The Illini could not pull off the upset of No.1 seeded Kansas, and their season comes to an end. The Illini played the Jayhawks tough for most of the game, but in the end the size advantage of Kansas was just too much. The Illinois Blog Hail to the Orange, reflects on how it all played out.
The Illini have played their last game of the 2010/2011 season, and like 67 other teams' seasons will be, it ended with a loss in the NCAA tournament. The Illini played very hard for the full forty minutes, and for about 36 minutes, they were within striking distance of a much stronger opponent.
To a large extent, the game played out like we thought it would, with the size and power advantage of the Morris twins being the difference in this game, and a big difference at that, as the two big men totaled 41 points and 25 rebounds. It was just too much for Mike Tisdale and Mike Davis, who gave great efforts but could not quite get over the hump.
Mike & Mike did get some production by stepping back and getting some separation, with Tisdale getting 13 points and 11 rebounds and Davis getting 17 points and 7 rebounds.
Demetri McCamey was dogged all night by the Kansas defense, and while he may have had some opportunities at points in this game, the shots were not falling, as he only got 6 points and 7 assists. Brandon Paul who was stellar against UNLV had a rough game with just 6 points.
At guard though, I have to tip my hat to D.J. Richardson overcoming his slump, which must have challenged his confidence, with a 15 point game off of the bench. Deej getting his groove back in these last two games is a good sign for next year, as he will be an anchor of that starting lineup.