Perspective. What we need right now is a little perspective.
Illinois (17-5, 7-2) is ranked No. 7. Michigan State (18-2, 7-2) is ranked No. 4.
Tipoff for the teams’ only regular-season matchup is set for 6 p.m. Tuesday at sold-out Assembly Hall in Champaign. The winner grabs an inside track to the Big Ten Conference title. Heck, given the knee injury that sidelined Iowa (17-4, 6-2) star Luke Recker, the winner probably goes on to claim the conference title.
In other words, Tuesday night is big. But how big?
“I haven’t been in too many games of this magnitude during the regular season,” said Illinois coach Bill Self.
To Illini senior center Marcus Griffin it’s even bigger than that. “Tuesday night will be the biggest game any of us have ever played,” Griffin said.
“Did Marcus say that?” said Self, wincing. “Oh, my gosh. We don’t want to blow it out of proportion.”
Sorry, Bill. It’s too late.
During Saturday’s victory over Northwestern, the Illini cheerleaders ran onto the floor during a timeout and formed a tight circle. Inside the circle a mysterious figure could be seen changing his clothes. A few moments later out popped Assistant Athletic Director Dave Johnson wearing a bright orange clown wig and a bright orange jumpsuit. Johnson is in his mid-30s.
Shouting into his microphone, Johnson reminded the capacity crowd that Tuesday is “Paint the Hall Orange Night,” when all fans are encouraged to wear orange as a show of support for Illinois. Urbana mayor Todd Satterthwaite and Champaign mayor Jerry Schweighart have both signed official proclamations to that effect. The promotion is the brainchild of WLRW-FM sales manager Karen Cochrane. Thanks to a dozen local businesses, nearly 1,000 orange T-shirts already have been given out.
Meanwhile, out in cyberspace, ticket-gougers are asking for between $175 and $600 on eBay for a courtside seat.
How big is Tuesday night?
Former Illinois assistant athletic director Mike Pearson, speaking for the majority, said it’s the biggest game at Assembly Hall since Jan. 11, 1979, when No. 4 Illinois upset No. 1 and eventual national champion Michigan State 57-55 on Eddie Johnson’s corner jumper in the waning seconds.
“That game had everything,” Pearson said. “You had two ranked teams, you had the element of Magic Johnson on the opposing team and you had the dramatic finish on Eddie Johnson’s shot. I’ve I’ve seen the community get revved for a lot of events, but I’ve never seen it get as excited as it did about that game.”
How big is Tuesday night?
Former Illinois guard and current Illini Sports Network radio analyst Stephen Bardo claims it’s the most anticipated game since Jan. 22, 1989, when Illinois rallied from a 16-point deficit to beat Georgia Tech 103-92 in two overtimes. That victory extended the Illini’s season-opening win streak to 17 and lifted them to No. 1 in the Associated Press rankings. A stress fracture suffered by Kendall Gill in the game cut the excitement short four days later (in a 69-62 loss at Minnesota), but Gill and the Flyin’ Illini bounced back and made it all the way to the Final Four.
“I tied my career high (22 points) that day,” recalled Bardo. “It was one of the most exciting games I’ve ever been in.”
Self isn’t steeped in Illini history. In 1979 he was only 17 years old. In 1989 he was a third-year assistant under former Oklahoma coach Leonard Hamilton.
But he knows enough to know Tuesday is big for two reasons:
– Michigan State has won the last five meetings between the two schools, and 10 of the last 13. Illinois’ last victory was an 84-63 rout on Feb. 12, 1998, in Champaign that helped the Illini claim a share of the Big Ten title with the Spartans. MSU crushed Illinois 91-66 and 76-61 a year ago.
– A victory will mean more to defending NCAA champ and three-time defending Big Ten champion Michigan State’s chances than it will to Illinois. The Spartans have six regular-season games after Tuesday, including three on the road. But only their Feb. 27 visit to Wisconsin looms as a possible loss.
