2009-2010 Missouri Valley Conference Basketball

Illinois State vs Utah Basketball Recap

Illinois State 73, Utah 63

Osiris Eldridge might receive all the publicity for the Illinois State Redbirds, but Lloyd Phillips and Austin Hill served notice on Saturday afternoon that they can also contribute to this basketball team.

Phillips threw down 17 points and Hill chipped in 12 points off the bench, as ISU topped Utah, 73-63, in a meaningful bounce-back breakthrough for Coach Tim Jankovich's club. The victory snapped a two-game losing streak to Niagara and Ohio. Just as importantly, the 10-point triumph showed that the Redbirds can win with balance, and not just the heroics of the Big O.

Eldridge - as veteran Missouri Valley Conference observers know well - is a tremendous talent with remarkable shotmaking flair who can make highlight-reel plays in difficult situations. Eldridge spearheaded ISU's run to last season's Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship game, before the Redbirds' wings were clipped by Northern Iowa in a riveting affair. Utah - like any of ISU's other opponents - knew that containing Eldridge was its foremost defensive priority, so as Jankovich brought his boys into Salt Lake City for this intersectional matchup, the boss of the 'Birds had to realize he would need balanced production from other sources.

> For Missouri Valley Conference apparel and merchandise shop inline through MVC-Fans & DFN Sports!

Enter Phillips and Hill, two young men who emerged from the periphery to become leading actors at the Jon M. Huntsman Center.

On a day when Eldridge managed a solid but hardly dynamic 17 points, Phillips matched that total while also providing clutch defense that allowed Illinois State to cruise to the finish line first.

With 2:47 left, ISU enjoyed a legitimate but still modest working margin of seven points, at 56-49. Utah was not yet at a point where it needed to foul on every possession, but the Utes and coach Jim Boylen had little margin for error if they wanted to play "normal basketball" - in other words, not "endgame basketball," when the object is to extend the game instead of playing traditional defense. Phillips, however, foiled those plans, as he plucked a steal from Utah guard Carlon Brown. Just 12 seconds later, Hill - an indispensable piece to Jankovich's puzzle in this game - produced a layup which gave ISU a 58-49 lead at the 2:35 mark. That sequence made it much harder for Utah to play normal basketball, and as a result, the Redbirds made many processions to the foul line over the final two minutes and change.

Phillips hit 6 of 6 foul shots in that stretch, while Hill went 4 for 4 to give balance to ISU's stat sheet and tell Jankovich that multiple performers could knock down pressure-packed foul shots at crunch time. Eldridge, it should be noted, did join the party in the final few minutes by hitting 3 of 4 free throw attempts. When one also adds two free throws (in as many attempts) from ISU forward Dinma Odiakosa, the Redbirds ultimately went 15 for 16 from the charity stripe in the final 2:01 of regulation, pure gold for any team trying to protect a late lead on the road. As a result, Illinois State got back on the beam, collecting a significant scalp on a day when Missouri Valley rival Wichita State also notched a meaningful non-conference win... thanks to the likes of Lloyd Phillips and Austin Hill.

If this roster of Redbirds can receive similarly balanced scoring in the months ahead, who knows how far this team can go on the road to Arch Madness in St. Louis?

By: Matt Zemek
DFN Sports Staff Writer