IU Rebounds From Slow Start To Defeat Illinois By 14 To End Regular Season
Indiana took care of its job, and now all the Hoosiers can do is wait.
IU defeated Illinois 74-60 in Champaign, Illinois, Saturday to assure itself at least a No. 5 seed in the Big Ten Tournament. With some help from Nebraska on Sunday, the Hoosiers could jump into the No. 4 seed.
Indiana will either take a No. 4 or No. 5 seed into the Big Ten Tournament depending on the result of Sunday's Michigan State-Nebraska game that's set to tip off at 2 p.m. in Lincoln.
If the Spartans beat the Cornhuskers, as expected, the Hoosiers will take the No. 5 seed and play the winner of the No. 12/13 game around 2:30 p.m. at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
If Nebraska manages to upset Michigan State, Indiana will take the No. 4 seed and the double-bye that comes with it. That would advance the Hoosiers into the 2:30 p.m. game on Friday against the winner of the No. 5 vs. No. 12/13 game.
The Hoosiers wound up winning comfortably over the Illini, but the win was in doubt early on. Indiana was slow to get its offense going and fell behind by as many as 14 points with 8:44 left in the second quarter before ending the first half on a 24-8 run.
IU junior point guard Tyra Buss led the way with 21 points and 11 assists on 8-of-16 shooting. Senior guard Karlee McBride dropped 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting from long range. She also took, and missed, one layup.
Sophomore forward Kym Royster finished with a plus/minus of +24 in 15 minutes of work. She scored six points, filling in well for senior center Jenn Anderson (11 points) and junior forward Amanda Cahil (13 points, 15 rebounds) when they got into foul trouble early.
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