Don’t be fooled by the score. If Illinois plays its Big Ten opener against Michigan State the way it played Sunday against Coppin State, the Illini’s unblemished record will have a big smudge on it.
Returning from their weeklong exam break, the ninth-ranked Illini scored a 61-42 victory over winless Coppin State that was very misleading.
The Illini did some good things in winning their 11th straight game to start the season. They made 50 percent of their shots. They held their opponents from the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference to 34 percent shooting. They outrebounded them 33-22. They had 15 assists.
But two other statistics were glaring signs of possible trouble down the road. The Illini had 16 turnovers, and their low-post team of 6-foot-10-inch starter Shaun Pruitt and 6-8 sub Marcus Arnold took only one shot between them. Pruitt was fouled three times in the act of shooting and Arnold, who made his only shot, was fouled on another scoring attempt.
Nevertheless, coach Bruce Weber said it’s essential that the twosome and 6-10 James Augustine, who made 5 of 7 shots and all five of his free throws for a game-high 15 points, get many more opportunities.
“Between them, Shaun and Marcus should get 10 looks,” Weber said. “We’ve got to get more inside touches for them and James if we’re going to be effective against quality teams. It’s a timing thing [for the big men], and our guards are a little tentative about making that entry pass into the post.
“If we get some early touches in the paint, it makes the defense collapse, and then we get an inside-outside game and open three-point shots. I don’t think there’s any doubt we have better inside scoring [potential] than we did last year. We’ve got to take advantage of it.
“The worst thing was the 16 turnovers against a zone defense. That really hurt us. When you turn it over you don’t get shots and get chances to get offensive rebounds. Today it prevented us from getting a run and getting the crowd into it. If we don’t get better, it’s going to catch up with us. We’ve got a pretty tough stretch to start the Big Ten. The Big Ten has five or six teams that have been in the Top 25 and maybe eight teams that could be in the NCAA tournament.”
Coppin State (0-8) is several cuts below NCAA tournament caliber this season. Coach Fang Mitchell has no seniors and had three freshmen and a sophomore in his starting lineup. He also has only two starters taller than 6-2: forwards Brian Chestnut, who stands 6-7, and Darryl Proctor, who is 6-4.
To compensate for the lack of experience and height, Mitchell’s team played a deliberate game that put the brakes on the normally up-tempo Illinois offense.
“It was a tough game for us because of their style of play,” point guard Dee Brown said. “I think we did a pretty job of guarding, but we could have been better in the second half.”
The Illini won without forward Brian Randle, who twisted his right ankle in practice Wednesday. Warren Carter replaced Randle in the starting lineup.
Carter played a productive 19 minutes. The 6-9 junior had seven points, grabbed six rebounds and blocked two shots.
The absence of Randle and the lopsided score also enabled Weber to give 6-4 redshirt freshman swingman Calvin Brock 20 minutes of playing time. Brock delivered six points and six rebounds.
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nmilbert@tribune.com
