QUOTE(Gene Honda Civic @ Mar 19, 2006 -> 12:05 AM)
Let's remove the Illini for a second, and talk solely about the Indy-Gonzaga game.
Go back and read Rex and Greasy's posts this year. Indy lives and dies by the three pointer. Without White, they never developed a solid interior game. Yes, they had Killingsworth, but he doesn't like to move his feet on defense so he often puts himself in foul trouble, leaving Indy with no credible inside threat. -- In the game, Indy shot 36 three-point attempts to Gonzaga's 10. You can't complain about not getting to the line, when you're spending that much time beyond the other[/] line.
Illinois is much the same way. The motion offense that flourished last year with three guards often stagnated without a player willing to drive the ball. Dee never took enough initiative to put the team on his shoulders. He was consistently far too content to let the shot clock run down and chuck up a three pointer.
Today, late in the game when Washington went to a zone defense, the Illini just stared at it like it was something they had never seen before. They spent most of the possessions with 5 players beyond the three point circle, which -- this may come as a surprise to some -- is an area of the floor where you don't get fouled with any regularity.
But how about the fact that Illinois thrives on playing tough physical big 10 defense and they weren't allowed to?