On a night where senior point guard Yogi Ferrell became the all-time assists leader and the Indiana Hoosiers made more three pointers in a single game than they ever have before, Indiana demolished the Illinois Fighting Illini.
Assembly Hall was rocking, the Hoosiers came to play, records were being broken, but someone forgot to tell Illinois that they were facing the top two team in the Big Ten.
You Get A Record and You Get A Record
Ferrell came into the night just one assist shy of tying Michael Lewis' all-time assist record, and he didn't waste much time getting it on a Max Bielfeldt layup with 11:19 left in the first half. When asked about it after the game, Ferrell knew he was close to the record, but both him and Bielfeldt didn't know when he got it.
"Oh, is that what it was?" Ferrell said, sitting next to Bielfeldt on the podium. "I guess I got 20 dollars for you."
He was joking, but it was just that kind of night in Bloomington for the Hoosiers.
Indiana was hitting on all cylinders when it came to shooting the ball Tuesday night, as they shot 57 percent from the field while also shooting 53 percent from behind the arc. The 19 three pointers made were the most in a single Big Ten game in Indiana history.
"It's not like we come out and that's our game plan is to shoot threes," said Troy Williams. "Just shooting the right shot at the right time."
For a team missing arguably their best offensive player in James Blackmon Jr., this team isn't missing a beat on offense. The Hoosiers are looking like the team everyone expected them to be at the beginning of the season, but while the identity of this team will be that of an offensive team, their defense is stepping up in a big way.
"One of our key guys goes down, and it's that next-man up mentality of a freshman, you have to go in there and start playing like a veteran.," said Bielfeldt "So far we've seen some big things out of our young guys, and everyone that's stepped up, has stepped up really well."
First Half of Runs
Illinois may have ended up losing by 34, but the start of the game was a bit kinder to the Fighting Illini. Indiana did lead throughout the entire game, but once they opened up a 22-11 lead with 10:59 to play in the first half, Illinois went on a 10-0 run of their own to get back in it. It looked as if Illinois would give Indiana a game, but then two Bielfeldt free throws, a Robert Johnson three, and two Troy Williams dunks had the Hoosiers up double digits and Illinois didn't have an answer in them.
The Hoosiers were clicking as they had 27 assists on 37 made shots and everyone was contributing. By halftime Indiana was up 42-25 riding a 20-4 run, and the Fighting Illini had no shot.
Indiana's Big Second Half
The Hoosiers had a 17-point lead going into half, but once the second half began, it didn't take long for the Fighting Illini to fade.
It got down to 15 after a Kendrick Nunn three ball and was hanging around a 20-point Indiana lead, but then Max Bielfeldt, the fifth year senior transfer, decided to put things away, taking the game into his own hands.
A nice hook shot, two three pointers, and another jumper all from Bielfeldt had Indiana up 30 and what was once a chance to make it a respectable score for the Illini, turned into a demolition. Bielfeldt went on a 10-0 run all by himself and Assembly Hall was rocking.
They didn't stop there and just kept pouring it on. Nunn fouled out just past mid-way of the second half, and the Fighting Illini just couldn't wait to get back to Champaign.
Players Of Note
For Indiana, you could note every single player on the floor, but four Hoosiers scored in double figures. Troy Williams led with 21, Bielfeldt and Ferrell both had 16, and Johnson broke out of a bit of a slump with a 13-point performance. Thomas Bryant was also very active with nine points and four rebounds.
As for the Fighting Illini, they saw the return of big man Mike Thorne who finished with nine points, but, as expected, the only two players in double figures were Malcolm Hill and Kendrick Nunn with 20 and 10 points respectively.
What This Means And What's Next
An 11-game win streak and a 6-0 record in the Big Ten is what this win means for Indiana. They will now welcome in a Northwestern team on Saturday that just took Maryland to overtime.
"We've got a bull's eye on our back being the No. 1 team in the Big Ten now," Ferrell said.
As for Illinois, they drop to 1-5 in the Big Ten and will be searching for answers when they head to Minnesota on Saturday.