Illini beat Yale; McCamey plays defense

How else can we prove all of the Illini were ready to play defense tonight? Senior guard Demetri McCamey had just 9 Matto points in Illinois' first 5 games. To get a sense of how uninspired that is, McCamey posted those 9 points in 148 minutes. Redshirt freshman walk-on Kevin Berardini entered the night with just 9 minutes of action, but he had 7 Matto points.

McCamey stepped forward Tuesday, though, with 8 Matto points in 32 minutes. Brandon Paul won the Matto night with 9 points in 17 minutes, which gives him a season-high 33 Mattos.

"You've got Demetri out there trying his hardest," said sophomore D.J. Richardson. "You've got all the seniors out there trying their hardest and giving their all. You've got the rest of the team that's going to follow behind them. The seniors set the tone and everybody else follows after them."

Willhite