Hoosiers Now

LIVE BLOG: Follow Indiana's Game With Illinois in Real Time

Indiana is two games behind Illinois in the Big Ten race, but they get a chance to cut into that lead on Saturday when the two teams get together at Assembly Hall. Here's our live blog.

Tom Brew

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — It's a big day for Indiana basketball, as the Hoosiers try to get closer to the Big Ten lead with a win over first-place Illinois on Saturday at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall. 

Welcome to our live blog, where we'll keep you updated on all the news and views in real time as the Hoosiers take on the Illini.

The most recent items are at the top, so keep refreshing.

FINAL: Illinois had a great second half and they win this one easily, winning 74-57. Kofi Cockburn scores 17 points, and Trayce Jackson-Davis gets just six for Indiana. Disappointing ending considering how well Indiana battled in the first half. 

2:02 p.m. — Illinois has pretty much wrapped this one up now, leading 69-55 after a three-pointer by Da'monte Williams with 2:36 to go.

1:56 p.m. — Michael Durr and Khristian Lander both come in, but get exposed immediately. Lander has the ball stolen by Trent Frazier, and then Durr picks up his fifth foul and he's done for the day. He played only 1 minute, 4 seconds in the second half before fouling out.

1:53 p.m. — Trent Frazier is having a huge run here, and he's up to 21 points on the day now. Illnois' lead is up to 12 at 63-51.  Indiana's offense is slogging along right now.

1:50 p.m. — Today's officials: Bo Boroski, Courtney Green, Donnie Eppley.

1:49 p.m. — This is reminding me a bit of the loss at Penn State, where the Hoosiers go long stretches without getting good looks on the offensive end. Illinois on a 16-3 run.

1:43 p.m. — Indiana has gone nearly four minutes without scoring and the Illini go on a 10-0 run. Xavier Johnson hits a three for Indiana, cutting the lead to 52-49. But Illinois answers with six straight again, and suddenly the lead is up to nine at 58-49. Indiana is just 5-for-18 shooting in the second half.

1:39 p.m. — Michael Durr comes in after the timeout, and immediately picks up his fourth foul on a rebound attempt. That hurts. Trayce Jackson-Davis, who has two fouls, has to come back in. Trey Galloway in now, too.

1:35 p.m. — Trayce Jackson-Davis is really having a hard time getting comfortable on the offensive end. He's 3-for-7 from the field here in the second half, and the misses were rough and forced. He's also had three turnovers. We're down to 10:53 to go, and the Hoosiers haven't subbed at all yet. Illinois leads 48-46. 

1:30 p.m. — A pair of three-pointers from Jacob Grandison on consecutive possessions has given Illinois the lead at 48-46. Those are his first points of the game. The Illini had missed their first six threes of the half prior to those two buckets.

1:26 p.m — Back-to-back air balls from three for Illinois, and the Assembly Hall fans are loving that. Trayce Jackson-Davis then drives past Kofi Cockburn and scores, and Indiana leads 46-42.

1:19 p.m. — Really getting chippy out here. Xavier Johnson is definitely getting under Trent Frazier's skin, and he draws a foul for a push. We've reached the first media timeout and Indiana leads 44-42.

HALFTIME STATS: Xavier Johnson leads the Hoosiers in scoring with nine points. Parker Stewart has eight, Race Thompson has seven, and Tamar Bates has added a huge six points off the bench. Indiana shooting 41.4 percent from the field. Best stat? Only two turnovers for Indiana.

12:58 p.m. — We've reached halftime, and Indiana leads 36-34. They've done it without Trayce Jackson-Davis too, who only played four minutes and picked up two fouls without scoring. The much-anticipated battle of the big men has been odd. Michael Durr and Race Thompson have done a great job on Kofi Cockburn, who has only five points on 2-of-7 shooting. Cockburn is also just 1-for-4 from the free throw line.

12:54 p.m. — Race Thompson gets the call on Kofi Cockburn now and he's fronting him as much as he can. Illinois not adjusting very well to it.

