Bench Gives Illinois Win Over Rutgers, EIU Hands SIUE Loss

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Published on February 26 2018 10:11 am
Last Updated on February 26 2018 10:21 am

PISCATAWAY, N.J. (AP) – Michael Finke and Aaron Jordan came off the bench to combine for 34 points and lead Illinois past Rutgers 75-62 on Sunday.

Finke scored 19 points on 6-of-10 shooting and Jordan poured in 15 points on 5-of-7 shooting as Illinois' bench outscored Rutgers' 37-5.

Deshawn Freeman blocked a shot by Trent Frazier and then assisted Eugene Omoruyi (14 points) on a fast-break layup to give Rutgers (13-18, 3-15 Big Ten) a 36-35 lead.

However, Frazier answered with a 3-pointer as Illinois (14-17, 4-14) retook a lead they would never surrender, building it to as much as 15.

Illinois led 15-9 after Mark Alstork made a layup midway through the first half. While Rutgers was able to overcome the early deficit and trade leads, Illinois was able to build a lead of seven before taking a 35-30 lead into half.

Leron Black added 14 points for the Fighting Illini, who picked up their first road win of the season.

Corey Sanders scored 18 points, six rebounds and four assists for Rutgers.

The Fighting Illini will take on either Northwestern or Iowa in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday at 5:30 pm CT/4:30 CT.
Illini Postgame Notes

• With the win, Illinois finishes the 2017-18 regular season 14-17 overall and 4-14 in Big Ten play, tied for 11th place.

• The road victory was the first for Illinois this season. The Illini went 1-10 in true road games in 2017-18.

• The game wrapped up a string of 4 games in 8 days to close the regular season. Illinois went 2-2 in those games, beating Nebraska (2/18) and Rutgers (2/25), while falling to #2 Michigan State (2/20) and #9 Purdue (2/22).

• The Illini bench outscored the Rutgers bench, 37-5, marking the 24th time in 31 games the Illinois bench outscored its opponent this season.

• RS junior forward Michael Finke scored a game high 19 points, his highest point total since scoring 19 against Longwood on Dec. 13. Finke hit 6-of-10 from the field, 2-of-4 from three-point range and 5-of-7 from the FT line while pulling down six rebounds.

• Junior guard Aaron Jordan scored 15 points on 5-of-7 FG and 2-of-3 3FG, his highest scoring output since scoring 18 points against Iowa on Jan. 11.

• RS junior forward Leron Black scored 14 points, ending his streak of four straight 20+ point games. It was his 26th game in double figures this season.

• Freshman Da'Monte Williams tied his career high with eight rebounds  in 16 minutes. He also had eight boards at Minnesota on Jan. 3.

• Freshman guard Mark Smith did not play in the game due to illness.

• The Fighting Illini head straight to New York City for the 2018 Big Ten Tournament, which starts on Wednesday, Feb. 28, rather than traveling back to Champaign-Urbana between games.


Big Ten Tournament

The bracket is set for the 2018 Big Ten Tournament. The 21st annual event will be contested Feb. 28-March 4 at Madison Square Garden in New York.

The Fighting Illini (14-17, 4-14) are the No. 13 seed and will face No. 12 seed Iowa (13-18, 4-14) in the first round on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at 5:30 p.m. ET/4:30 CT on BTN. The winner of the game will move on to face No. 5 seed Michigan (24-7, 13-5) on Thursday, March 1, at approx. 2:30 p.m. ET/1:30 CT.

Illinois and Iowa faced-off one time during the regular season, with the Hawkeyes winning an overtime thriller at State Farm Center, 104-97. Freshman Trent Frazier led the way for the Illini, pouring in 27 points, while Leron Black and Aaron Jordan each scored 18 points.

All-session tickets remain available at the Madison Square Garden box office, Ticketmaster.com or charge by phone at 800-745-3000. Single-session tickets will go on sale beginning at Noon ET on Monday.

For more information on the Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament, go to www.BigTen.org/MBBT.

 

EIU 68, SIUE 56

Eastern Illinois men’s basketball sent the four members of its senior class out with a victory at home as the Panthers closed out the regular season with a 68-56 win over SIUE on Saturday afternoon in Lantz Arena.

