UI men-Purdue preview

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GAME 14

UI men at Purdue,

6 p.m. today

LINEUPS

ILLINOIS (12-1, 0-0 Big Ten)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Chester Frazier 6-2 Sr. 6.2

G Trent Meacham 6-2 Sr. 12.2

G Demetri McCamey 6-3 So. 12.2

F Mike Davis 6-9 So. 12.1

C Mike Tisdale 7-1 So. 11.6

Top reserves

F Dominique Keller 6-7 Jr. 6.2

G Calvin Brock 6-5 Sr. 4.8

G Alex Legion 6-5 So. 3.3

PURDUE (11-2, 0-0)

Probable starters

P Name HT. YR. PPG

G Lewis Jackson 5-9 Fr. 4.8

G E'Twaun Moore 6-3 So. 14.4

G Keaton Grant 6-4 Jr. 7.8

F Robbie Hummel 6-8 So. 14.4

F JaJuan Johnson 6-10 So. 12.3

Top reserves

G Marcus Green 6-4 Sr. 6.5

F Nemanja Calasan 6-9 Sr. 6.5

G Chris Kramer 6-3 Jr. 3.8

FACTS & FIGURES

Site: Mackey Arena (14,123), West Lafayette, Ind.

Radio: Brian Barnhart and Jerry Hester call the action on WDWS 1400-AM, WHMS 97.5-FM, WDAN 1490-AM, WDNL 102.1-FM and WPXN 104.9-FM.

TV: ESPN2. Dave O'Brien is on play-by-play duties, and Steve Lavin provides the expert analysis.

Series: Purdue leads 88-82. The Boilers also have doubled up the Illini in games in West Lafayette, holding a 56-27 edge. Purdue beat Illinois twice last season (74-67 and 83-75), while Illinois upset Purdue in the Big Ten tournament (74-67 in overtime).

Coaches: Bruce Weber (140-48 in sixth season at Illinois, 243-102 in 11th season overall); Matt Painter (67-42 in fourth season at Purdue and 92-47 in fifth season overall).

STORYLINES

1

Lew Jack's city

When Decatur Eisenhower product Lewis Jackson went home for Christmas, he heard all about one game: Purdue's visit to Illinois on Feb. 8. "Everybody tells me they're going to the game over there," Jackson said by phone Monday. "I understand it's a big deal because I'm from Illinois. But I have to focus like it's just another team. I can't worry about playing Illinois or trying to prove something for myself." The reigning News-Gazette All-State Player of the Year, Jackson was offered a UI scholarship but wasn't a recruiting priority. The freshman has started seven games for Purdue and said he doesn't hold a grudge. But that could be a case of being diplomatic. "I really don't know why they didn't want me," he said. "Maybe because you had Chester Frazier coming back. He had a four- or five-man rotation of guards. I really don't know. I don't know if it was my height (listed at 5-foot-9). I know there were rumors that people thought I wasn't going to qualify; maybe they believed that. I don't know. Only they know."

2

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

Illinois remained well outside the Top 25 polls when they were released Monday. In the USA Today/Coaches poll, the Illini actually were behind Missouri, a team they dismantled one week ago. Adding to the disrespect card: Purdue has sold out six home games against Big Ten teams, and tonight's game against Illinois isn't one of them. (But the Iowa game is one of them. Go figure.) As of Monday, there were about 2,000 tickets remaining, many of them likely to be scooped up by Illinois fans. Perhaps this lack of respect is telling of where Illinois stands on the national landscape, and perhaps it shows that a 16-19 record last season lingers on the minds of observers. "I think we'll know a lot more about our team over the first part of the (Big Ten) season, if we're going to be a pretender or a contender," Bruce Weber said Monday. That's because six of its next eight games will be played against ranked opponents. If Illinois can split road games at Purdue and Michigan (Sunday) to start this daunting stretch, it would be viewed as a success. "We know it's going to be tough," sophomore Mike Tisdale said. "The Big Ten is really good this year."

3

Illinotes

Illinois strayed from its usual playing rotation in a game Sunday against Eastern Michigan. So did Purdue in a game Sunday against Valparaiso. Purdue barely played reserve big man Nemanja Calasan (nine minutes) but used former walk-on Bobby Riddell (21 minutes). Weber and Matt Painter had their reasons; motivating certain players might be one of them. ... Purdue is optimistic guard Chris Kramer will return to the rotation after missing one game due to a foot injury. ... Weber said "our biggest fear" is handling Purdue's defensive pressure. Purdue is the Big Ten's best defensive team, at least statistically, by holding opponents to 35.1 percent shooting. ... Illinois is the only team without a player among the top 16 scorers in the Big Ten. ... As Purdue's coach, Painter is 3-2 against Illinois. Painter was one of Weber's assistants at SIU and attended Illini basketball camps as a kid. Weber, of course, was an assistant at Purdue for 19 seasons and is 2-2 in games at Purdue as the coach at Illinois. "Matt I'm very close to," Weber said. "I don't want to lose to him, and I'm sure he doesn't want to lose to us."

PREDICTION

Illinois 66, No. 9 Purdue 64

The keys for Illinois, according to Bruce Weber: limiting turnovers (Illinois had 62 in the three games against Purdue last season) and getting a memorable performance from someone. "Last year we beat them in overtime in the Big Ten tournament and Demetri (McCamey) was special (with 26 points)," Bruce Weber said. "I think we need one guy to be special to have a chance to win there." Illinois is the underdog, and is 2-0 in games as the underdog (Vanderbilt, Missouri). The Illini make it 3-0 with their first win against a Top 10 team since an upset of No. 7 Michigan State on Jan. 5, 2006. (N-G prediction record: 11-2)

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