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McBride helps Illinois upset Indiana

Jan 24, 2007 - 6:05 AM CHAMPAIGN, Illinois (Ticker) -- Rich McBride helped coach Bruce Weber and Illinois get the better of Kelvin Sampson and Indiana.

McBride led a balanced scoring effort with 15 points as the Fighting Illini defeated the 24th-ranked Hoosiers, 51-43, in a matchup of Big Ten Conference rivals.

Warren Carter added 14 points and Shaun Pruitt 10 and 13 rebounds for Illinois (15-7, 3-4 Big Ten), which had lost five of its previous seven games.

"It's a survival game," Weber said. "It's a big game because Indiana's in the top 25, they're 4-1 in the league and we've already lost two games at home."

Weber has been furious with new Indiana coach Sampson for convincing prized point guard recruit Eric Gordon to switch his commitment from the Illini to the Hoosiers.

Illinois held just a 39-37 lead before Carter nailed a jumper with 5:45 remaining, triggering a 12-3 burst down the stretch.

D.J. White scored 12 points but was the only player in double figures for Indiana (14-5, 4-2), which had a five-game winning streak snapped.

It was the lowest scoring output in four games for White, who was limited to just eight shots attempts against Pruitt, who was coming off a 14-point, 19-rebound effort in the close loss to Wisconsin on Saturday.

"He's come a long way," Weber said of Pruitt. "I thought he did a nice job on D.J. White. He's really gotten better at fighting in the post."

Indiana held a 21-14 lead before Illinois closed the first half on a 9-2 run. The Illini opened the second half on an 8-0 run and led thereafter.

Illinois shot only 40.5 percent (17-of-42) from the floor but limited Indiana to 39 percent (17-of-44).

"Their defense was good, they've been a good defensive team all year," Sampson said. "I didn't think we were very good on offense. Their kids played with more of an urgency than our kids did."

The Illini had a big advantage at the line, sinking 13-of-20 free throws while the Hoosiers connected on just 4-of-6.