Indiana Falls Late at No. 10/11 Illinois

Saturday, January 27

Champaign, Ill.

3:00 PM

Indiana University

12-8,4-5Big Ten

Illinois

15-5,6-3Big Ten

Indiana

Illinois

1/27/2024 5:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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By Pete DiPrimio
IUHoosiers.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- It was there, all of it, for Indiana -- a road victory, a chance for a huge boost in its NCAA tourney prospects on Saturday.

Then it was gone.

Tenth-ranked Illinois snapped a 62-62 tie by outscoring the Hoosiers 8-0 in the final 76 seconds for a 70-62 final score.

"We played extremely well," coach Mike Woodson said on the post-game radio show, "but we just didn't play well enough to come out with a W."

Free throw shooting and 3-point shooting cost them.

IU (12-8 overall, 4-5 in the Big Ten) was 12-for-22 from the line and 0-for-9 on 3-pointers. It was the first time it hadn't made a 3-pointer in 14 years.

"We were awful at the free throw line," Woodson said via his radio show. "Those are points you can't go back and get. That makes it tough.

"On the 3-pointers, we had a couple of good looks, they just didn't fall."

That offset strong performances from Malik Reneau (21 points, seven rebounds), Mackenzie Mgbako (12 and 12), and Xavier Johnson (14 and four).

However, Johnson was 2-for-7 from the line. Reneau was 5-for-9.

"That's a big chunk of the free throws," Woodson said on the radio show. "In a close game, you have to make them. To me, there's no excuse."

IU held Illinois (15-5, 6-3), one of the Big Ten's best offensive teams, to 12 points below its season average, 37 percent shooting and 30 percent on 3-pointers.

"When you hold this team to 37 percent shooting, 30 from threes, you think you walk out with a win," Woodson said. "I thought our defense was excellent."

Credit a bye week of defensive emphasis.

"We had a week to work," Woodson said. "We went back to the basics."

IU, which remains without a victory over a ranked team or a Quad 1 squad this season, pushed Illinois to the limit without center Kel'el Ware, who missed his second straight game with an ankle injury.

The hope is he'll return for Tuesday's game against high-scoring Iowa.

"We have to get the big guy back," Woodson said on the radio show. "The fact we haven't had him the last couple of games, we were scraping and scratching trying to claw our way to a win. Hopefully, we'll get him back and ready for Tuesday."

Early on, IU took away Illinois' inside game while thriving inside. It scored the game's first five points and pressured Illinois into a 0-for-6 shooting start. With Johnson making a couple of acrobatic layups, the Hoosiers jumped ahead 14-6.

Dominant inside play -- led by Reneau's eight points -- pushed IU to a 20-12 lead. Illinois pushed back to come within one, at 24-23, with 4:46 left.

A steal and Trey Galloway dunk was offset by a 12-2 Illinois run before Anthony Walker and Johnson delivered late baskets for a 38-34 Illini halftime lead.

Reneau had 14 points. Johnson and Galloway each had eight. Mgbako had eight rebounds.

A Johnson technical foul resulted in a pair of second-half opening free throws for the Illini.

That ignited the Hoosiers. Mgbako scored six of IU's next seven points. Reneau made two free throws. Johnson, Mgbako, and Reneau scored baskets. The defense forced Illinois into nearly six minutes of empty possessions. The 13-0 run boosted the Hoosiers to a 49-42 lead at the 12:33 mark.

Nine straight Illini points produced a 51-49 lead with eight minutes left. It led 57-52 before Johnson made a pair of free throws. Guard Anthony Leal scored a layup for a 58-56 score.

Then Reneau fouled out.

Still, baskets by Mgbako and Walker forged a 62-62 tie with 1:16 left.

Victory was there for the taking.

Then it was gone.

"We have to regroup and get ready for Iowa," Woodson said on his radio show.