Illinois took its lumps Tuesday night against a very good No. 7 Villanova team, falling 73-59 at Madison Square Garden in the opening game of the Jimmy V Classic.
Villanova (9-0) closed the game on a 23-9 run. The Illini (7-2) tied it at 50-50 on a three-point shot by Aaron Cosby, but they appeared to tire from there as the experienced, deep Wildcats kicked their execution up a notch. The vast chasm in the teams’ play down the stretch probably was an accurate gauge of how much better the Wildcats are than the Illini right now. Read more