Illinois' Big Ten Title Hopes End With 77-71 Loss To Purdue

For one half, the Illinois Fighting Illini looked like they were going to keep their hopes alive of winning the Big Ten conference regular season championship.

It all fell apart in the second half.

After leading by 10 in the first half, the Illini dropped a 77-71 decision to the Purdue Boilermakers Tuesday in Champaign. The Boilermakers' victory secured a second straight conference title. They are the first team to accomplish that in 17 years.

“A rebound, a loose ball. That's what sends you home in March,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “If that's the best team in the country, we're right there. But we've got to make plays.”

The Boilermakers were led by All-American center Zach Edey, who finshed with 28 points and eight rebounds. They outscored the Illini 43-31 in the second half.

“It was important for us to take care of the ball, not turn it over and make them earn everything,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said. “We did that in the second half. They played better than us in the first half."

The Illini were unable to recover from an unproductive game from guard Terrence Shannon. He finished with just 11 points, mostly because of foul trouble.

Forward Marcus Domask led the Illini with 20 points while Coleman Hawkins had 13 points and nine rebounds. The Boilermakers swept the season series between the teams.

The Illini (22-8, 13-6 in Big Ten) conclude the season Sunday on the road against Iowa. Tip-off is 6 p.m. CT. .

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Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com