For Illini, it's a game of 'consistent inconsistencies'
Just when it appeared it might be safe to pull the orange out of the drawer, Illinois tossed up another dud in a 52-51 loss to Penn State in a Big Ten Conference basketball game Saturday night.
After averaging 79.3 points over the last three games, Illinois didn't attack the Penn State zone, failed to score a basket for the first 9 minutes 8 seconds of the second half and once again couldn't string together back-to-back wins. Another loss in the last five games would assure the Illini a losing record in the regular season for the first time since 1998-99.
"It's just consistent inconsistency,'' said Illini coach Bruce Weber, hisgray hair seemingly getting more gray by the day.
Four days earlier, Illinois set season highs with 84 points and 58.8-percent shooting in a 24-point road victory against Minnesota, where the Illini shot the Gophers out of their zone. Across the street from Paternoville (i.e., Beaver Stadium), Illinois missed its first eight shots in the second half.
Illinois didn't attack the Penn State zone. The Illini couldn't hit perimeter jump shots. There were few touches inside. As it has been all year, the Illini don't have the reliable scorer in the clutch.
"We don't have one guy who can step up and make plays,'' Weber said. "(Demetri) McCamey has done it a little bit lately. Today, he wasn't able to do it.''
McCamey's 3-pointer put the Illini up 51-50 with 19.1 seconds left. But Penn State freshman guard Talor Battle came up big down the stretch by scoring his team's last nine points, including two free throws with 7.1 seconds remaining.
McCamey caught a wide throw on the ensuing inbounds pass near the sideline, then quickly moved it up the court to center Shaun Pruitt. Despite the possibility of another quick timeout, Pruitt whirled and took a dribble before launching a runner near the lane that wasn't close. After the ball bounced out of bounds with 0.7 seconds remaining, Penn State's inbounds pass ended the game.
"We had one timeout left,'' Weber said. "It wasn't a great pass. Demetri made a nice play to keep it in. He throws it to Shaun. We talked about calling a timeout. It was chaotic, I guess. Shaun might have panicked. He went to the basket. We should have got a timeout there and gave ourselves a chance on that last play.''
Illinois fell to 11-15 overall and 3-10 in the Big Ten. Illinois hasn't won back-to-back games since beating Missouri and Loyola (Md.). There was the feeling that Illinois did this to itself. The Illini shot 38.5 percent, the worst by a Penn State opponent since Colgate's 35.1 percent in December.
"I think we're cursed or something,'' Illini forward Brian Randle said. "Somebody made a deal with a higher power. We had a chance. We just had to get a stop. It seems like a replay of what's been going on.''
The Illini were 6-for-23 from the 3-point arc, unable or unwilling to get the ball inside before settling on long-range jumpers.
"Personally, I wasn't trying to penetrate,'' said McCamey, who averaged 18.6 points, 5.0 rebounds and 5.3 assists over the last three games. "I was trying to take the open shot. That cost us tonight.''
McCamey's hot streak came to an end. He finished with six points on 2-for-9 shooting, with all of his attempts 3-pointers, with five assists and four turnovers. Guard Trent Meacham led the Illini with 11 points. He was 3-for-8 from the 3-point line after a 5-for-5 night at Minnesota.
Pruitt had 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting but also had four turnovers while battling the zone.
"We did the same thing when we played them the first time out there,'' Battle said. "We played a 2-3 zone almost the entire game. They started off hot when we were playing man-to-man early in the game. Coach put us in the 2-3 zone. That slowed them down.
"It was tough for them to get shots. They were forced to shoot threes. We kept them out of the paint, and that slowed them down.''
OK, so Penn State upset Michigan State here earlier this month, but this isn't exactly an overwhelming Penn State outfit, considering the Nittany Lions (12-12, 4-8) had lost eight of their last nine games before meeting Illinois. Penn State leading scorer Geary Claxton, who averaged 17.5 points per game before a season-ending knee injury, had missed the last seven games.
Penn State swept the season series with Illinois for the first time since joining the league before the 1992-93 season.
Battle had 14 points, six rebounds and four assists to lead Penn State. Guard Stanley Pringle had 11 points and three assists.
NOTES: Illinois forward Rodney Alexander has 14 minutes total in the last two games. . . The Illini shot 49.7 percent over the previous three games. . . The loss snapped Illinois' four-game winning streak here. . .
John Supinie can be reached at Johnsupinie@aol.com. For more coverage, read Illini Talk blog at www.sj-r.com <http://www.sj-r.com> and www.pjstar.com <http://www.pjstar.com> .
Illinois report card
Front court C
Illinois didn't get many shots inside. Either the Penn State zone was working or the Illini big men weren't working hard enough to get the ball.
Back court D
A tough night shooting and the inability to penetrate the zone left the Illini offense -- on a hot streak entering the game -- stone cold. The three guard combined for 8-for-26 shooting.
Bench D
Besides a boost from freshman center Mike Tisdale and his six points, four rebounds and two blocks in 13 minutes, there wasn't any help from the reserves.
Overall D
After a promising win at Minnesota, the Illini killed any momentum with a clinker despite entering the game as the favorite. With another loss, the Illini are assured of a losing mark in the regular season for the first time since 1998-99. Illinois' seed in the Big Ten tournament keeps slipping.