March 8, 2008

Updated Notes for Game 32: Big Ten Tournament Semifinals vs. Michigan State

Updated Big Ten Tournament Bracket

Game 32: No. 9 Illinois (18-13) vs. No. 5 Michigan State (19-12)

The Game
Illinois (18-13) will be looking to reach the Big Ten Tournament Championship game for the first time since 1999 when it battles Michigan State (19-12) Saturday night in the second of two semifinal games at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. The ninth-seeded Illini knocked off No. 8 seed Wisconsin, 73-58, in the first round before bouncing No. 1 seed Ohio State from the tournament, 64-58, in Friday's quarterfinal. Fifth-seeded Michigan State got a first round bye and then defeated No. 4 seed Minnesota Friday night by a score of 56-51 to advance to the semis.

Big Ten Tournament Notes
• Illinois is in the semifinals for the first time since 2001 and is looking for its first appearance in the title game since 1999. The Illini have never won the Big Ten Tournament.

• As a No. 9 seed, Illinois is the lowest seeded team to advance to the semifinals (No. 8 Indiana in 1997).

• The lowest seed ever to advance to the final is No. 7 (Ohio State 1995 and Penn State 1998). The lowest seed ever to win the championship is No. 5 (Indiana 2002)

• The win over Ohio State in the quarterfinals gave the Buckeyes their first-ever loss in their opening round game. Previously, OSU was 13-0 in its tournament openers.

Illinois Notes
• Senior guard Rebecca Harris is having a huge tournament thus far. Harris is averaging 20.5 points per game in tournament play, which ranks third among all players entering the day. She scored 19 in the first round win over Wisconsin and a game-high 22 in the upset of top-seeded Ohio State. In nonconference play Harris averaged 6.1 points per game and then nearly doubled that in Big Ten play, averaging 11.2 per contest. Her big numbers in the tournament have upped her overall season average to 10.0 points per game.

• All-America candidate Jenna Smith fared well in the regular season against MSU's 6-9 center Allyssa DeHann. In two games against the Spartans, Smith is averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds while holding DeHaan to 10.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game.

• After scoring 21 points and pulling down 10 rebounds in the first round win over Wisconsin, sophomore Jenna Smith now has a Big Ten-best 15 double-doubles this season. That total ranks third on the Illinois single season list, while her career total of 21 ranks third in the Big Ten.

• Entering the tournament, Jenna Smith was one of just seven players nationally averaging at least 18.0 points and 9.5 rebounds per game. The others on the short list were DeWanna Booner of Auburn, Natalie Doma of Idaho State, Traci Edwards of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Crystal Kelly of Western Kentucky, Courtney Paris of Oklahoma and Tamera Young of James Madison.

• Jenna Smith has scored in double figures in 30 of 31 games this season.

• Sharp-shooter Lori Bjork has been on fire as of late. In addition to recently reaching the 1,000-point milestone (Feb. 10) and breaking the UI career 3FG record (Feb. 21), the junior guard has been tearing it up over the last 11 games, shooting 49 percent from behind the arc (28-of-57) during that span to bring up her season 3FG percentage from 34.7 to 38.8.

• Illinois has faced each of the two co-Players of the Year in the conference in the first two rounds of the tournament, ousting media POY Jolene Anderson in the first round and then coaches POY Jantel Lavender in the quarterfinals.

• Illinois leads the league in fewest turnovers per game for both all games (15.2) and Big Ten games (13.3). The Illini had a season-low of five turnovers in the Feb. 21 win over Penn State. That total is the lowest ever by an Illini team in a Big Ten game.

• After Thursday's 15-point victory over Wisconsin, the Illini are now 6-0 in games decided by 15 or more points.

• The Illini have had 10 games decided by five points or less this season, which is the most in the Big Ten, with nine of those games coming in conference play. The Illini are 3-7 overall in those games, and 2-7 in the conference games. Of those seven close Big Ten defeats, six have come by three points or less, and each of those six came down to a final possession by the Illini. Overall, Illinois is 0-6 in games decided by three points or less in Big Ten games.

• Jenna Smith has moved up to second on the Illinois single season rebounding list with 296. The UI record is 335 set by Lynnette Robinson in 1980-81. Smith is also tied for fourth on the blocks list with 51, just six shy of Kendra Gantt's record of 57, and seventh on the season points list with 581. She needs just 19 points to crack the top-5 at an even 600. Lori Bjork is alone in third on the single season three-point field goals list with 70, just four behind Krista Reinking's second place total and 14 shy of her own record of 84 set last season.

Semifinal Foe: Michigan State
The Illinois-MSU Series: Michigan State leads 31-25 overall after sweeping the regular season series against the Illini. Overall, the Illini have dropped nine of the last 10 in the series, with the lone UI win coming last season at Assembly Hall, 56-46. The two teams have split their four previous meetings in the Big Ten Tournament. The most recent was in the 2005 quarterfinals when the seventh-ranked Spartans needed overtime to top the Illini, 61-50. MSU would go on to play in the national championship game that season.

This Year Against Michigan State: In the first of two meetings this season (Jan. 24) a familiar scene played itself out at Assembly Hall. Illinois and Michigan State went down to the wire, and for the third straight game the Illini fell victim to a bucket by the opposition in the final seconds. The Spartans escaped with a 65-62 victory after a put-back basket by MSU's Allyssa DeHann broke a 62-62 tie with 9.2 seconds left. The Illini then turned the ball over in their final possession with a chance to win or tie. Jenna Smith led the Illini with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Illini guard Rebecca Harris hit a jumper just inside the three-point arc to tie the game at 62-62 with 38.8 seconds left, but those would be Illinois' last points.

In the rematch in East Lansing on Feb. 28, lllinois led by five points at halftime, but fell victim to an extended Michigan State run in falling to the Spartans 54-46 at the Breslin Center. Jenna Smith scored a team high 15 points for Illinois, but struggled in shooting 4-of-18 from the field. However, the sophomore was proficient on the defensive end, holding MSU's leading scorer Allyssa DeHaan to just seven points on 3-of-10 shooting. The difference in the game was a 32-8 Michigan State run over a span of 26 minutes that turned a 24-12 deficit into a 44-34 lead.

Top Performers vs. the Spartans: Jenna Smith averaged 16.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game in two meetings against the Spartans this season, while Rebecca Harris averaged 14.0 points and was 4-of-6 from behind the arc in the regular season against MSU. As a team, Illinois held the Spartans to 37 percent shooting in the two meetings.

Up Next
The Illinois-MSU winner will face the winner of the first semifinal game between No. 2 seed Iowa and No. 3 seed Purdue in the Big Ten Tournament Championship game Sunday at 5:30 p.m. ET. The title game will be televised live by ESPN2, with Dave Pasch and Nancy Lieberman calling the action. The winner will earn the Big Ten's automatic bid into the 2008 NCAA Women's Basketball Tournament.