Indiana began the season with 12 consecutive victories.But coach Tom Crean said IU is a better team now than they were after capturing that 12th straight victory Dec. 22 against Maryland-Baltimore County.The No.BLOOMINGTON – Indiana’s shooting touch went away. And the team’s lead followed.
The Hoosiers squandered a 15-point lead, falling to Illinois 66-60 in front of 16,634 fans Saturday at Assembly Hall.
IU shot 56 percent from the field in the first half, including making 5 of 6 three-pointers, to lead 41-28 at halftime.
But the Hoosiers shot 28.6 percent after halftime, making just 1 of 11 three-point attempts, as their lead slipped away.
“We didn’t shoot it as well in the second half. It wasn’t shot selection as much as some of the shots didn’t go in,” IU coach Tom Crean said.
“We’ve got some very disappointed guys in the sense of they know they can do more. It’s a hurt locker room, and when you fight like that, it should be.”
D.J. Richardson made a jumper with 1:16 to go to give the Illini a 61-60 lead. Mike Tisdale gave Illinois breathing room with a jumper with 38 seconds remaining.
“We’ve been down 23 and 21 in other games, so we do keep our poise,” Illinois coach Bruce Weber said.
The Hoosiers were outscored 18-3 in the final 8:27.
“We rushed shots and did not trust our offense,” sophomore guard Verdell Jones III said.
The Illini (11-5, 3-0 Big Ten) also benefited from the foul line, going 27 for 39. Tisdale was 13 for 14 on free throws, finishing with 27 points. Demetri McCamey went 11 for 16 from the foul line. He had 19 points.
“We fouled a lot, played with our hands too much. They killed us on the free-throw line,” freshman guard Jordan Hulls said. “That’s what won the game for them, I think. They got to the free-throw line way more times than we did (IU was 10 for 18), and that killed us.”
Jones led the Hoosiers with 13 points. Hulls had 12 points, going 3 for 6 on three-pointers. Devan Dumes and Christian Watford both scored 10 points.
The Hoosiers (7-8, 1-2) used a 13-1 run midway through the first half to build a 19-9 lead. At one point, the Illini went nearly 10 minutes without a field goal.
A Watford jumper at the start of the second half put IU ahead 43-28.
The Illini slowly chipped away. Indiana still led by nine when Dumes made a three-pointer with 8:28 remaining. The Hoosiers only made one more basket.
Richardson’s jumper gave the Illini their first lead since 8-6 with 17:03 left in the first half. Once they regained the lead, they never relinquished it again.
