Theoretically, Illinois still can win the Big Ten title and make it to the Final Four this year. Hey, anything is possible.
But don’t count on it unless injured starting forward Lucas Johnson is a starter by Feb. 1, sixth man Damir Krupalija (sprained foot) is the first forward off the bench again soon and unless the Illini start playing a lot better than they have in their first two conference road games.
Illinois is hurting right now, physically and emotionally. Last-place Purdue (9-8, 1-2) proved that point Wednesday night when it punished the Illini 84-75 at Mackey Arena.
Defense? What defense? The Boilermakers had six players in double figures, led by forward Rodney Smith’s 17 points and Austin Parkinson’s 13. They shot 51.2 percent for the game and they killed the Illini at the line, making 35-of-46 free throws. Frank Williams paced Illinois with 23 points, Cory Bradford added 13 and Robert Archibald 12. But foul problems continued to plague forward Brian Cook, who scored only five points after spending much of the first half on the bench.
But Illinois coach Bill Self refused to use his team’s health as an excuse.
“No,” said Self when asked if lack of depth was the main reason for Illinois’ woes. “That’s a factor. But that’s not the reason we got beat. We can’t stop people and we’re not tough. That’s the biggest reason. We didn’t really have a low-post presence the second half, but our inability to guard them a lick was the reason we lost.”
It was the second straight defeat for ninth-ranked Illinois (12-4), dropping the nation’s preseason No. 3 team to 1-2 in the league and making a sweep of Michigan, Iowa and Wisconsin on the upcoming homestand mandatory. The Big Ten champion has finished with four or more losses only 16 times in 96 years.
Both coaches had expressed their displeasure this week with their teams’ lack of defensive intensity and in the opening minutes the players seemed to take the lectures to heart. Cook may have taken Self’s too much to heart, however. He was hit with his second personal at 16:04, played only 11 minutes in the first half and contributed only two points and one rebound.
Illinois led 41-40 at half but things unraveled quickly after the break.
John Allison and Joe Marshall sparked a 12-3 run that gave Purdue a 63-53 lead midway through the second half that they extended to 13 points with 7:15 remaining.
The closest the Illini came to overcoming it was a layup by Bradford with :33 left that cut the gap to 81-75. But it was a desperation rally.
“That’s more like it,” Purdue coach Gene Keady said. “We finally played defense with our feet and offense with our heads and everything fell into place. This is a big win for us. Holding them to 43 percent [shooting from the floor] is pretty nice.”
Unlike Self, Keady thought Illinois’ lack of depth upfront–especially with Cook out–was a factor in the game.
“They miss Lucas and they miss Krupalija,” Keady said. “It’s like we were last year [when Allison and Smith were sidelined]. You can’t take two of your better players out and not be hurt.”
