Illinois coach John Groce called Thursday’s loss to Michigan State “embarrassing.” Guard Malcolm Hill described it as “disappointing.”
After the Illini were destroyed in a 25-point loss to the Spartans, Groce wasn’t done with his team. Practices were “hell,” Hill said.
The point Groce was trying to make apparently was received.
The Illini put together their most important victory of the season — and one of the most surprising in the Big Ten — on Sunday, beating No. 20 Purdue 84-70 at the State Farm Center.
“We wanted to come out and play the Illinois way,” Groce said. “Moving forward, that effort we played with, that energy, that has to be the bar.”
Nobody was more impressive than the duo of Hill and Kendrick Nunn, who returned from a one-game absence while attending the birth of his child. Hill scored 30 points, while Nunn added another 22 points.
Keep in mind, Illinois’ point total against Michigan State was 54 points, with Hill scoring only 10.
“For them to be really successful, both of them have to have it going at the same time,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “If you can slow one of them down I thought we could be in good shape. The hardest thing for us was stopping them. We simply couldn’t slow those guys down.”
Nunn beamed while he talked about the birth of his son, Kason Lee, and his performance on the court, which included a dazzling dunk over 6-foot-9 freshman forward Caleb Swanigan in the second half. Nunn scored the first nine points in the second half and scored all but four of his points after halftime.
“It’s been a long week for me,” Nunn said. “I’m proud of my son’s birth and I’m glad we came out with a win.”
Said Hill: “I had complete confidence in (Nunn) that he was going to explode in the second half. We just feed off each other.”
The Illini (9-8, 1-3 Big Ten) exceeded expectations and met their own potential against the Boilermakers.
They nullified Purdue’s impressive frontcourt, holding the Boilermakers (14-3, 2-2) to a season-low 31 rebounds, just one block and not allowing them to dominate inside. Illinois also connected on 23 of 28 free throws, while the Boilermakers managed just 9 of 11.
Illinois shot a season-best 54.2 percent from the field, including 9 of 17 on 3-pointers, against the nation’s top-rated defensive team.
The trick now for Illinois is making its first Big Ten victory of the season a transformative one.
“I’m not interested in doing that just one day or a couple practices,” Groce said. “We have to do that every day. That’s the standard. That’s the expectation moving forward.”
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