is over for the Boilers, and the Illini are facing a three game streak of their own if they don't get their act together this week.

63-71 with 3:19 left, and the Illini have 2 seconds on the shot clock. Play broken up, Purdue ball.

63-70 Purdue with 3:52 left. Timeout on the floor.

Mike Tisdale fouls out after a pretty disappointing performance. 4 points, 5 rebounds.

The Illini are getting killed at the free throw line in terms of percentage.

Mike Tisdale back in with 4 fouls. 5:50 left to go.

Kelsey Barlow goes to the line for the and one, makes it, and the lead is now 7 again.


Bruce Weber has been yelling for some fouls, and this time he got one. The Illini are shooting 1 and 1 with 7:25 left to go. The free throws were poorly shot in the first half, but McCamey hits both free throws and the score is now 53-57 with 7:30 left.

D.J. Richardson hits a big three, and the crowd gets back in it... Shortly after, Mike Davis makes a lay up and suddenly it's back to a four point game, 51-55 Purdue with 8:15 left in the game.

Griffey hits 2 free throws, and the score is 46-53 Purdue.

There is 9:30 left in the game, and the Illini are down nine, 44-53. The ball has started to go inside now, and it has resulted in a lot of Illini free throws... the biggest problem is the defense.

The Illini are scoring again now, but Purdue is having no problems answering.

There are few things more frustrating than playing 34 seconds of great defense only to have a three go in with one second left.

Mike Tisdale leaves the game with 12:30 left after picking up his fourth foul.

39-45 Purdue with 12:30 left.

McCamey has taken it upon himself to score. He has gone to the line twice now in the last few minutes while trying to get to the basket.

The defense in this half has been plain bad. The Boilermakers are getting inside of 8 feet almost at will against our guys. The score sits at 43-36 with 14:11 left in the game. The Illini need a three, or a dunk, or a block... anything to get that energy back from the first half.

34-39 Purdue with 16:00 minutes left in the game. After a great first half, the energy seems to have faded a little bit. Purdue is still hustling, but they have cut down on the turnovers from the first half. The Illini are standing around on offense and look nothing like they did in the first half.

The first 2 minutes of the second have been all Purdue.

The halftime score is 32-28 Illinois. Purdue isn't taking care of the basketball, and they aren't sharing the rock at all. Only 3 assists in the first half compared to 10 turnovers... that's not going to make a coach who is a former Gene Keady assistant happy. The energy level is great, and I would expect that to continue because the crowd has been great. 20 minutes of basketball left to play, and the Illini are up four on the number 15 team in the country.

A technical has been called on Purdue for substituting a player not on the original roster?? I'll try to find out more...

Purdue just threw down an ally oop. Only moments later, Illinois tried one of their own, but it ended in free throws.

28-24 Illinois with 1:45 left.

McCamey looked to have picked up his dribble when a streaking Jeff Jordan got open in the lane for a great lay up. Good vision by McCamey.

22-14 with 6 left in the first.

Illinois just ran a play called Biscuit... whatever it was, it ended in a back door dunk by Davis.

Brandon Paul is really athletic... I know that's obvious, but sometimes he goes up for a rebound and you think it's about to sail over his head, but he just stretches out and grabs the ball.

Neither team is shooting well, both schools are under 34%.

If you read my pregame article, I talked about coming out strong and rattling a reeling Purdue team. Purdue looks to be a little rattled. There have been a few silly turnovers including a bad travel and a few questionable shots. 18-14 Illinois with 8 minutes left in the half.

Mike Davis has 8 rebounds and 6 offensive already, and there is still 8:45 left in the first half.

The Illini are making their living on the offensive glass. Tisdale is a whole new animal when he goes for a rebound.

Tisdale just blocked a shot, but it went in off of the deflection.

I know that Matt Painter can be animated, but I think he had an extra 5 hour energy before this one.

16-10 Illinois with 12:00 left in the first half. Demetri just hit Keller for a nice bucket in the paint and then asked to be taken out due to fatigue... and I love that! These guys are in great shape after the Weber practice regimen, so it's good to see a guy use this much energy this fast.

Jeff Jordan gets fouled going to the hole. You like to see that because Paul has already attacked. The whole mentality of the offense changes when we attack.

10-10 with 15:30 left in the first half.

The offense is moving the ball well, and I like the energy/emotion, I just think the defense needs to be on assignment a little better. To this point, Purdue has gotten to the rim pretty easily, and that's nothing new.

Brandon Paul makes a nice move in the lane and finishes. Good to see him attacking.

The score is 8-8 with 16:30 left in the half.

Bill Cole looking good early with a block and a nice 18 footer.

Mike Tisdale with 4 quick points. The energy is great to start, but Purdue is still getting to the rim too easily.

The tip was won by the Illini, and then the ball was quickly turned over.. not a good start against a team who forces a lot of errors.

The ball is currently stuck between the scoreboard and the backboard... weird.