Double Bonus: Washington's Free Throws Ends Illinois' Season
March 20, 2006 2:48 PM
What if the Illini weren't in such disproportionate foul trouble? What if the team had found a way to give James Augustine (19 points, 7-9 FG) at least one more FG attempt in the last 15 minutes of the 2nd half? What if the excellent Washington squad, in a contest featuring equally physical play on both sides, was not given 39 free throw attempts compared to only 11 for Illinois? What if the Illini had not committed costly turnovers down the stretch?
To begin, the splendid Brandon Roy and the Washington pressure defense worked the Huskies to a big 28-14 lead late in the first half. In the final four minutes James Augustine ignited the Illini on a furious 19-7 run—punctuated by Dee Brown's buzzer-beater long range 3—and Illinois were down only 35-33 at halftime. Augustine continued to dominate inside to begin the 2nd half and Illinois opened with a 14-2 run. Although Illinois would enjoy their greatest lead (11pts) with 12 minutes to go, the foul situation would quickly turn the game around for Washington.
The difference in the way the game was called—specifically lack of fouls against UW—was the biggest single deciding factor of the closely-matched contest. Washington was quickly ramped up to the double bonus in the 2nd half. From 17:00 - 5:30 there were 10 whistles in the contest, 9 of them against Illinois (including a stretch from 15:00 - 10:00 when 6 straight whistles went against the Illini). Washington was in the bonus at 10:00, and the double bonus with 8:00 to go. Illinois was granted free throws from a bonus situation in the 2nd half only once, when Dee Brown was fouled and sank 2 FTs with 0:16 left. This is not to say that Illinois way not fouling, but Washington was certainly not playing foul-free basketball.
The foul disparity (28-17) may appear to show otherwise, but the Huskies did not play non-physical basketball. Washington was so obsessed with shedding their Pac-10 label as "soft" that it became their call to battle for the tournament. Center Mike Jensen bragged post game about how he "elbowed" and "shoved" James Augustine (yet was only called for one foul to Augustine's four).
Although Illinois had the lead, Washington had a golden situation late with the double bonus and three of the Illini's starters (Randle, McBride, Pruitt) mired in devastating foul trouble. The Huskies were emboldened on both ends of the court, free of the annoyance of whistles on the defensive end and virtually guaranteed at least 2 free throws each trip down on offensive. Plus, the Illini weren't even close to being awarded the bonus on their end.
Washington was essentially given carte blanche to play hacking, swiping, grabbing, elbowing, and shoving defense without the typical inconveniences associated with such play—foul trouble, lineup shuffles, FTs for the opposition. Again, Illinois was by no means foul-free in their play, but the double bonus situation and non-foul trouble for UW combined with UI's massive foul issues and lack of bonus created an overwhelming advantage for the Huskies when there should have been none.
For the Illini's part, it's disappointing that James Augustine didn't even get one shot off late in the game after being so dominant. Still, Illinois had its chances but couldn't convert. Jamar Smith had a very rough game (to put it mildly), going 0-5 from 3pt and 1 very costly turnover with under a minute. Rich McBride's unforced traveling violation down the stretch was quite unfortunate (but still, a very good shooting day with 13pts).
Fittingly, Washington's final 7 points came on free throws. They could have clinched the victory at 0:13 but Bobby Jones at the line hit only 1 of 2 which put the UW lead at 3. Out of the Illinois timeout, the Illini's drawn-up play appeared to blow up and Dee Brown was forced to run to the backcourt to retrieve the inbounds and had to quickly dribble up and fire away the desperation shot. In a grand understatement that must be said, the loss was a tough way to end it for the careers of seniors Augustine and Brown.
In other news, the Big 10 completed its disastrous NCAA performance Sunday night when the regular season conference champion Ohio St. Buckeyes were shellacked by a margin of 18 points in their home state courtesy of the Georgetown Hoyas. The Big 10 finished the 2006 tournament 3-6 (compared to 2005's outstanding 12-5 run) and failed to field a team in the Sweet 16 for the first time since 1996.
- Round of 32 - Illinois vs Washington
[Illinois Loyalty Forums] - Illini Drop Wild Battle to Huskies, 67-64
[fightingillini.com] - A foul way to go: Husky advantage hurts Illini chances
[herald-review.com] - Too soon to smile for Illini stars
[suntimes.com] - Jensen denied Augustine and Huskies move on
[espn.com] - IL - UW Photo Gallery 1
[espn.go] - IL - UW Photo Gallery 2
[seattletimes.com]
