It might be disrespectful to say, but the Iowa game provided an excellent opportunity for Bruce to really shake things up with minimal risk. It was clear from the outset that Bruce was unhappy with the direction that the Illini season seems to be headed. Starting out flat on defense and giving up an early lead, all the while being impatient on offense and making poor shot selections. It had happened all too often already this season, and based on the first five minutes of the Gonzaga game, it would only get worse as the level of competition increased.

The fact that the Illini would come storming back with several big shots and a much better emphasis on perimeter defense that would lead to Gonzaga turnovers should not be overlooked. At times this team can be very high scoring, and very tough defensively. Cutting the 20+ point deficits at Clemson and Gonzaga prove that it. What probably solidified Bruce's decision to so something drastic however was how the Illini handled themselves when they took the 8 point lead over the Bulldogs.

In the post game for last night's victory over the Hawkeyes, Bruce put his fist in the air and said that the team's shot clock violation was "Great! It's our first all season!" He went on to explain that if the Illini had held the ball for the full 35 seconds and not taken a shot three times when they had their lead over Gonzaga, they more than likely would have won the game. Instead the Illini took quick shots, did not get rebounds, and subsequently allowed the Bulldogs to close back in and eventually win the game. 

In short, Bruce is sick and tired of scoring 80 plus points and losing.

Thus the change in the starting lineup last night. When I looked out at the floor and saw no Demetri McCamey, and no D.J. Richardson, but I did see Jeff Jordan and Bill Cole, I thought to myself "Wow there aren't a many sure points on the floor right now."

Thinking about it, a back court of Jeff/Cole/Brandon Paul is not too different from last year's lineup of Chester/Trent/DMAC in terms of defensive intensity. And last year's defensive oriented and big man mid range shooting offense took down a lot of very high quality teams. This years perimeter shooting up tempo back court has scored tons of points but has allowed lots of lesser teams to hang around or even beat them. 

Perhaps a more relaxed and methodical offense late in the game of both Bradley and Utah, two games where the Illini held a lead late, maybe those games don't end up becoming losses. As Bruce said in his post game "I know how to win." The Illini have had some explosive offensive outings lately and have had some spectacular numbers (how many times has Demetri gone for 20 and still the team ended up losing?) But the most important numbers are of course the wins. The stats we need to focus on from now on are assists, turnovers, opponent shooting percentage and most of all points in the paint.

I don't know what this will mean for the starting lineup going forward, but I have a feeling there will surely be plenty more minutes for Bill Cole and Jeff Jordan. And going forward, I know that Demetri  and D.J. might be taking more of their cues from those two supposedly off the bench guards.