The Illini also will have six left, but four games will be on the road. Upcoming trips to Purdue (where they haven’t won since 1996), Indiana (where Michigan State lost) and Ohio State (where Michigan State also lost) stick out as potential land mines.
“This game has all the makings of do-or-die,” Self said. “But we’ve still got a month to play and we’ve got the toughest schedule of all the teams in contention.”
If Self fears the Spartans he isn’t saying. He said he respects Michigan State’s rebounders. MSU is leading the nation in rebounding margin for the second year in a row. He said he respects the Spartans’ Final Four experience. Andre Hutson, Charlie Bell, Jason Richardson, Aloysius Anagonye, Mike Chappell, Adam Ballinger and David Thomas all played in last year’s NCAA championship game. And he respects their toughness.
“This team has the potential to do everything last year’s did,” Self said. “They’re a lot like us–they haven’t been as consistent–but when they’re good, they’re as good as anybody.”
Still, Self also likes his team. Illinois leads the Big Ten in field-goal percentage defense and defensive rebounding and is second in scoring margin and steals. Self said the Illini will have to play at “that magic level” Tuesday to win.
He said Illinois will need all the help it can get from the crowd. “It’ll take everyone in the building to give us a chance,” Self said. He knows the season isn’t over if the Illini lose.
But, yeah, he thinks Tuesday is big. Really big.
“I don’t want to downplay its significance,” he said. “But I also don’t think we need to give any big-time pep talks. You could make a strong case that this will be one of the best college basketball games of the year.”
Illinois statistics.
Player Pts Reb Ast FG% FT%
Frank Williams 15.2 3.9 4.4 .423 .827
Marcus Griffin 13.0 6.6 1.1 .549 .551
Brian Cook 11.2 6.4 1.2 .523 .762
Cory Bradford 9.9 2.8 1.9 .388 .786
Sergio McClain 8.4 6.3 2.8 .400 .538
Robert Archibald 7.0 4.7 0.8 .585 .735
Sean Harrrington 6.0 1.4 1.3 .424 .690
Lucas Johnson 4.4 3.5 2.0 .423 .644
Damir Krupalija 3.7 2.6 0.5 .645 .533
Brett Melton 2.0 0.8 0.3 .264 .625
Nate Mast 0.9 0.6 0.1 .364 .250
Joe Cross 0.8 1.0 0.1 .250 1.000
Jerrance Howard 0.6 0.3 0.4 .400 .500
Totals 79.0 41.4 16.2 .454 .674
Big Ten rank 2 2 3 4 9
Three-point percentage: Williams .347; Griffin –; Cook .391; Bradford .377; McClain .391; Archibald –; Harrington .458; Johnson .250; Krupalija .571; Melton .216; Mast .600; Cross .200; Howard –; Team .368 (3rd).
Michigan State statistics
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Player Pts Reb Ast FG% FT%
Jason Richardson 15.8 6.0 2.5 .571 .672
Charlie Bell 15.2 4.5 5.5 .441 .838
Andre Hutson 13.1 7.6 1.9 .608 .714
Zach Randolph 11.2 6.8 1.2 .610 .603
Marcus Taylor 7.9 1.3 4.3 .392 .833
Mike Chappell 5.9 1.9 0.8 .461 .727
A. Anagonye 5.6 3.3 0.7 .644 .811
David Thomas 4.2 3.9 2.0 .405 .933
Adam Wolfe 2.1 2.2 0.2 .286 .833
Adam Ballinger 1.5 1.7 0.3 .333 1.000
Jason Andreas 0.8 1.3 0.1 .556 .500
Brandon Smith 0.6 0.8 1.4 .111 .571
Mat Ishbia 0.3 0.3 0.2 .333 .500
Totals 80.4 43.0 19.3 .497 .737
Big Ten rank 1 1 1 1 2
Three-point percentage: Richardson .470; Bell .393; Hutson –; Randolph .000; Taylor .342; Chappell .333; Anagonye –; Thomas .167; Wolfe .200; Ballinger .000; Andreas –; Smith .167; Ishbia .000; Team .353 (9th).
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