No. 6 Illinois (12-17) knocked out No. 11 Eastern Washington in the first round of the 47th Annual National Intercollegiate Wheelchair Basketball Tournament (NIWBT) on Wednesday evening. It was a dominant victory, with a final score of 79-39.
How it happened
The Illini took control of the game early, outscoring the Eagles 26-11 in the first quarter. Much of this advantage was because of stellar offensive play by sophomore RJ Fitzpatrick. He scored 12 of his 16 points in the first quarter and was a big reason for the early lead.
“Yeah, really just trusting my teammates and letting the offense flow, we had so many great steals,” Fitzpatrick said. “Everybody was looking for ways to get us all in and get a great shot, so that really helped me.”
Stellar defense
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While Fitzpatrick was getting it done offensively, the entire team made a huge impact on the defensive side of the ball. The Illini made it hard for the Eagles to even bring the ball up the court.
Illinois made a point to control the space on the court, creating a defensive line that made it difficult for Eastern Michigan to run the offense. Illinois nabbed six steals and forced four turnovers in the first quarter to set the tone.
Defense was clearly a large part of the Illini game plan. Head coach Jacob Tyree preached the importance of defense to his team, ensuring they understood that they would need to continue this level of play if they wanted to win it all this year.
“We’re always harping on holding teams under 40 or the teams under 50, we pride ourselves on that,” said senior Martrell Stevens.
They did just that, limiting Eastern Michigan to only 39 points.
“We hear it over and over again in sports, right? Defense wins championships,” Tyree said. “We have to be able to play our game to where our defense dictates to them what we give them as options. We continue to build on our defense for all 13 of our guys. Every single one of them had full confidence to be able to go out and do what I’m asking for.”
Home court advantage
Illinois will play this tournament in front of fans at home in State Farm Center. This gives the Illini an edge when it comes to comfort. For players and coaches, it gives them even more motivation to win it all. Illinois hasn’t won a national championship since 2010, but Tyree believes this team can get back there.
“They have what it takes to win a national championship,” Tyree said. “(I have) full confidence that our athletes are capable of doing this. They’re able to make those small decisions. They’re able to do the hard things.”
Illinois is set to face No. 3 Alabama (16-7) on Thursday at 2 p.m. in the tournament’s second round. The Illini beat the Crimson Tide in a matchup back in February, so expect this one to be a dogfight.
