Despite comeback, Illini fall to Gophers

Illinois' D.J. Richardson (1) reacts to a foul call during the game against Minnesota at Assembly Hall on Saturday, Feb. 27, 2010. The Fighting Illini lost 62-60 in the final minutes of the game.
Joshua Beckman The Daily Illini

Minnesota put a dent in the Illinois basketball team’s NCAA Tournament hopes Saturday afternoon, as Tubby Smith’s Gopher squad defeated the Illini at the Assembly Hall, 62-60.

The Illini — who scored just 14 points in the first half — were down by 19 points with 7:11 remaining in the game, and they fought back to within one with less than a minute to go.

Related Audio

You are missing some Flash content that should appear here! Perhaps your browser cannot display it, or maybe it did not initialise correctly.

Gophers stomp Illini despite valiant second half effort 

Also See

• LIVE BLOG: Illinois Men's Basketball vs. Minnesota

“I was confident that we had a chance,” freshman guard D.J. Richardson said. “We had a big chance kind of like we did against Clemson earlier in the year. We had a lot of games where we came back. When we put our hands up in the huddle, (Coach Weber) kept saying ‘believe’ and we kept saying ‘believe,’ and we started believing as a team that we were going to come back.”

But Richardson was unable to convert on a last-second shot just inside the arc that would have tied the game.

“I was supposed to shoot off the three, but I took an extra dribble,” Richardson said. “It happens, I guess.”

The Illini were unable to shut down Minnesota guard Devoe Joseph, who finished with 16 points, seven of which came from the free-throw line. Lawrence Westbrook and Paul Carter each had 10 points for Minnesota.

“My guys fought hard and were able to get the win today, but I certainly need to compliment the Fighting Illini in the way they came back and made big shots, clutch shots,” Minnesota head coach Tubby Smith said.

Junior forward Bill Cole led the Illini rally with 15 points on the afternoon, all of which were from beyond the arc.

Cole fouled out with just less than three minutes remaining, while guard Demetri McCamey fouled out right before the final play. Although he finished with 10 assists, McCamey made just 4-of-18 field goals on the afternoon, and he was 1-for-12 from 3-point range.

Weber said he was disappointed that his vocal leader has tried to force his shots in the last few games, while Cole said he and McCamey need to step it up as team captains to ensure a spot in the NCAA Tournament come mid-March.

“Sometimes we need to realize what we’re playing for,” Cole said. “These games are huge for people in the middle of the pack like us, especially sitting on that border. No one’s a lock yet, and no one’s all the way out yet if you’re in the middle of the pack.”

Perhaps the Illini (18-11, 10-6) need to come out with more energy from the beginning.

Illinois scored just 14 points in the entire first half Saturday— one less than it had in the first half of its 38-33 embarrassing loss to Penn State last season.

Both squads began a little rusty, as the score was just 2-2 six minutes into the game. By halftime, the Gophers led 24-14, and they increased their lead to as many as 19 points late in the second half.

Weber said the Illini are used to comebacks by this point in the season but that the energy needed to pull out a victory just wasn’t there.

“I don’t think we had a great mindset going into it,” Weber said. “I think we just think we’re going to win at home, but the last two games we’ve struggled, and we haven’t shot the ball at the magic level. When you don’t make shots, then you start hanging your head.”