Indiana Survives Scare fom Illini in 2OT

Indiana 83 Illinois 79, 2OT

Armon Bassett hit a critical three-pointer and went 8-for-8 from the free throw line in double overtime to seal the win for Indiana and keep the Hoosiers in the thick of the Big 10 race.

Star freshman Eric Gordon suffered one of the worst shooting nights of his career, hitting only three of thirteen attempts from the floor - all 3-pointers - the last of which tied the game at 63 with 23 seconds left to send the game into the first overtime.

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In the extra period, Jordan Crawford found the hot hand, making consecutive three-pointers to give the Hoosiers a 69-66 lead, but Illinois' Demetri McCamey knocked down a three-ball with 1:08 remaining to re-tie the game at 69. Neither team could find the touch after that, pushing the contest to double overtime.

Indiana improved to 8-1 (19-3 overall) to pull to within a game of Wisconsin and Purdue, both 9-1 in conference play.

Following a trip to Ohio State on Sunday (Feb. 10), the Hoosiers will have every opportunity to stake their claim to the Big 10 title, playing consecutive home games against Wisconsin (Feb. 13), Michigan State (Feb. 16) and Purdue (Feb. 19).

Illinois suffered another tough loss and is not likely to make the NCAA tournament and now even the NIT looks doubtful. The Illini are 10-14 overall and have won only 2 of 11 conference games. Only Michigan (1-9) and Northwestern (0-9) have worse conference records.