The Illini closed out the game at Iowa without folding down the stretch, which is a huge improvement over other games in this extremely frustrating Big 10 season for Illini fans. Shaun Pruitt played like he did last season, scoring 18 points and looking really talented on the offensive end. Shaun, where have you been all season?
Mike Davis reappeared in this game, getting 8 points in 22 minutes off the bench. Trent Meacham also had a nice game with 8 points, while McCamey and Frazier were cold from outside. The Illini defense was solid against Iowa, and rebounding was a plus, as well as turnovers (only 9 for the game). Box Score
The biggest story of the Iowa game was the Illini free throw shooting at a sizzling 84% for the game. Weber also was smart enough to remove Pruitt at the end of the game, even though he was 4 for 4 from the line. What caused the improvement in free throws? It was simple enough, Weber just got the players to stop so much shooting practice. My guess is that Weber emphasized free throws so much the players lost confidence or shot so much their muscles got tight in the game. Hard to figure, but keep it up guys.
So what next, can the Illini win the Big 10 tourney and make the NCAAs? Stranger things have happened, that's for sure. If the Illini have put their psychological difficulties behind them, they do have a shot at running the table in Indy. The reasons: they have nothing to lose, knowing they are out of an at-large bid, and frankly, they are one of the higher ranked schools in the country, number 38 according to Pomeroy. Sagarin has us at number 84. Who says you need to win to be ranked?
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