Illinois Follows Cook’s Lead
Senior forward Brian Cook scored 26 of his 30 points in the second half -- one fewer than the entire Michigan team -- to lead No. 13 Illinois to a 67-60 comeback victory over the Wolverines on Wednesday night at Champaign, Ill.
“He left it all on the floor,” Illinois Coach Bill Self said. “That’s what happens when you play 20 minutes and you play every possession like it’s your last.”
Because he did, the Fighting Illini (15-3, 5-2 Big Ten) were able to rally and snap Michigan’s 13-game winning streak.
They trailed, 47-39, with 9:07 to play when they went on a 16-6 run to take a two-point lead -- their first since the first half. They pulled away from that point to hand the Wolverines (13-7, 6-1) their first loss in conference play.
Coach Tommy Amaker said Michigan couldn’t find an answer for Cook in the second half.
“Obviously, he was the difference,” Amaker said. “He put his team on his back and they responded.”
Cook scored 18 of Illinois’ 22 points at one point in the second half and finished one shy of his career high.
“He was awesome. That’s the best half he’s played since I’ve coached him,” Self said. “He did it when there was no momentum and the deck was stacked against him. He spun a negative into a positive.”
Illinois opened by missing its first six shots and converted only 25% of its shots from the field in the first half.
The first half, we were terrible,” freshman James Augustine said. “I’m not going to sugarcoat it. We didn’t rebound, we didn’t play defense, we didn’t shoot well.”
LaVell Blanchard scored 18 points for Michigan. Chris Hunter added 11 points and 10 rebounds.
No. 8 Louisville 94, Southern Mississippi 65 -- Erik Brown scored a career-high 22 points at Hattiesburg, Miss., as the Cardinals (15-1, 6-0 Conference USA) extended their winning streak to 14 games. The Golden Eagles fell to 9-8 and 2-4.
No. 9 Oklahoma State 68, Iowa State 55 -- Victor Williams scored 18 points at Stillwater, Okla., as the Cowboys (17-1, 6-0 Big 12) won their 15th in a row. The Cyclones fell to 11-6 and 1-6.
No. 11 Notre Dame 88, West Virginia 69 -- Matt Carroll and Chris Thomas scored 18 points each at South Bend, Ind., as the Fighting Irish (17-3, 5-1 Big East) defeated the Mountaineers (11-7, 2-4).
Vanderbilt 94, No. 15 Georgia 91 -- Matt Freije scored a career-high 31 points at Nashville, Tenn., as the Commodores (9-8, 2-4 Southeastern Conference) snapped a three-game losing skid by upsetting the Bulldogs (12-5, 4-2).
No. 16 Creighton 74, Indiana State 46 -- Kyle Korver scored 14 points at Terre Haute, Ind., as the Blue Jays (18-2, 8-1 Missouri Valley Conference) rolled over the Sycamores (5-14, 1-7).
No. 18 Marquette 80, East Carolina 48 -- Dwyane Wade scored 25 points as the Golden Eagles (14-3, 6-1 Conference USA) routed the Pirates (11-7, 2-5) for their 26th consecutive victory at Milwaukee.
No. 21 Mississippi State 58, Mississippi 57 -- Derrick Zimmerman went end to end for a layup with 1.7 seconds left to complete a wild final minute and give the Bulldogs (13-4, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) the victory over the Rebels (12-5, 3-3) at Oxford, Miss.
Rutgers 68, No. 24 Syracuse 65 -- Jerome Coleman scored 26 of his 31 points in the second half and Herve Lamizana banked in a three-point basket with 16.6 seconds left to give the Scarlet Knights (9-9, 1-5 Big East) the victory over the Orangemen (13-3, 4-2) at Piscataway, N.J.
No. 25 Missouri 63, Nebraska 56 -- Arthur Johnson had 18 points and 11 rebounds at Lincoln, Neb., as the Tigers (12-4, 3-2 Big 12) rallied from a 13-point deficit to defeat the Cornhuskers (9-10, 1-5).
OTHER GAMES
Andre Emmett scored 19 points at Lubbock, Texas, as Texas Tech (12-4, 2-3 Big 12) defeated Colorado, 66-56, giving Red Raider Coach Bob Knight his 799th career victory. Knight goes for No. 800 Saturday when Texas Tech plays Texas A&M; in College Station, Texas. The game against Colorado (12-6, 2-3) became tense in the second half when Buffalo center David Harrison drew two quick technical fouls and appeared to want a fight with a Tech player. Police were called to escort Harrison off the court after he was ejected.... At West Lafayette, Ind., Willie Deane scored a season-high 27 points as Purdue (13-4, 5-1 Big Ten) defeated Ohio State, 70-65. Velimir Radinovic led Ohio State (9-9, 2-5) with 20 points.... At Madison, Wis., Kirk Penney scored 18 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to lead Wisconsin (14-4, 4-2 Big Ten) to a 69-50 victory over Northwestern (8-9, 0-6).... Rick Rickert made two free throws with 51 seconds left and then had the go-ahead free throws with 7.6 seconds to play at State College, Pa., as Minnesota (11-6, 3-3 Big Ten) defeated Penn State, 76-75. Brandon Watkins finished with 20 points for Penn State (5-12, 0-6).
Ron Slay scored 16 points at Knoxville, Tenn., as Tennessee (10-6, 3-3 Southeastern Conference) held on for a 60-56 victory over South Carolina 60-56 (7-9, 1-5).... Chris Bosh scored 22 points at Atlanta and Georgia Tech (10-7, 3-3 Atlantic Coast Conference) broke open a close game late for a 88-68 over North Carolina (11-8, 2-4).... Travis Watson had 20 points at Charlottesville, Va., as Virginia (12-6, 3-3 ACC) improved to 9-0 at home with an 85-72 victory over Florida State (10-8, 1-6).... Drake Diener’s only basket proved to be the game-winner as DePaul (11-6, 3-3 Conference USA) scored a 56-52 victory over Cincinnati (13-4, 6-1) at Rosemont, Ill.... Brooks Hall scored 20 points and Dayton (14-3, 6-0 Atlantic 10) led from the opening basket in an 83-55 victory over Massachusetts (7-12, 1-6) at Dayton, Ohio.
WOMEN
Alana Beard had 24 points at Raleigh, N.C., as No. 1 Duke (20-0, 8-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) rolled to a 54-44 victory over North Carolina State (9-10, 4-4). On Saturday, the Blue Devils will play No. 2 Connecticut (19-0, 7-0 Big East), which cruised to a 58-38 victory over Villanova (14-4, 5-3 Big East) at Storrs, Conn. The Huskies have won 58 games in a row.... Lindsey Wilson scored 27 points at Ames, Iowa, and Iowa State (8-9, 3-3 Big 12) ended Kansas State’s 13-game winning streak with a 74-59 victory over the Wildcats (18-2, 5-1).... Chelsea Trotter had 17 points at Palo Alto as No. 6 Stanford (16-2, 8-1 Pacific 10) rolled to a 72-48 victory over California (7-11, 3-6).... Stacy Stephens had 19 points and 14 rebounds at Norman, Okla., as No. 11 Texas (13-5, 6-1 Big 12) held on for a 60-54 victory over Oklahoma (13-6, 4-2).