Big Ten Sunday Recap: Hoosiers win game of runs against Illini

The Indiana Hoosiers (14-4, 4-1) continued their streak of finishing games strong, with a win today on the road (80-74) against Illinois (12-7, 2-4).

The Hoosiers were able to overcome many different scoring runs by the Illini including a 11-2 start to the game, which got the sell out crowd going right from the beginning. With 5:22 remaining in the game, Illinois up 67-63, Troy Williams (12.9 ppg) was able to knock down a huge jump shot that sparked a 17-7 closing run that led to another Indiana win.

Indiana was led by Williams and freshman James Blackmon (16.4 ppg) who both finished the game with 21 points. The games leading scorer was Kendrick Nunn (9.7 ppg) of Illinois, who scored 24 points

Going into today's game we knew Indiana was going to look to shoot the ball from deep, leading the Big Ten in three pointers made with 146 on the season. Indiana shot 11-25 from behind the arc including James making 4 of 6. The Hoosiers weren't alone shooting the three today, with Illinois making 12-27, including Nunn with 6 and Ahmad Starks with 5 threes.

The Hoosiers have now won 4 games in the Big Ten including three in a row all coming down to the wire, with wins over Ohio State and Penn State both by three, and today's six point win, coach Crean believes his players are starting to mature at the right time of the season.

Indiana heads back to Bloomington this Thursday with a big time match up with top 25 ranked Maryland. Illinois looks to bounce back after this tough loss on Wednesday, when they take on the big seven footers and the Purdue Boilermakers.