Illinois fends off Indiana

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

02/15/2009 - Bloomington, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis each scored 16 points, as 22nd-ranked Illinois defeated Indiana, 65-52, in Big Ten Conference action at Assembly Hall.

Davis also added a game-high 10 rebounds, while Tisdale had six boards before fouling out. Chester Frazier chipped in with nine points, seven rebounds and seven assists for Illinois (21-5, 9-4 Big Ten), which continued its strong play after holding off Northwestern 60-59 on Thursday. The Fighting Illini have won three straight and four of five overall.

Matt Roth scored a team-high 13 points, while Verdell Jones and Malik Story had nine apiece for Indiana (6-18, 1-11), which was coming off a 62-54 setback at Minnesota on Tuesday. The Hoosiers have dropped three in a row and 14 of their last 15 contests.

Indiana was without leading scorer Devon Dumes for the second straight game. The junior guard, who is averaging 13.8 points per game, was suspended indefinitely by head coach Tom Crean for unacceptable behavior in the Hoosier's loss at Michigan State on February 7.

Illinois had its way with things in the first half, playing the front-runner for the entire stanza. Up by three in the early going, Trent Meacham's three-pointer spurred the Fighting Illini on a 24-6 run and the visitors held a 34-13 advantage with nearly 2 1/2 minutes remaining.

The Hoosiers trailed 38-21 heading into the break.

In the second half, a Tisdale dunk put Illinois up 44-25, but the Hoosiers were not about to go quietly.

Roth's three-pointer sent Indiana on a 21-10 run, allowing the hosts to get to within six at 54-48 with 6:27 left.

After both team's came up empty on the next several possessions, Frazier's bucket from well beyond the arc increased the Fighting Illini's lead to nine with 4:56 to play.

A 1-of-2 effort from the free-throw line by Story got the Hoosiers to within eight, 57-49. However, back-to-back layups by Tisdale and Frazier put Illinois in front 61-49 with 2:14 remaining. Illinois then proceeded to seal the win at the foul line.

Game Notes

Illinois will host Penn State on Wednesday, while the Hoosiers welcome Wisconsin to Bloomington on Thursday...Illinois has won both meetings this season, but the Hoosiers still own an 82-80 lead in the all-time series.

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Big Ten Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Michigan State, Indiana
Work left to do: Illinois, Purdue, Michigan, Iowa

Behind the big two, the pecking order might be in a bit of flux. Has Michigan State passed Indiana after handling the Hoosiers in East Lansing? Where is Illinois in that mix? What looked like a four-big league last week could be morphing into five -- and even six is not unthinkable at this point if everything breaks right.

Should be in:

Michigan State [21-8 (8-6), RPI: 20, SOS: 15] The Spartans made it four-for-four on the homestand, a gigantic accomplishment that leaves them in extremely good shape. MSU is only 1-6 on the road and is at Michigan and at Wisconsin to close things out, meaning the date with the Wolverines on Tuesday looms very, very large. Beating Texas early will hold up well, as will the rout of Bradley and the win over BYU, but will 8-8 be enough? It very well could be, as the computer numbers are good, but why chance it?

Indiana [18-9 (8-6), RPI: 24, SOS: 32] Hmm ... good thing the last two are at Northwestern and home to Penn State, because IU might want to get both to feel completely safe after dropping its third in the last four, fading after halftime at Michigan State. Who knew the best nonconference win would be over Southern Illinois, which is a gift that keeps on giving for the Hoosiers. The win over Wisconsin also looks good on the mantel.

Work left to do:

Illinois [21-9 (9-6), RPI: 31, SOS: 25] A good performance at Penn State leaves the Illini in pretty good shape. Can they go to Iowa and take care of business to really look on their way? That's a huge game, as there is a possible cluster of teams that will end at 9-7. Illinois beat Bradley, but has lost to Xavier. A 9-7 mark and a semifinals trip in Chicago could be enough with the computer profile hanging in there, but it would be better not to mess around, clinching at least a tie for third.

Purdue [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 47, SOS: 28] Couldn't get it done at Iowa, but did win at Northwestern to put 9-7 squarely in sight. Where does that leave the Boilermakers, though? Even if they beat Minnesota and Northwestern at home, that won't help the computer numbers. Nonconference wins over Virginia, DePaul and Oklahoma are solid, but not spectacular. The Boilers very well might need an upset in the B10 quarters to have a legit claim.

Michigan [19-10 (7-7), RPI: 55, SOS: 53] Well, Michigan did what it needed to do, winning at Minnesota to take control of its fate. The Wolverines have Michigan State and an already-wrapped-up-the-league Ohio State at home to close, so the chances are there. Win both and we can talk. There is no marquee win yet in the profile, and the Wolverines were splattered in several games against name opponents. A mediocre computer profile fueled by a lack of road wins isn't helping, either.

Iowa [16-12 (8-6), RPI: 80, SOS: 64] For the sake of being complete, we'll add Iowa, this season's Stanford. It's plausible that the Hawkeyes could get to 10-6 (at Penn State, vs. Illinois left), but where does that leave them after a gruesome nonconference performance where the best win was over ... Toledo? Iowa State? Cornell?? If they get to 10-6, we can start to look at what they need to do in the B10 tourney, although my gut sense is that they would need to make the final and have knocked off Ohio State or Wisconsin on the way to have any real claim.

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