Lucas Johnson said the mysterious motivational guru that Illinois coach Bill Self invited to practice Tuesday told them to visualize victory.
The Fighting Head Cases did that and more Thursday night to win a game they had to win. When the Illini weren’t using their heads to gut out a 68-60 victory over Michigan, they used their elbows, their knees and their hearts.
With their season on the line, and their reputations as well, the Illini (16-7, 5-5) rallied from a 13-point first-half deficit to beat the Wolverines 68-60 at Crisler Arena, end a three-game Big Ten losing streak and nail down their first road victory of the season.
Apparently something finally clicked. And we don’t mean the sound Johnson and Brian Cook’s noggins made when they collided diving for a loose ball early in the second half.
Maybe it was all the criticism Frank Williams took this week for his sleepy-eyed demeanor on the court. Self defended Williams, saying his star’s “I didn’t give 100 percent against Michigan State” statement was taken too literally.
“I challenge anybody to say they give 100 percent every moment of every day,” Self said. “If you jog one possession you’re not giving 100 percent. Because Frank was being brutally honest it caused him a lot of flak. Although I wasn’t happy with his effort.”
Maybe it was the way Cook carried the team in the first half, scoring Illinois’ first 12 points on his way to a game-high 19.
“I didn’t feel like I had to carry the team,” he said. “I just took shots I’m good at and they went in.”
Maybe it was because Johnson turned in his best performance since returning from preseason knee surgery with 10 points, eight rebounds and four huge assists.
Maybe it was the toughness center Robert Archibald showed by playing with his shooting hand in a bandage after spraining it Sunday against Michigan State.
Or maybe, after losing three straight games and being called the biggest flop of the season and falling behind 27-14, the Illini decided they had had enough.
“In the first half, Michigan’s Dommanic Ingerson gave Lucas a nice jab to the jaw,” Self said, “and after that it was 55-33 us. That was when this team stood up.”
Johnson keyed the comeback with two three-pointers and a layup in a two-minute span. Sean Harrington and Cory Bradford added three-pointers in an 18-3 Illinois run to close out the half with the Illini up 32-30.
Williams joined the party in the second half, finishing with 10 points and three assists after a scoreless first 20 minutes. He had eight points in the last 5 1/2 minutes. A clutch three-pointer by Cook from the top of the key off a Johnson feed and a twisting layup by Archibald slammed the door on the Wolverines (9-11, 4-6).
The Illini said they were tired of having their toughness questioned. They also were angry.
“It started against Michigan State,” Archibald said. “That was almost surreal. We couldn’t believe we played that way, especially at home. Little things have been going wrong all season, and there have been times it snowballed. Tonight we didn’t let that happen.”
Said Cook: “It has been about six or seven games since we played that well at the end of a game. We still have a lot to prove, though. We’re not in the [NCAA] tournament yet. The difference was we didn’t even think about losing tonight.”
