Illinois knocks off No. 9 Purdue in OT

NCAA Basketball Betting Lines

12/30/2008 - West Lafayette, IN (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Tisdale scored 18 points to lead the Illinois Fighting Illini to a 71-67 overtime victory over the ninth-ranked Purdue Boilermakers in the Big Ten opener at Mackey Arena.

Alex Legion and Mike Davis both scored 12 points for the Illini (13-1, 1-0 Big Ten), who have won seven straight games. Trent Meacham added 11 points while Demetri McCamey scored 10 in the victory.

E'Twaun Moore scored 17 points for Purdue (11-3, 0-1), which saw its six-game win streak halted. JaJuan Johnson totaled 16 points and 15 rebounds and had a chance to win the game at the foul line in the final seconds of regulation, but came up short. Lewis Jackson registered 11 points and Robbie Hummel notched seven points and 11 boards in the loss.

The second half began with Illinois holding a three-point lead and the score remained close throughout the first portion of the stanza. With 7:15 to play in the game, a three-pointer by Moore brought Purdue within 43-42.

At the five-minute mark, the contest was knotted at 47-47 before Legion connected from beyond the arc to make it 50-47. Moore answered with a bucket and following an Illinois turnover, Hummel drilled a bucket that was originally counted as a three-pointer but after review it was only worth two and the hosts held a 51-50 lead.

Two foul shots by Tisdale put Illinois back on top, but Moore answered with a field goal on the other end. With just over two minutes to go, two successful shots from the charity stripe by Johnson gave Purdue a 55-52 edge before Meacham drained a bucket to again make it a one-point game with 1:32 on the clock.

A pair of missed shots by both teams eventually led to the Illini gaining possession, and after a timeout with 12.5 seconds to go, Meacham found Davis all alone in the paint and an easy layup gave Illinois a 56-55 lead. The Boilers quickly made their way to the other end and a foul put Johnson on the line with 1.9 ticks to play and two shots with a chance to essentially win it.

Johnson made the first to tie the score at 56-56, but his second attempt hit the front rim and the game went to overtime.

Purdue led 60-58 nearly two minutes into the extra session, but a jumper by Legion from the right side tied it up. A long alley-oop that was converted by Calvin Brock with 2:30 remaining gave Illinois a two-point edge and an ensuing bucket by Davis increased the margin to 64-60 with 1:13 to play.

Foul shots for both teams created a 65-62 score and Moore's driving layup brought Purdue within one with 38 seconds to play. Another free throw gave the visitors a three-point edge and a miss by Moore from the lane was Purdue's final threat.

The contest was tight in the first half with the teams trading baskets for most of the opening 20 minutes. Bobby Riddell's three-pointer brought Purdue within 6-4 over five minutes in. Near the midpoint of the stanza, with the Boilermakers holding a four-point lead, Tisdale's bucket cut the Illinois deficit to 12-10.

From there, a 10-2 run by the visitors gave them a 20-14 advantage with just over five minutes to go. The spurt was capped by an Legion basket. Two free throws by Johnson brought his team within 24-22, and after another free throw by Riddell and Meacham's running floater from the lane as the clock expired gave the Illini a 26-23 lead at the break.

Game Notes

Purdue fell to 8-2 at home this season, while Illinois improved to 2-0 on the road...Purdue leads the all-time series, 88-83...Illinois shot 42.9 percent from the field and made only one shot from three-point range (1-of-9)...Purdue won the battle on the glass, 47-41.

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Pacific-10 Conference odds

Teams that should be in: Stanford

Oregon and USC get their tickets punched after taking care of business this weekend. Yes, the Trojans' computer numbers aren't great, but there's no way the third-place team in this league is getting nixed. Grudgingly, I added Arizona after consultation with our Bracketologist. I don't know that Arizona will lose its last three (including a Pac-10 quarterfinal game), and even if the Cats do, I still can't see how they'd be left out, given the overall profile. That said, it bears watching, as three more L's would leave them at 18-12 (9-9) and on a 6-11 skid entering the Dance. It would be nice to see the Wildcats get at least one W in the Bay Area next week, as Cincinnati (albeit without Armein Kirkland and with a worse profile) was axed after a similar slide last season. I just couldn't rationalize having some of the other teams as locks and not having Arizona in that category -- there just aren't enough good teams behind the Cats to threaten their spot, it seems. Stanford has its fate in its own hands with the Arizona schools coming to the Farm to close out the regular season next weekend.

Should be in:

Stanford [17-10 (9-7), RPI: 40, SOS: 21] No shame in not getting a win in L.A., but that makes the home game against Arizona State a must-win ahead of what could be an intriguing meeting with Arizona should the Cats lose at Cal. Getting to 11 Pac-10 wins would make Selection Sunday much more comfortable, but 10's probably more than enough this season. The Cardinal have nonconference wins over Texas Tech and at Virginia to lean on, although they also lost badly to Air Force and Santa Clara at home.

Southeastern Conference odds
Work left to do: Alabama, Georgia, Mississippi, Mississippi State

It looks more and more possible that no one from the SEC West will make the NCAAs. How weird is that? Tennessee and Vandy move into the locks category after more good work this weekend. Kentucky stays there, although it would be smart for the Cats to handle Georgia at home Wednesday ahead of a trip to the Swamp. Could a disaster scenario (two more L's and a first-round SEC tourney exit) somehow dislodge the Cats despite their incredible computer numbers? Still unlikely, but not worth chancing it.

Work left to do:

Alabama [19-9 (6-8), RPI: 43, SOS: 47] The tough L at Tennessee was understandable, and even created some hope. Unfortunately, that hope was dashed by a home loss to Auburn, which leaves the Tide in some real trouble. There's still no signature win on the profile (no, Kentucky doesn't count), and the computer profile is weakening rapidly. The Tide conceivably could beat Ole Miss and win at Miss. State to get to 8-8 and clinch at least a share of the West crown, but that's probably not enough right now. The Tide will need to do some work in the SEC tourney.

Georgia [16-10 (8-6), RPI: 52, SOS: 23] This is the team with the best chance to make it from this section right now. The Bulldogs rebounded from a terrible performance at Ole Miss to beat down Miss. State. Now they are at Kentucky (king of the RPI 51-100 win) and home to Tennessee. That would be worth a lot of computer points to get both (which is doable), as both teams are in the top 11 in RPI. Finishing at least 9-7 is an absolute must, and I would feel much better about the Dawgs' chances if they got both to get to 10 SEC wins. They also beat Gonzaga, but lost to ACC bubblers Georgia Tech and Clemson.

Mississippi [18-10 (7-7), RPI: 63, SOS: 79] Like everyone else in this division, Ole Miss gacked up a chance to stake a claim, losing by double figures at South Carolina. Even 9-7 likely is not nearly enough with a nonconference profile devoid of anything notable.

Mississippi State [16-11 (7-7), RPI: 66, SOS: 37] With a chance to get in the mix, these Bulldogs were leashed by their Georgia counterparts. Could they get to 9-7? I guess -- although winning at Arkansas, then beating Alabama is no lock -- but would that mean all that much for a team with this overall profile? Probably not. There's nothing of note (on the good side) in the nonconference profile.

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