Illinois vs Michigan State Basketball Recap

Illinois 78, Michigan State 73

 
Many college basketball experts wondered if Illinois was good enough and tough enough to beat Michigan State, even on a night when the first-place team in the Big Ten lacked its best player. The issue remained in doubt for much of a tense evening at Assembly Hall, but when the Illini reached the business end of their showdown with Sparty, Demetri McCamey stepped into the breach.

In one of the more dominating performances of the 2010 season - anywhere and anytime - McCamey singlehandedly led Illinois to a season-saving victory which bolstered the NCAA Tournament hopes of Coach Bruce Weber's ballclub.

If you're concerned only with point totals, you might not be wowed by McCamey's 22-point performance against Coach Tom Izzo's Spartans. However, points hardly tell the whole story in basketball. Anyone who watched the Illini stay on track for a tourney ticket in Champaign, Ill., could tell just how dominant McCamey was on a scintillating Saturday night. The 6-3 junior made sure that the absence of MSU point guard Kalin Lucas translated into a victory celebration for the Orange Crush fan base.

Just how special was McCamey against the Big Ten's prominent powerhouse? For one thing, McCamey's 22 points were supplemented by 11 assists. This shows that the native of Bellwood, Ill., was concerned with getting a quality shot for his offense, not with shooting the ball. When shots emerged for the on-court quarterback of the Illini, McCamey didn't hesitate to pull the trigger. But when Michigan State took away his shooting hand and pressed him on the perimeter, McCamey was able to drop a dime, usually to teammate Mike Davis, a long and rangy forward who chipped in 16 points for Illinois.

The pervasiveness of McCamey's impact on this game is further revealed in a rather amazing stat: In the final 29 minutes and 21 seconds of this game (basically three-fourths of the action), there were only seven Illinois field goals that were completely unrelated to McCamey. Yes, that's not a misprint: McCamey either scored or assisted on all but seven makes over the final 29:21 of this tussle. That's a remarkable record of accomplishment in the course o one basketball battle.

It also bears mentioning that McCamey didn't stuff the stat sheet in the final minutes of regulation. While Illinois's credentialed guard either scored or assisted on just three points in the final eight minutes, the threat of a pass or shot from No. 32 made Michigan State's defense hesitate for short but crucial stretches of time. This was never more apparent than on a telltale Illini possession with 1:22 left. MSU's Chris Allen flowed toward the top of the key to help out on McCamey, but that's precisely when Illinois guard Brandon Paul was able to take the ball strong to the rim from an angle on the right wing. Paul scored on a layup that broke a 68-all tie and restored a competitive advantage for Illinois. Even when McCamey didn't do much of anything, he still did something.

That's why Illinois is back on track for another NCAA Tournament berth.

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