With the win EIU locked up the seven seed in the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and will play the 8:30 pm game on Wednesday night against either Jacksonville State or Tennessee State based on outcomes later Saturday evening.   EIU is now 11-18 overall, 7-11 in the OVC. SIUE fell to 9-20 overall, 5-13 in the OVC but the Cougars did qualify for the OVC Tournament as the No. 8 seed based on other results in conference games.

After the two teams traded the lead six times just over midway through the second half, Jajuan Starks hit a jumper at the 7:03 mark that sparked a 14-0 run by the Panthers to give them a commanding lead.  Senior Ray Crossland followed Starks bucket with a 3-pointer as he scored six of his season high 18 points during the decisive run.

SIUE had jumped out to quick 10-2 lead to open the game with Christian Ellis scoring on a three point play and Jalen Henry draining a 3-pointer from the top of the key.  The Panthers would answer with a quick run of their own as senior Montell Goodwin’s lay-up with 10:57 to play in the first gave the Panthers a 13-12 lead.  Goodwin finished with 12 points as three of EIU’s four seniors scored in double figures.

The two teams stayed within striking distance of each other for the remainder of the first half with EIU leading 32-28 at the half.  The Panthers scored their final bucket of the half on a steal by Crossland, finished with a coast-to-coast lay-up.

EIU pushed its lead out to six points early in the second half on three free throws by Goodwin.  SIUE would eventually tie the game for the fourth time on a lay-up by David McFarland with 9:55 to play in the game and the score tied 43-43.  That was the final tie prior to Starks bucket that began the Panthers late run.

Similar to EIU’s win at SIUE back in early February the Panthers made free throws when they needed them going 11-of-15 from the stripe in the second half.  Crossland, Goodwin and Mack Smith all made free throws in the final 35 seconds to help seal the win.  Smith scored 12 points while Muusa Dama rounded out the EIU seniors in double figures with 12 points.  It was the final home game for Crossland, Goodwin, Dama and DeVantae’ Price.

Henry scored ten of his game high 20 points in the first half.  Keenan Simmons posted a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds.  Ellis added ten points.


OVC Championship Has Been Scheduled

The field for the 2018 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship Presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com has been set after the final day of the regular season.

SIUE, the No. 8 seed will open play with a first-round contest against No. 5 seed Tennessee Tech Wednesday at 6:30 p.m.

Murray State will be the No. 1 seed after winning its record 25th OVC regular season championship. The Racers finished 16-2 in OVC play, are 24-5 overall and have won 11-straight games entering the postseason. Belmont, who had been the top seed each of the past two years, will be the No. 2 seed after finishing 15-3 in league play. The Bruins are 23-8 overall on the season. The Racers and Bruins each receive double byes to the semifinals of the tournament and will open play on Friday night.

Austin Peay, the 2016 tournament champions, earned the No. 3 seed while defending champion Jacksonville State will be the No. 4 seed. Both of those teams receive a single bye to Thursday's quarterfinals.

The field is rounded out No. 5 seed Tennessee Tech, No. 6 seed Tennessee State, No. 7 seed Eastern Illinois and No. 8 seed SIUE.

Since 2011 the men's bracket has used a merit-based system that gives the No. 1 and 2 seeds a double bye to the semifinals while the No. 3 and 4 seeds get a single bye to the quarterfinals. The first round will match up the No. 5/8 and No. 6/7 seeds.

This year marks the first time the event has been held at the Ford Center, which opened in 2011 and is located in the core of Evansville's downtown district.

2018 Ohio Valley Conference Men's Basketball Championship Presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com (Ford Center - Evansville, Indiana)

First Round - Wednesday, February 28
Game 1 - #5 Tennessee Tech vs. #8 SIUE - 6:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Game 2 - #6 Tennessee State vs. #7 Eastern Illinois - 8:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)

Quarterfinals - Thursday, March 1
Game 3 - #4 Jacksonville State vs. Game 1 Winner - 6:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)
Game 4 - #3 Austin Peay vs. Game 2 Winner - 8:30 p.m. (OVC Digital Network)

Semifinals - Friday, March 2
Game 5 - #1 Murray State vs. Game 3 winner, 7:00 p.m. (ESPNU)
Game 6 - #2 Belmont vs. Game 4 winner, 9:00 p.m. (ESPNU)