Big Ten action on Saturday will see the the No. 10 Illinois Fighting Illini (22-5, 13-3 Big Ten) visit the UCLA Bruins (17-9, 9-6 Big Ten) at Pauley Pavilion, beginning at 8 p.m. ET. In its previous game, Illinois topped USC on Wednesday, 101-65. Its leading scorer was Andrej Stojakovic with 22 points. UCLA lost its most recent game to Michigan State, 82-59, on Tuesday. Tyler Bilodeau was its leading scorer with 22 points.
In the final minutes, Trent Perry absorbed a hard foul that sent him tumbling to the court. When he rose, a wide smile split his face as he walked toward the free-throw line. It was impossible not to feel good about everything unfolding around him. After a steady uptick, Perry increasing his production given the chance to take an injured teammate's spot in the starting lineup, the UCLA sophomore guard reached new heights here on a rainy, chilly night.
Lindsay Gottlieb wanted her team to be tested by the best. That's why she put together one of the most grueling schedules in all of college basketball, with four games against teams currently ranked in the top four. But with three of those tests completed, the results haven't exactly been what she - or anyone else - would have hoped.
They tried going back to the zone defense. They tried moving Tyler Bilodeau back to center. Nothing the UCLA Bruins did to combat their lack of rim protection worked for more than a couple of possessions at a time. And so a coach known for defense had to watch his team get bludgeoned inside once again while giving up an unusually frightening number of easy baskets.
Such was the dominance of a player who would be called The Enforcer for the way he inflicted his will on college and NFL opponents. Easley finished that first season with nine interceptions and 93 tackles, school records for a true freshman, and was just getting started on the way to becoming the first player in Pac-10 history to be selected for the conference's first team all four seasons.
I'm excited. Very excited. I exchanged texts with Coach Savage. Given what that baseball program has gone through this year with Jackie Robinson Stadium and things like that, the uncertainty going forward, the coaches, Coach Savage and the players have done a fantastic job of staying focused on winning and getting to the College World Series. So they're two wins away. Got a big series at home at Jackie, so I'm really rooting for those guys.
