Hoosiers Now

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

It's Indiana and Illinois on Saturday in a critical Big Ten game at Assembly Hall. Welcome to our live blog, with all the latest news and views straight from press row. Follow along in real time.

Tom Brew

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BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Indiana gets a chance to sweep Illinois for the first time since 2019 on Saturday when the Hoosiers entertain the Illini at Simon Skjodt Assembly Hall in a nationally televised game.

Indiana beat Illinois 80-65 on Jan. 19 in Champaign, and they are a half-game ahead of the Illini in the Big Ten standings. Welcome to our live blog, where we'll keep you updated with all the news and views on the game in real time straight from press row. We'll throw in highlights and opinion as well.

Enjoy the game.

2:15 p.m. — It's a final!!! Indiana breaks the press and Trayce Jackson-Davis finishes it off with a dunk. RJ Melendez actually gets a good look for the three just ahead of the buzzer. Indiana wins 71-68. Stories to come. 

2:10 p.m. — Iffy call on Jalen Hood-Schifino on a drive by Jaylen Epps with 16.7 seconds to go, but Epps misses the first free throw. Indiana calls a quick timeout before the second attempt. 

2:07 p.m. — Jalen Hood-Schifino forces up a bad shot, but gets a break when a foul is called with 30.7 seconds to go. He makes them both and Indiana leads 69-67. Illinois calls timeout at mid-court with 27.6 seconds to go. 

2:05 p.m. — Jalen Hood-Schifino hits a jumper to tie it at 67-all, and then Miller Kopp makes another big last-minute defensive play, and it's Indiana's ball again. Mike Woodson calls timeout with 43.7 seconds to go. 

1:59 p.m. — Tied at 65, Trayce Jackson-Davis goes up over Dain Dainja with four fouls. There's contact, but no call, and it's Illinois ball. Brad Underwood calls timeout with 1:49 to go. Scramble at the end of the shot clock, and Trayce Jackson-Davis saves it off an Illinois player.

1:51 p.m. — Race Thompson scores off a pass from Trayce Jackson-Davis to tie the game at 63-all, but he misses a free throw that could have put Indiana ahead. Final media timeout with 3:54 to go. Indiana just 1-for-5 from the line in the second half. 

1:40 p.m. — And now, we're tied at 56-56 after a Jalen Hood-Schifino three, an Illinois turnover and a Trayce Jackson-Davis basket. A couple of great hustle plays by Malik Reneau, too. 

1:35 p.m. — Indiana is trying to attack the basket a lot, but it's not really working. Illinois has eight blocked shots already, which is a season-high for an IU opponent. Six was the previous high at Michigan. At the under-8 timeout now and Illinois leads 54-51 with 7:55 to go. 

1:28 p.m. — We've hit the under-12 timeout and Illinois leads 50-44. Tough sledding offensively for the Hoosiers, just 4-for-15 from the field in the second half. There's 10:48 to go. 

1:11 p.m. — Illinois goes on a little 8-2 run early in the second half, and jumps out to a 46-37 lead. Mike Woodson has to take a timeout at the 16:21 mark.

12:50 p.m. — Trayce Jackson-Davis gets an offensive rebound and scores as the clock expires. He has 11 points now, and Indiana goes to the locker room trailing 38-35. 

12:45 p.m. — Illinois calls its use-it-or-lose-it timeout with 55 seconds to go. They lead 36-33. Freshman Jalen Hood-Schifino missed a mid-range shot just prior and he is 1-for-7 on the day so far. 

12:40 p.m. — Finally get to the under-4 media timeout and Illinois leads 36-33 witht 1:43 to go in the first half. Illinois with 10 offensive rebounds. Indiana 2-for-6 from three, and eight turnovers already.

12:25 p.m. — Illinois has hit five threes already, and takes a 25-23 lead with 8:24 to go. Also have nine offensive rebounds.

12:20 p.m. – Trayce Jackson-Davis has nine points already, passing Mike Woodson for No. 5 on Indiana's all-time scoring list. A.J. Guyton is next at No. 4.

12:15 p.m. — Malik Reneau is the first sub off the bench for Indiana, replacing Race Thompson. Indiana leads 13-10. with 13:55 to go. 

12:10 p.m. — We've hit the first media timeout and it's tied at 7-7. Miller Kopp with a three for the Hoosiers, plus hoops by Trey Galloway and Trayce Jackson-Davis. 

11:55 a.m. ET — Starters for Illinois are RJ Melendez, Jayden Epps, Matthew Mayer, Coleman Hawkins and Dain Dainja.

11:50 a.m. ET — The starters for Indiana today are the usuals, Trayce Jackson-Davis, Race Thompson, Miller Kopp, Trey Galloway and Jalen Hood-Schifino.

11:45 a.m.  ET — Today's officials assigned by the Big Ten are Kelly Pfeifer, Michael Irving, Eric Curry. 

11:40 a.m. ET — It's an early Noon ET start today, with the game on ESPN. Here's how to watch, plus a great preview of the game from Jack Ankony. CLICK HERE

11:35 a.m. ET — Race Thompson still rocking the headband. He's dressed and ready to go. Played well Wednesday in the Northwestern loss after missing a game at Michigan with knee discomfort. 

11:30 a.m. ET — Since everyone always wants to know about Indiana guard Xavier Johnson, he is street clothes again today and still not ready to play after having surgery late December to repair his broken foot. We will be doing a "Hoosier Roundtable'' podcast on Thursday, though, so we'll get a good update then.

Related stories on Indiana basketball

  • HOW TO WATCH: Indiana basketball (18-8, 9-6) hosts the Illinois Fighting Illini (17-8, 8-6) Here's how to watch, with game time and TV information, three keys to the game, the latest on the point spread, the coaching matchup, series history, stats, rankings and more. CLICK HERE
  • OPENING LINE: Indiana has won and covered in five straight Big Ten games inside the friendly confines of Assembly Hall, and more is expected on Saturday when Illinois comes to town. Here's the latest on the point spread, plus a great history of both teams against the spread. CLICK HERE
  • TOM BREW COLUMN: Illinois chose to not double-cover Trayce Jackson-Davis in January, and he made them pay with 35 points in the Hoosiers' blowout win. The two teams get together again on Saturday in Bloomington, and surely Brad Underwood will have a better plan, right? Or not. Who knows. CLICK HERE
  • SHANNON OUT FOR ILLINOIS: Illinois leading scorer Terrence Shannon Jr. will not play on Saturday at Indiana after suffering a concussion at Penn State on Tuesday. CLICK HERE
  • UNDERWOOD PREVIEWS INDIANA: Illinois coach Brad Underwood met with the media on Friday, ahead of his team's road trip to Indiana on Saturday. Here's what he said about the Hoosiers. CLICK HERE
  • SCORING LIST: Indiana star Trayce Jackson-Davis needs just six points on Saturday to move into the No. 5 spot on IU's all-time scoring list. The man he's passing? His head coach, Mike Woodson. Here's the updated list. CLICK HERE
  • BRACKETOLOGY: On the latest Bracketology by ESPN's Joe Lunardi, Indiana moved down to a No. 5 seed, and a pair of blue blood programs highlight a potential matchup in the First Four. CLICK HERE
  • INDIANA SCHEDULE: Here is the complete 2022-23 Indiana men's basketball schedule, with dates, gametimes and locations, plus links to all the stories from games played so far. CLICK HERE
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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