Indiana Muscles Past Illinois

Mike Davis wasn’t even sure Marco Killingsworth could play Tuesday night. Fortunately for Indiana, Killingsworth’s back proved strong enough to carry the Hoosiers.

Killingsworth overcame pregame back spasms to dominate the middle in the second half, Roderick Wilmont scored 17 points and the No. 13 Hoosiers upset No. 7 Illinois, 62-60, at Bloomington, Ind.

“I didn’t even think he could go,” Davis said. “But he fought through it and played a great second half.”

The Fighting Illini, 16-2 overall and 2-2 in the Big Ten, had no answer for the Hoosiers’ tandem.

Wilmont provided the spark in the first half after Indiana (11-3, 3-1) fell behind by 11 points. Killingsworth scored 20 of his 23 points in the second half and had 12 rebounds, one assist and four blocks.

But Wilmont was every bit as impressive. He tied a season high with 17 points, matched his career-high with nine rebounds and sparked an 18-0 first-half run that gave Indiana the momentum it needed.

After the game, Hoosiers fans poured onto the court, setting off a celebration that even Killingsworth joined.

“I jumped right in there because I’m not used to seeing that,” said Killingsworth, a fifth-year senior who transferred to Indiana from Auburn. “So I jumped in there with them.”

For Illinois, it was a rare bad game.

The Illini entered Tuesday with 55 victories in their last 57 regular-season games. They’d beaten Indiana five times in a row and have lost to only four Big Ten teams since Jan. 24, 2004 -- Iowa, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Indiana.

Shaun Pruitt led the Illini with a career-high 17 points. Brian Randle scored 15 and James Augustine had 11. Dee Brown, Illinois’ top player, was limited to five points but had 11 assists before fouling out.

And Illinois has lost two of its last three. Indiana has won 11 consecutive conference games at home.

“Marco’s a good player, and sooner or later he’s going to get some things,” Illinois Coach Bruce Weber said. “In the first half we did a good job fighting him, but it’s tough. He’s just good.”

Killingsworth’s ailing back needed more than a rubdown at the break.

“At halftime, I just prayed,” he said.

Davis directed his players to start exploiting the middle, especially after the Illini’s interior players started to get into foul trouble. This time, Killingsworth took advantage.

“It seemed like the rim was that big,” Killingsworth said, extending his hands.

“Stuff just started going in. I couldn’t believe some of the stuff that was going in.”

No. 5 Texas 80, Texas Tech 46 -- LaMarcus Aldridge scored 19 points and grabbed seven rebounds to lead the Longhorns at Austin, Texas.

Brad Buckman recovered from his latest leg injury to get 16 points and nine rebounds for Texas (15-2, 3-0 Big 12), which has won seven in a row.

Jarrius Jackson led the Red Raiders (10-8, 2-2) with 21 points.

No. 8 Villanova 73, Seton Hall 64 -- Randy Foye scored 19 points, Kyle Lowry had 14 and the Wildcats held off the Pirates at Villanova, Pa.

Seton Hall (9-6, 1-3) built a 13-point lead in the first half before Villanova (12-2, 3-1 Big East) came storming back.

No. 12 West Virginia 64, Providence 48 -- Kevin Pittsnogle had 16 points and 11 rebounds at Morgantown, W.Va., to help the Mountaineers (13-3, 5-0 Big East) win their 11th in a row.

It is the team’s longest streak since the Mountaineers won 22 in a row during the 1988-89 season. Randall Hanke led Providence (7-8, 0-4) with 14 points.

St. John’s 68, No. 17 Louisville 56 -- Eugene Lawrence matched his career high with 18 points, and the Red Storm shook off a horrid first half to beat the Cardinals (13-4, 1-3 Big East) at Madison Square Garden.

St. John’s (9-6, 2-2) trailed, 32-28, at halftime despite shooting only 25%.

No. 21 Boston College 63, Holy Cross 53 -- Craig Smith scored 19 points to surpass the 2,000-point milestone, and had a career-high 17 rebounds for the Eagles (13-4) at Worcester, Mass.

Kevin Hamilton scored 17 points for the Crusaders (9-9).