The day after freaking tomorrow! We’re close enough now that Saturday actually feels like a basketball day.
Yesterday, four and three gave us a double feature. Today, two gets the floor to itself. We’ve got Joseph Bertrand making almost everything, Tyler Griffey getting loose at exactly the right time, and Michigan hanging around for ten minutes longer than anybody needed.
No. 2 and a whole lot of twos
Joseph Bertrand could make that little floater look awfully easy. On January 7, 2012, Illinois needed just about every one he could provide.
Bertrand scored 25 points on 11-for-12 shooting in a 59–54 win over Nebraska at Assembly Hall. All eleven of his baskets were twos. No. 2 was taking this countdown business seriously long before we got here.
The Illini were short on options. Sam Maniscalco was out, D.J. Richardson was dealing with a wrist injury, and Nebraska was crowding Meyers Leonard. Bertrand was making only his third career start.
He missed one shot all afternoon. Illinois still needed him to break a 54–54 tie in the final minute.
After a Nebraska turnover, Bertrand got into the lane and dropped in the floater that put Illinois ahead for good. Brandon Paul’s late free throws helped finish it.
There were 34 turnovers in that game. You probably wouldn’t hand somebody the full replay as an introduction to college basketball. Bertrand’s eleven makes, though? Those deserve another look.
Twenty-five of Illinois’ fifty-nine points came from a guy making his third start. Pretty damn useful afternoon.
Two points that sent everybody onto the floor
Tyler Griffey didn’t need a difficult shot on February 7, 2013. He needed somebody to forget where he was.
With 0.9 seconds left, Brandon Paul inbounded from the baseline, Griffey slipped behind Indiana’s defense, and the layup gave Illinois a 74–72 win over the No. 1 team in the country.
A two-point win, courtesy of about as welcome a two-pointer as Assembly Hall has ever seen.
Getting there was considerably less comfortable. Illinois trailed 70–61 with 3:33 remaining. D.J. Richardson scored eight straight Illini points during the comeback, then came up with the late steal that led to the final possession. Victor Oladipo blocked Richardson’s layup out of bounds, leaving just enough time for Griffey.
Richardson finished with 23 points. Paul had 21, and Griffey added fourteen and eight rebounds.
It’s easy to jump straight to the inbound play when this game comes up. Fair enough. But give D.J. his flowers while you’re watching it again. Illinois needed a whole lot of work before it could make the last basket look that simple.
Two overtimes, because Michigan wouldn’t just go home
On March 2, 2023, Illinois beat Michigan 91–87 in double overtime on Senior Night. Terrence Shannon Jr. and Matthew Mayer were honored before the game, then spent the evening making sure the celebration ended properly.
There were a few complications.
Illinois led 70–63 with 2:35 left in regulation. Michigan erased all seven points. Then the Wolverines went ahead 81–74 with 1:49 left in the first overtime.
Apparently one team blowing a seven-point lead wasn’t enough.
The Illini scored the last seven points of that overtime to force another one. Mayer then made three straight field goals to open the second extra period, finally giving Illinois some room to breathe.
Not much room. Hunter Dickinson pulled Michigan within one and had a free throw to tie it with forty-one seconds left. He missed, and Illinois finished the job at the line.
Mayer scored 24 and Shannon had 21. Between them, they supplied seventeen of Illinois’ twenty-one overtime points. Ty Rodgers added a then-career-high fourteen off the bench.
Dickinson finished with 31 points and sixteen rebounds. That is a helluva line to put up before leaving Champaign with a loss.
Fifty minutes was a little excessive, but the sellout crowd got its Senior Night win.
A floater to get out of trouble, a layup to beat No. 1, and two overtimes to send Michigan home unhappy. Two has done pretty well for itself.
Illinois opens its exhibition schedule at Cincinnati on Saturday, October 17. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. Central.
Two days. Let’s goooo