– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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ANN ARBOR, MICHIGAN — If most of us did not get caught up in the uproar of both Michigan and Michigan State winning on buzzer-beating shots earlier in the week and the hoopla that their end-of-season meeting next weekend was surely going to be for the Big Ten regular-season championship, we should have been the iceberg straight ahead that was lying in wait for one of the schools before next Sunday.
Well, that iceberg also acts a hunk of kryptonite, and Michigan’s old nemesis, the Illinois Fighting Illini, once again threw a wrench into its plans of winning.
Tre White led four players who scored in double figures with 19 points as Illinois put on a long-range shooting display in the second half to down No. 15 Michigan 93-73 inside Crisler Center on Sunday afternoon. Freshman guard Kasparas Jakucionis scored 14 of his 17 points in the second half, when the Illini shot 61.1 percent (22-for-36) from the field and made 11 three-pointers.
The win was the ninth consecutive victory by Illinois over the Wolverines, who now sit a game behind Michigan State at the top of the Big Ten standings after the eighth-ranked Spartans won earlier in the day against No. 11 Wisconsin in East Lansing.
Senior Vlad Goldin led all scorers with 22 points for Michigan on Senior Night, but he was the only player who scored in double figures for the Wolverines. Michigan made just four of its 18 three-point attempts while being outrebounded 43-32 by the Fighting Illini.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Sunday afternoon’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Aaron J. Thornton. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 21 pictures in total.
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