A delirious Lucas Johnson doing jumping jacks in front of the bench in the last two minutes, trying to make the crowd of 16,683 go more nuts than it already was.
Junior forward Robert Archibald twisting his long body around Michigan State’s Adam Ballinger and Zach Randoph to drop in crucial layups.
A sea of orange-clad fans rising in unison each time Cory Bradford sank another critical three-pointer from a new spot on the floor.
The images will linger as long as the big bottom line: Proving it belongs among the elite teams in the nation–for now–No. 7 Illinois (18-5, 8-2) rang up a convincing 77-66 victory over defending national and three-time defending league champion Michigan State (18-3, 7-3) Tuesday night to take control of the Big Ten race.
“This was a big step,” said Illinois coach Bill Self. “In order to be considered among the elite you’ve got to beat the elite. We haven’t accomplished anything yet, but this team’s confidence has got to be a lot higher from now on.”
The Illini’s pulsating win over the Spartans seems destined to join the list of memorable Illinois games. Only don’t forget to add asterisks for the crucial performances of Bradford and Archibald.
First Bradford. If you wondering where the junior from Memphis’ jump shot has been all season, wonder no more. Bradford dialed in from long-distance in the clutch, making six three-pointers, including four in a four-minute stretch midway through the second half. Three of his bombs came in the Illini’s deciding 10-2 run. Sparked by Bradford’s season-high 22 points, Illinois surged to a 64-55 lead with 5:27 to go and was never caught again.
“Cory played awesome,” said Self. “I hope this is the Cory we see the rest of the season. He has been dragging his leg (surgically repaired knee) around all season and never complained. Tonight he was terrific.”
Michigan State got off to fast starts in both halves but couldn’t sustain the momentum. Down 19-12, Illinois surged back with a 14-4 run on its way to a 34-29 lead at the half. The Spartans opened the second half with a 13-2 run to go up 42-36 but once again the Illini answered, going ahead for good on Damir Krupalija’s free throws with 9:35 left.
Jason Richardson led Michigan State with 19 points and Charlie Bell added 14 but coach Tom Izzo blamed the loss on his two freshman starters (Zach Randolph and point guard Marcus Taylor) and the fact the Spartans only had one day to prepare for Illinois after Sunday’s win over Purdue.
Bell, though, said it had more to do with Bradford. “He was picked to as the preseason MVP in the Big Ten and he looked like it tonight,” said Bell. “You can’t leave him open. He’s one of the best shooters in the Big Ten. If you leave him open, you might as well count them (threes).”
The Illini made 10 three-pointers in 24 attempts; the Spartans managed to make only 3 of 18 from behind the arc. At the line, Illinois was 23 of 30, MSU 9 of 11. But all that might not have mattered if Archibald hadn’t come off the bench to pick up the slack for Marcus Griffin. Griffin had only two points and four rebounds in 19 minutes but Archibald came to the rescue with seven points and four rebounds when Illinois needed them the most.
“I didn’t want to feel intimidated by them in any way,” said Archibald, who had sat out against Northwestern on Saturday with a sore back. “I decided to go out and attack and show everyone we’re for real.”
After Tuesday, Bradford hopes there will be no more doubts about that. After all, the Illini have ended a five-game losing streak against the Spartans. “This feels real good,” said Bradford. “Those guys have been kicking [us] for the last couple years. Tonight we felt like it was time for us to take over.”
