Illinois realizes that getting past top-seeded Michigan State in Sunday’s Big Ten tournament title game will require contributions from everyone, not just freshman Cory Bradford or a couple of streaky forwards. Should Illinois lose, the players know that they’ve accomplished more than anyone expected.
But that’s not good enough.
“If we lose, these last three games will be useless,” center Fess Hawkins said. “If we lose, that means it’s over. It won’t mean anything, only that it’s a close to the season.”
Ohio State coach Jim O’Brien believes that’s being a bit harsh.
“They’re going on emotion right now,” O’Brien said. “It would be a tremendous accomplishment to win four straight and go to the NCAA tournament.
“Unquestionably, they are the best last-place team in America.”
Quiet, critics: Having survived dogfights against seventh-place Northwestern and fourth-place Wisconsin in the last two days, Michigan State coach Tom Izzo chuckled at the suggestion that the Big Ten is overrated. The conference has been atop the national power ratings all season, and has had as many as seven teams ranked at one time.
“I get a kick out of reading articles around here that the league isn’t that good,” Izzo said. “How do you compare? I know that there are probably some teams in the ACC that wouldn’t want to play our 16-game schedule, and there are probably some teams in our league that wouldn’t want to play theirs.
“I just know that I’m a coach, and I’m amazed that some writers are experts at it.”
Feelin’ all right: Buckeyes guard Scoonie Penn played pain-feee Friday and Saturday after landing hard on his backside during Ohio State’s overtime loss to Penn State that ended the regular season.
O’Brien kept Penn out of practice all week because of pain similar to a hip pointer, but an evaluation proved no significant damage had been done to his point guard’s tailbone.
“For the most part, it feels pretty good now,” Penn said. “It hasn’t been a factor. I was just a little rusty.”
Badger snooze: All season experts have said Wisconsin is a team no one wants to meet in the NCAA tournament because of its relentless defense.
But the Badgers aren’t exactly charging into the tournament, having lost six of their last nine games, three by double-figure margins. Still, Izzo likes Wisconsin’s chances for an NCAA run.
“I still think they’re going to win a lot of games because they’re so hard to defend,” he said.
Dee-fense: Forward Andy Kowske, an avid cartographer, was the unlikely Wisconsin star when the Badgers burst to their early and brief lead over Michigan State. He scored seven points in a row early in the first half, but after that neither he nor Wisconsin’s other inside players were very effective.
“At the beginning of the game it seemed like they were turning their heads a little bit, and a couple of times I made a quick cut when my defender turned his head,” Kowske said. “In the second half there was none of that. They doubled down on defense and shut us down, basically.”
Defense was the topic of Izzo’s halftime speech, Spartans star Mateen Cleaves said.
“Coach wasn’t happy, and he got his point across to us. In the second half we came out hard and laid it all on the floor. They’re hard to stop individually. But we did a great job as a team, of team defense.”
Cleaves was asked how Izzo got his point across.
“Can’t say on camera,” he said with a smile. “He just got it across.”
Best of show: No matter what happens Sunday, Michigan State is clearly the class of the Big Ten and the conference’s best hope in the NCAA tournament. What are its chances?
“The reason they’re good, really good, is their half-court defense and their ability to run out of half-court sets,” Wisconsin coach Dick Bennett said. “The reason they’re great is because of their offensive rebounding and their ability to run the floor. That’s what sets them apart.
“They’re like the rest of us on the half-court, those of us who work at it. But their ability to get on the glass and then just run the floor literally with all five players, and with Cleaves pulling the trigger, is what I think sets them apart.”
Bits and pieces: Wisconsin’s Chicago area players had disastrous games Saturday. Country Club Hills’ Sean Mason, Joliet’s Ty Calderwood and Calumet City’s Maurice Linton went a combined 4 for 25 from the floor with five turnovers. The 6-foot-2-inch Mason did pull down a team-high nine rebounds, a quarter of Wisconsin’s total. As a team, the Badgers shot a season-low 29.3 percent. . . . Michigan State committed only seven turnovers Saturday, and did not allow Wisconsin a point off any of them. . . . Ohio State’s loss in the semifinals scrubbed an anticipated title-game showdown between Michigan State’s Cleaves and the Buckeyes’ Penn. Illinois fans will settle for a showdown between Cleaves, the coaches’ pick for player of the year, against Cory Bradford, the freshman of the year. With 14 points and 11 assists, Cleaves registered his fourth double double this season.
ILLINI’S HARD ROW TO HOE
If Illinois beats Michigan State for the Big Ten tournament title Sunday, it will enter the NCAA tournament with a 14-17 record. Other losing teams that got in:
Team Year Record
George Washington 1961 9-16
Texas 1974 12-14
Missouri 1978 14-15
Lehigh 1985 12-18
Montana 1986 14-16
East Carolina 1993 13-16
Florida International 1995 11-18
San Jose State 1996 13-16
Central Florida 1996 11-18
Jackson State 1997 14-15
Fairfield 1997 11-18
Prairie View 1998 13-16
Note: All 12 teams were first-round losers.
%% %%
