The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

The independent student newspaper at the University of Illinois since 1871

The Daily Illini

    Weber anticipates another nail-biter against Penn State

    Illinois head coach Bruce Weber is trying to keep team practices applicable to the Illini’s play as of late.

    During the past week, Weber instilled a drill he calls the “Perfect Finish.” The Illini simulate the last one and a half minutes of a game in a scrimmage, as they try not to let up any points or turn over the ball.

    “One team is working on offense and execution, and the other team is working on stops,” Weber said.

    Illinois will aim for its first perfect finish when it hosts Penn State in Champaign on Tuesday night.

    Although the Nittany Lions remain winless in Big Ten play at 0-3, Weber knows the contest will probably be similar to the last few games for the Illini.

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    “We seem to adjust as the game goes on,” Weber said. “I’ve just kind of gotten in the mindset that basically every game is going to be close.”

    The Illini have let their opponents set the tempo right out of the gate this season, and usually find themselves scrapping for points late into the game. They fought back from 15 and 23-point deficits to defeat Indiana and Clemson, respectively, and came from 21 points down to push the game to overtime against Gonzaga.

    The defensive efforts of freshman D.J. Richardson and junior Mike Tisdale in the closing minutes have been the difference maker between the wins and losses. But this time, Weber will look to junior guard Jeff Jordan down the stretch. Jordan will be given the task of shutting down Talor Battle, who leads Penn State with 18.1 points per game.

    Jordan will once again start in place of the Illini’s leading scorer, Demetri McCamey, as Weber still has something to teach the team’s vocal leader.

    “With Demetri, I’m just trying to hold him accountable and make him consistent.”

    Will Davis show?

    Junior forward Mike Davis has been either a dominant force inside the lane or noticeably absent for the Illini this season.

    “I’ve learned that Mike doesn’t deal very well when we yell at him, but at the same time you’ve got to correct him, and you’ve got to hold him accountable,” Weber said. “I think it’s within himself. He’s got to find that mechanism to get himself going, and he can’t hang his head when he makes mistakes.”

    Weber added that Dominique Keller or Tyler Griffey could see more minutes with Davis’ recent inconsistent play.

    Last time at the Hall

    Both Penn State and Illinois would like to erase what happened the last time the Nittany Lions made the trip to the Assembly Hall. Penn State defeated then-No. 16 Illinois, 38-33, in the lowest scoring game in the venue’s history.

    “It got some national publicity,” Weber said. “My phone was lit up after. They all wanted some kind of insight to what happened. It was just one of those things where we weren’t great offensively. Obviously that night we struggled, and they struggled too.”

    Both sides were a little perplexed.

    “It was really hard to figure out.” Weber said. “We didn’t score but they really didn’t score either, and it still came down to the end.”

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