Hoosiers Blitz Illini, Win 96-80

Saturday, January 7

Bloomington, Ind.

5:00 PM

Indiana University

11-5, 1-2B1G

Illinois

11-5, 1-2B1G

Illinois

Indiana

1/7/2017 7:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Postgame Notes VIDEO | Highlights VIDEO | Crean Postgame VIDEO | Players Postgame VIDEO | Players Postgame Postgame Notes Photo Gallery Postgame Quotes Postgame Notes

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The No. 25 ranked Indiana Hoosiers (11-5, 1-2) defeated the Illinois Fighting Illini (11-5, 1-2) by a score of 96-80 on Saturday evening.

James Blackmon Jr. paced the Hoosiers with 25 points. The junior knocked in five 3-point attempts. Blackmon Jr. shot 7-of-11 overall, chipped in four rebounds and three assists. Blackmon Jr. moves into the top 50 on the all-time scoring list, passing Luke Recker, Isiah Thomas and Matt Nover, with 984 career points. With just 16 more points, James will become the ninth player to eclipse the 1,000-point mark under head coach Tom Crean.

Indiana blitzed Illinois in the opening stages of the game. The Illini failed to score a point in the first seven minutes of the game, as the Hoosiers built a 15-0 lead. Indiana would never relinquish the advantage, leading the game wire to wire. IU held a 19-point lead heading into halftime, 48-29.

The ball movement was key to the offensive attack of the Hoosiers. The team assisted on 22 of 29 field goal makes. For the game IU limited the turnovers, committing just 12, including a mere four in the first half. The crisp ball movement led to many open looks, leading to a blistering 59 percent shooting percentage. Tonight marked the eighth game in which the Hoosier connected on at least 50 percent of their shot attempts.

Thomas Bryant controlled the paint, notching 20 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting. The 6-10 sophomore showed off his range by connecting on both of his 3-point attempts and added six rebounds.

Robert Johnson was able to get back into his shooting rhythm, pouring in 18 points. Outside of the scoring, Johnson's biggest role was flustering Illinois' top player, Malcolm Hill. To start the game, the 6-3 guard was charged with guarding the 6-6 swingman for the Illini. Johnson bothered Hill with his quickness and took him out of his game early. On a Hill drive midway through the first half, Johnson cut him off forcing Hill to shove off and pick up the offensive foul, his third of the contest. With Hill on the bench the Hoosiers were able to pull away.

OG Anunoby provided his weekly installment highlight footage. With the Illini sitting in a 2-3 zone early in the game, the sophomore was able to sneak behind the defense and sky for an alley-oop. The play brought the sellout crowd at Simon Skodjt Assembly Hall to their feet. Later in the half Anunoby drove baseline, rose up fora finger roll from way above the rim over an Illinois defender. OG finished the night in double figures with 12 points.

Indiana continued its utter dominance on the glass this season, outrebounding Illinois 31-28. Indiana has not been outrebounded in a single contest yet this season. Indiana has held the rebounding edge in each game outside of a tie with North Carolina.

Along with Anunoby, the Hoosier bench again stepped up in a big way. For the 11th game this season the bench has scored at least 20 points sparked by Devonte Green. After maneuvering towards the basket following a ball screen, the guard was able to make the layup and absorb the contact for an and-one opportunity. Later in the half he spotted up for a wide open corner three, which he buried. Green finished with five points and two assists. De'Ron Davis made the most of his eight minutes of action, scoring six points off of the bench.

Indiana will be back in action on Tuesday evening when they travel east to take on the Maryland Terrapins. Tuesday's game will mark IU's first conference road contest of the season. Tip time is slated for 9:00 p.m., and will air on ESPN.