Illinois Is No Longer Perfect

Its perfect season gone, the next challenge for Illinois is turning a loss into a lesson.

“Everyone says a loss will help. We’ll find out,” Coach Bruce Weber said. “We’ll learn from it and move on. This next stretch is the most important of the year, and that’s what people are going to remember.”

Ohio State reserve forward Matt Sylvester made a three-point basket with 5.1 seconds left Sunday to hand the top-ranked Illini their first defeat, 65-64.

The Illini (29-1, 15-1) were trying to cap the Big Ten’s first unbeaten season in 29 years. Instead, they frittered away a 12-point lead in the second half and didn’t score over the final three minutes.

Sylvester scored 25 points for a team that had been banned by its own administrators from the postseason to mitigate possible NCAA violations committed under former coach Jim O’Brien.

“We were in the huddle and Coach told us, ‘We’re not going halfway. We’re going for the win,’ ” Sylvester said.

First-year Coach Thad Matta drew up a play in which center Terence Dials set a pick and rolled to the basket and guard Tony Stockman was used as a decoy. The Illini bit on the deception.

“As we left the huddle, Matt said, ‘I’ll make the shot,’ ” Matta said. “And he did.”

Ohio State (19-12, 8-8), a team with problems all year hanging on to the ball, didn’t have a turnover in the second half.

It was the second season in a row a team coached by Matta ended a run at perfection. Matta’s Xavier team handed St. Joseph’s its first loss last season in the Atlantic 10 tournament.