12:50 p.m. — Indiana point guard Xavier Johnson gets fouled in the lane with the score tied at 28-28, We'll got to the under-4 medial timeout first before his two free throws.

12:45 p.m. — Michael Durr picks up his third foul at the 4:35 mark and he has to come out. Jordan Geronimo replaces him, so the Hoosiers will go small. We're tied at 26.

12:31 p.m. — Michael Durr continues to make things difficult for Kofi Cockburn. The Illinois big man is just 1-for-5 from the field. We're at the under-8 media timeout, and Indiana leads 23-17.

12:26 p.m. — Great start from Parker Stewart, who has eight points already. It's much needed. 

12:23 p.m. — Michael Durr with another great defensive play against Kofi Cockburn, stopping the Illini once again, and then Parker Stewart hits another three-pointer. Indiana goes ahead 19-11, and we're at the second media timeout. Great start for the Hoosiers.

12:20 p.m. — Strange set of events from the officials there. It looked like Trey Galloway tripped Andre Curbelo inadvertently and Indiana got the ball. Xavier Johnson dashed upcourt and Luke Goode grabbed him going up the court. He was called for a flagrant foul for not making a basketball play. Indiana gets one free throw, and then Trey Galloway hits a floater to put Indiana up 16-11.

12:15 p.m. — Luke Goode, the Fort Wayne, Ind., native who is playing in his first game at Assembly Hall, comes off the bench and hits his first three-pointer. Illinois pulls to within one, at 12-11.

12:10 p.m. — Trayce Jackson-Davis almost never makes bonehead plays, but he just did it there, picking up his second foul while defending a desperation three-pointer. You just can't do that, especially knowing Indiana needed him on the floor today.

12:08 p.m. — Getting threes in transition is key for Indiana today, and Parker Stewart finishes off a break. Indiana grabs its first lead at 7-4.

12:04 p.m. — Kofi Cockburn gets Trayce Jackson-Davis deep in the paint and draws a foul. That's what we need to watch. Mike Woodson talked about angles a lot on Friday when it comes to covering him, and Trayce got pinned there.

11:55 a.m. — Same starters for Indiana.

11:45 a.m. —  Indiana is first in the Big Ten and seventh in country in field goal percentage defense (37.3%). They also lead in Big Ten play in that category (39.8%). The Hoosiers also lead the league in scoring defense (63.4) overall and in conference play (63.8). In conference games, the Hoosiers are second in 3-point field goal defense (32.4%) and blocked shots per game (5.0). But they will be without guard Rob Phinisee (foot) on Saturday, and he is one of the Hoosiers' best perimeter defenders.

11:40 a.m. — Trayce Jackson Davis had 17 points against Maryland on Saturday, and now sits at 1,334 career points, good for 29th place all-time. Ted Kitchel is next at 1,336. For the complete list of 1,000-point scorers, CLICK HERE

11:35 a.m. — Indiana's Race Thompson has been helping out a lot on. the perimeter lately, too. He went 2-for-2 from deep in both wins over Penn State and Maryland, and that came after starting the season making just 4-of-29 from deep, just 13.8 percent.

11:30 a.m. — Indiana is wearing an alternate jersey Saturday, specially-designed “Cream” jersey from adidas. “We greatly appreciate our partnership with adidas and welcome the opportunity to team with them to feature three alternate uniforms during the 2021-22 season,” Indiana athletic director Scott Dolson said. “Not only do these special uniforms recognize the contributions of so many both inside and outside our program, but they also offer something different and special to our current student-athletes.”

Published
Tom Brew
TOM BREW

Tom Brew is an award-winning journalist who has worked at some of America's finest newspapers as a reporter and editor, including the Tampa Bay (Fla.) Times, the Indianapolis Star and the South Florida Sun-Sentinel. He has covered college sports in the digital platform for the past six years, including the last five years as publisher of HoosiersNow on the FanNation/Sports Illustrated network.

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