Offensive efficiency carries Illinois past Purdue

Basketball games can be won and lost in many different ways. Yet, at the end of most days, there's nothing more elemental to round ball success than putting the orange sphere inside the orange rim and through the nylon net. Illinois did that on Sunday afternoon in Champaign, and Purdue didn't. Simply stated, that's why Michigan State is breathing a little easier at the moment.
 
Powered by quality shooting from their big men, the Fighting Illini bounced Purdue, 66-48, to knock the lads from West Lafayette two games behind the Spartans in the Big Ten race. A shorthanded group of Boilermakers competed admirably, but in the realm of marksmanship, they earned a failing grade. As a result, Bruce Weber's club was able to turn an evenly-fought contest into a deceptively large 18-point triumph.

So many ingredients are part of a winning basketball recipe, and for much of this tussle in an orange-drenched arena, Purdue dished up a heaping helping of determination. Winning loose ball battles and scratching out several second-chance baskets, Matt Painter's team stayed close to the Illini despite lacking the services of their best player, Robbie Hummel. By doing the dirty work near the rim, and receiving a superb performance from center JaJuan Johnson, the Boilermakers showed why only one Big Ten school--Tom Izzo's boys in East Lansing--had a better league mark heading into today's action. Sheer willpower was enabling a limited roster to remain competitive on the road against a formidable foe.
 
There was just one problem with the Purdue profile: The boys in black jerseys couldn't hit the side of a barn.
 
The Boilermakers weren't blowing layups against the Illini, but a lot of open 10-footers went clanging off the iron. Despite working hard to earn entirely decent shots, none of the visitors--with the exception of Johnson--could develop any offensive rhythm. This unfortunate reality never changed as the game progressed, and that's why Purdue's A-grade effort went for naught in enemy territory.

The Illini were hardly soft in this game, but against the physical Boilermakers, Weber's whiz kids didn't have to trade punches. They merely had to shoot the ball better, and that's exactly what they did. Mike Davis hit 7-of-14 shots on his way to 14 points, while center Mike Tisdale and forward Dominique Keller combined to hit 7-of-9 from the field, good for 16 more points. The Davis-Tisdale-Keller trio, all 6-7 or taller, were able to play the game over the top, shooting above smaller Purdue defenders. These clean looks enabled Illinois to be extremely efficient at the offensive end of the floor, and negate the gutsy, gritty, elbow-grease defense Purdue posed for 40 minutes. The visitors never stopped trying, but the difference in this duel was that Illinois knocked down more shots.
 
When all was said and done, Purdue--despite its thin bench--had outrebounded Illinois by three (34-31). That statistic just didn't mean much, however, in light of the fact that the Illini made six more field goal attempts (25 to 19) despite three fewer attempts (56 to Purdue's 59). The Boilermakers received an A for effort in this Sunday showdown, but their 32-percent shooting caught up with them in the end. Illinois--with a respectable 45-percent mark from the field--won the war despite losing several smaller battles during the course of this contest. 
 
Sometimes, the intangibles tell the tale in a Big Ten backyard brawl, but on this particular afternoon in the land of the Orange Crush, the old stand-by known as shooting made the difference for the home team. Illinois' sweep of the season series with Purdue--achieved with this victory--will boost the Illini's seeding come NCAA Tournament time. As for the Boilermakers, there's no shame in losing without Robbie Hummel; Purdue simply has to shoot the ball better as long as its bench remains limited. 

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