Illinois in Big Ten title hunt but needs help

By Jason Straight ~ The Associated Press

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- Illinois hit bottom in a 31-point loss to Indiana that would take time and a few more losses to get over.

It was a low point Bill Self doesn't need to remind his players of when the Illini face the Hoosiers a second time on Tuesday night.

"I don't think we'll talk about revenge as much, but certainly that was just a whooping that I don't know if anybody in our locker room had experienced in quite some time," the Illinois coach said Monday.

The 88-57 score was the most lopsided loss for the Illini in more than a decade and one that sapped the confidence from a team that was ranked in the Top 10 for most of the first half of the season.

Illinois, which started Big Ten play 1-2, would go on to lose its next two games and tumble to the bottom of the conference standings.

"That was a humbling experience, and I think that game certainly was a springboard in a negative way to the Ohio State game and the Michigan State loss at home," Self said. "Things are different now. We're confident, we're playing better and they've got a ton to play for as well, so it should be a great game."

No. 15 Illinois (21-7, 9-5 Big Ten) has certainly played like a different team since the Indiana game.

The Illini have won six straight and have managed to creep back into Big Ten contention. Illinois can win a share of the conference title if it wins its last two games against Indiana and Minnesota and current Big Ten leader Ohio State slips up in one of its final two contests.

It's a surprising turnaround, even for Self, who had predicted that Illinois was all but out of the conference title hunt.

"If we don't play well (Tuesday) night there's no reason to think about it. We still need some help, but not near as much as we did if we take care of our own business," Self said.

No. 25 Indiana (18-9, 10-4) can still win its first Big Ten title since 1993 but is now tied with Ohio State after losing to Michigan State 57-54 on Sunday.

Indiana travels to Illinois short on rest and with its best player nursing an injury.

Jared Jeffries, the fifth leading scorer in the Big Ten, is still bothered by a sore right ankle he injured earlier this month. He's expected to play Tuesday, but not at full strength.

"If Jared Jeffries is not in the game we're a below-average team. That's just a fact," Indiana coach Mike Davis said. "We've got to have Jeffries on the floor to have a chance because I don't think anyone on Illinois can guard him man-to-man."

Davis worries how his star forward and the rest of the Hoosiers will respond to one of its biggest games of the season on such little rest.

Indiana played at Michigan State on Sunday, spent one day in Bloomington, Ind., only to return to the road early Tuesday to leave for Champaign.

"Here we are competing for a Big Ten championship, and we have to play Sunday-Tuesday, and there is no way we can play Sunday-Tuesay and be at full strength," Davis said.