Brandon Paul's 43 Point Game For The Ages Takes Down Ohio State 79-74

Brandon Paul. Brandon Paul. Brandon Paul. Is there much else I need to say? This was a transcendent performance by the junior, the former Illinois Mr Basketball. Brandon said so himself, he hasn't scored 40 in a game his whole life. He put 43 on the board against Ohio State, a top 5 team, defensively sound, and loaded with talent. This might be a once in a lifetime performance, but Paul picked one hell of a night to have it.

This was a game where Bruce leaned on his starters, none of the bench players, for either team actually, scored tonight, but its not like they needed it in the end. The team shot 60% from the field, held their own on defense on what might be the most prolific offense in the league.

The game was like a heavyweight boxing match, where each volley punches was countered by another. Illinois' at one point, trailed by 11 points, and then would lead by 5 in the final minute. Emotions flew wildly in both directions. There were something like 10 lead changes. Illinois was a ten point underdog on their home court, but would not lie down, and weathered the blistering scoring barrages of the Buckeyes.

The match up of the night, heading into the game, was obviously Meyers Leonard and Jared Sullinger, and though Sullinger outscored his Illini opponent, 21 to 14, Meyers really looked like he got the better of him when posting up down low. Six of Sullinger's points came from three point shooting, and for the first time in a while, he went up against a big who would not wilt from his bumps and pushes. Ohio State did not double Meyers early, and they paid for it, as many of the early looks came out of his shots and his kicks.

This was a cathartic win. Illinois has had three squeakers against Minnesota, Northwestern and Nebraska, but didn't look great doing so. Getting pasted by Purdue didn't help. But tonight went a long way in releasing that pent up tension. A Mister Basketball took the team on his back and carried them over a program that owns four of the last six Big Ten championships. If Illinois wants to get back into contention for one of those, it has to beat the guys that own it year in year out.

This win does a lot. Illinois now owns its signature win. It proved to the fans, and maybe themselves, that their talent is real. And at 4-1 the Illini are back in the conference race, with three winnable games ahead of them on the schedule. For all the nay saying, myself included, we saw tonight that Illinois does have what it takes to compete at a high tier. They can make that push we haven't had in the pass few years. They can break through the negativity and play stellar basketball. Now lets hope they can keep it up. Winning is fun after all. Go out there and enjoy this one guys.