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If there has been a one very consistent gripe about this Illini team this year, it has been that they do not know how to handle a final possession. Utah, Georgia and Gonzaga would all have been wins had the Illini handled themselves then like they did today. Demetri McCamey has had the blame laid on him for those losses, so after the way Demetri did what he did today, he should get all the credit he deserves and more.

When asked what the difference between today's last second shot and others he has taken Demetri simply responded "I made it."

• Its getting redundant, but I feel that Demetri's stat line is worth mentioning 19 points, 8 assists and a rebound, something that tells you even more though is the amount of minutes he had today 36. All of those minutes on the bench were in the first half. When he was sitting on the bench, the Illini netted -9 points to the Hoosiers. They need him on the floor because aside from just being able to see his team mates when they're open, force defenses to cheat over to him and being one of the best 3 point shooters on the team, he is also the only player who can make things work when everything else breaks down. He has turned more lost possessions into positives than I can count, today's game winner is only the latest example.
• Bill Cole has been a long favorite of the blog for his workman like stats and hard nosed defense, but these last few games he has proven that he isn't just a nice dose of energy off of the bench, he is a critical player. He is has been the guy that defenses cheat off of in order to double up on Demetri, and he has has started to make those open shots. When he has started recently the scores among all players has started to even out, and trust me thats a good thing.

• Indiana is admittedly not exactly a win we should celebrate too loudly about, this blog is still in bunker mode, and is determined to treat this game as if its just as important as any other, because frankly it is. Its just as important not to lose to the Indianas and Iowas as it is to beat the Purdues and MSUs
• Verdell Jones III, local Champaign product, has got to get some props for his play today. Playing in the arena that he wanted to as a kid against his home town team  gave him some very good inspiration today. He can do a lot for that Hoosier team, and is being relied upon just as much as Demetri is on the Illini. Jones scored the game high 22 points in his 38 minutes and was 10-12 at the line. I am not so biased that I can't recognize skill, and I think given the final product of VJIII Bruce may have a small twinge of regret for not offering him. Not that we are short on quality at guard.
• The Illini did for about the 5th game in a row have a second half dip in offensive production and defensive intensity, but also for the second game in a row manage to overcome this down the stretch. I'm not entirely sure there are going to be many opportunities for the Illini to squander a big lead in the second half, given the upcoming opponents, but it is something at least to be happy about.
• A shout out has to go to Tyler Griffey for his play today, especially in the first half, his 9 points and 4 rebounds don't tell the tale on how over matched the Indiana players looked when they were trying to guard him. He is much faster it seems than any of us really knew and were it not for his foul trouble he probably could have had a much bigger game than he did.
• I don't really know whats going on with Mike Davis, his minutes were down to 19 today and as a result was very much an afterthought to Griffey and Tisdale. He is a very up and down player now, and we can only hope that he can pull himself out of the slump. He did have at least one key play today, making a huge block in a late game Indiana possession, he may not be putting up double doubles anymore but something is better than nothing.