Tides have changed for Illinois

Much has changed for No. 15 Illinois since the Illini were buried by the prolific three-point shooting of the Hoosiers when No. 25 IU beat them 88-57 Jan. 26 at Assembly Hall in Bloomington. And for the Hoosiers, for that matter.\nIllinois (21-7, 9-5 Big Ten) found itself two games behind IU and Ohio State for first place in the Big Ten after losing to the Hoosiers in January. The Illini had opened their Big Ten season by losing two of their first three games.\nAfter a long road to getting back in the race for the league crown, which Illinois was supposed to be in all season, the Illini have a chance to draw even with the Hoosiers at Assembly Hall in Champaign, Ill. at 7 p.m.\nThe turn around for the Illini began with the return of Lucas Johnson and Damir Krupalija from injuries. More bodies gave Bill Self more options, and the two came back in time for the first meeting between the two teams.\n"The main thing is they got some people healed," Purdue coach Gene Keady said. "It was a situation that when they got their full team healthy, they were able to substitute like they like to. When they have their full complement of players, they're a top 10 team in the nation."\nAfter the loss to the Hoosiers, Illinois dropped its next two games before ripping off six straight coming into tonight. While the Illini have been helped by the return of Johnson and Krupalija, Frank Williams has reasserted himself as one of the nation's best guards.\nLast week Williams was co-Big Ten Player of the Week, helping to silence the doubters who have questioned his desire to win this season.\n"It wasn't a health issue, except (Williams) kept saying he was run down and tired," Self said. "He just kept saying 'I don't have any energy.' The media kind of got after him a little bit. Maybe in a weird way, that was a positive for him. I know it was to our whole team because we all took offense to it."\nWilliams is leading the Illini with 16 points and four assists per game. Before this season, Williams, a redshirt junior, said he will bypass his senior season next year for the NBA. Self said that making the decision early only helped Williams this season.\n"He made it clear this would be his last year," Self said. "I'm not that thrilled about Frank leaving and making that decision, but in a weird way, it helped it with recruiting. The biggest upside on Frank announcing early is that he didn't have to deal with any questions any time anyone interviewed him."\nMeanwhile the Hoosiers have overachieved this season, never falling more than a game out of first place and holding first place by themselves Sunday before they fell at Michigan State, 57-54.\nIU's star, Jared Jeffries, has said he will wait until the end of the season to decide what he will do about the NBA and his future. At the same time, he has had to deal with a thigh contusion and a sprained ankle this month. Sunday he was limited due to foul trouble.\nMike Davis said the Hoosiers need Jeffries to have a big game tonight. Although the Illini have some size upfront in Robert Archibald and Brian Cook, Davis said he doesn't think Illinois can matchup with Jeffries, who had 13 points and 11 rebounds in the first game.\n"If Jared Jeffries is not in the game, we're a below average team. We have to have Jeffries on the floor to be a very good basketball team," Davis said. "I don't think anyone on Illinois can match up with him."\nAfter Williams, Cook, Archibald and Cory Bradford all average between 10 and 13 points per game, giving Illinois the same type of balance the Hoosiers have. Bradford and Williams combined for just 15 points in the first meeting with IU.\nThe Hoosiers weren't supposed to beat Illinois the first time, let alone by 31 points. Tonight will be senior night for Williams, Archibald, Bradford, Johnson and Krupalija. Davis said his team will need another performance like the one that saw them hit 17 three-pointers in the first meeting, a Big Ten record. \nRecords might not be needed, but the Hoosiers will have to step up with the conference title on the line this week and Illinois playing some of its best basketball of the year. Davis said his team has stepped up all year and he expects the same thing tonight. "I think my guys really over-achieved this year," Davis said. "It makes you feel good going into a game knowing that your team is going to play hard for you"