UNLV 64, Illinois 48: Illini lose third straight at United Center
By Herb Gould hgould@suntimes.com December 17, 2011 7:50PM
Illinois' head coach Bruce Weber watches from the sideline in the final seconds of the second half at the United Center Saturday, Dec. 17, 2011, in Chicago. | John J. Kim~Sun-Times
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Updated: January 19, 2012 11:18AM
Sweet Home Chicago? Not for No. 19 Illinois.
The Illini suffered their first defeat of the season, turning in a subpar performance in a
64-48 loss Saturday to UNLV at the United Center.
The defeat was Illinois’ third in a row and fifth in its last six visits to the United Center. Before that, the Illini (10-1) had won 18 consecutive games in the house Michael Jordan built.
‘‘This is my third year up here; I’m 0-3,’’ guard D.J. Richardson said. ‘‘It’s tough . . . coming up here [and] laying an egg.’’
Coach Bruce Weber tossed aside theories about distractions for the seven Illinois players from the Chicago area and about the team pressing because of the United Center drought.
‘‘I think it was more Vegas than anything,’’ Weber said after the Illini shot a season-low 28.6 percent and tied their season low for points. ‘‘They’re an experienced team, and they out-toughed us from the get-go. Some days are like this. It’s just sad that it happened here today because it’s a great chance to capitalize on being up here with recruits and fans.’’
In a building in which Illinois has won NCAA tournament games
and Big Ten tournaments, its
effort against the Runnin’ Rebels was nothing to write home about.
UNLV (10-2) put on a 14-2 surge to open a 33-22 halftime lead, then pushed the edge to 39-26 when the Illini shot 1-for-9 to start the second half. The Rebels opened their biggest lead at 50-34 before Illinois tried to cobble together a too-little, too-late comeback.
‘‘We waited too long to try to fight,’’ said Richardson, who led the Illini with 19 points and eight rebounds.
UNLV’s bench outscored Illi-
nois’ reserves 26-3. The Rebels dominated points in the paint
(36-16), fast-break points (12-0) and points off turnovers (17-9).
An orange-clad crowd of 15,144 came to cheer the Illini but ended up burying them with boos and derisive chants of ‘‘Air ball!’’ All told, Illinois shot eight air balls.
Why were the Illini so flat?
‘‘I wish I had an answer for you,’’ guard Sam Maniscalco said. ‘‘They came out swinging, and we didn’t punch back.’’
It was an especially difficult day for center Meyers Leonard (seven points, 1-for-6 free-throw shooting).
‘‘Meyers was thinking too much instead of just playing,’’
Weber said. ‘‘He’s young. He’s learning. All this stuff about the NBA [interest] is too much for him. Right now, he has to become a good college player. Maybe this will be good for him. Maybe he’ll settle down and come to practice and get better.’’
Practice, practice, practice. That’s Illinois’ mantra.
‘‘We have a lot to learn, a long way to go,’’ Weber said. ‘‘It’s not the end of the world, but it is a very disappointing day.’’
BECKMAN FILLING STAFF: Illinois football coach Tim Beckman said in a radio interview that he has lined up all but one assistant for his staff. Keith Gilmore, who was the defensive line coach
under fired Ron Zook, is the only assistant who has been named
officially because others are coaching bowl teams.
The Toledo (Ohio) Blade
reported Beckman has offered jobs to three of his assistants this season at Toledo: associate head coach/running-game coordinator Louis Ayeni, assistant head coach/co-defensive coordinator Mike Ward and recruiting
coordinator/tight ends coach Alex Golesh.
There is also speculation that Wyoming offensive coordinator Gregg Brandon will become Beckman’s offensive coordinator.
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