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Indiana takes down No. 20 Illinois

Jan 28, 2011 - 6:21 AM Bloomington, IN (Sports Network) - Jordan Hulls scored 18 points, Christian Watford had 16 and Indiana knocked off No. 20 Illinois on Thursday to snap a four-game losing streak against its conference foe.

The Hoosiers (11-10, 2-6 Big Ten) also ended a two-game losing streak overall.

The Illini had an opportunity to take the lead down the stretch, but Mike Tisdale threw the ball out of bounds with 16 seconds remaining.

After Hulls buried two free throws, D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul both missed potential game-tying three-pointers in the final six seconds as Illinois (14-7, 4-4) lost for the fourth time in five games.

"You finally saw what happens when our team brings their true practice game to the real game," said Indiana head coach Tom Crean. "And we got [Illinois'] 'A' game, in the sense of that they came to play. They were really good. And we were really good too."

Mike Davis had 14 points to lead the Illini, who shot just 32 percent for the game. They shot 22 percent (5-for-23) in the second half after taking a 32-30 lead into the break.

"They got off to a good start, got us in a hole. We responded and battled and had the lead at halftime, and we just kept talking about grinding it out," said Illinois head coach Bruce Weber.

"But a credit to them. They played their hearts out."

Paul hit a three-pointer to give Illinois a 49-46 lead with 2:44 remaining -- the 13th lead change in a back-and-forth battle. But they were the final Illini points of the game.

The lead would only change hands one more time and remain in Indiana's favor the rest of the way.

Watford made two free throws to draw the Hoosiers within a point, and Tom Pritchard's layup moved them in front for good at 50-49 with 38 seconds left. After Tisdale threw the ball out of bounds on a sloppy possession, Hulls' free throws made it a three-point game with 12 ticks left.

Still, Illinois got two more chances to tie it.

Indiana knocked the ball out of bounds after Richardson missed his three, giving Illinois the ball back with two seconds left. Paul pumped-faked to get a step closer to the three-point arc on his shot, but it clanked off the back rim at the buzzer to end the game.

Game Notes

Indiana took an 83-82 lead in the all-time series...Jereme Richmond had nine points and a game-high 11 rebounds for Illinois.