“We knew we could lose, we just didn’t think we would.”
This statement from freshman point guard Scott Stone perfectly sums up the No. 2 Bears’ surprising 85-73 loss to the No. 13 Illinois Wesleyan Titans last Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.
Coming into the tournament after a record-setting regular season, the Bears had lofty expectations. First-round bye in hand, the team was rested after a full week off and appeared primed to beat Illinois Wesleyan for the second time this season. The first time around, senior forward Chris Jeffries poured in 31 points as the Bears out-rebounded the Titans 39 to 24 en route to an 88-75 victory.
Despite handling the Titans back in December, the Bears came into their tournament game confident but cautious.
“We didn’t underestimate them,” senior guard Joel Parrott said. “We knew they were a good team. We just came in with a normal game plan.”
The Titans came out of the gate fast, jumping to a quick 8-2 lead. Unfazed, the Bears found a rhythm and took a 13-11 advantage.
“Our last game was a blowout at Chicago, so we came out a little slow,” Stone said. “But when teams jump out on us, it just gets us going.”
“When they got up 8-2, we realized that they wanted to win just as bad as we did,” Parrott said. “But we weren’t worried. Every team makes runs.”
For the rest of the half, Jeffries traded baskets with Titans forward Luke Kasten as the lead changed hands four times. At halftime, with the Bears leading 38-37, Jeffries had 16 points to Kasten’s 15, and it looked as if a classic battle was brewing.
The game remained close early in the second half, and WU found themselves up by five points with a little over 12 minutes left on the clock. But a lay-up and a couple of quick three-pointers put the Titans on top for good.
The Bears chipped away the Titans’ lead, but could get no closer than two points. Around the two-minute mark, the Bears began to foul, hoping that the Titans would miss their free throws. However, the Titans sunk their last 13 shots from the line, finishing the game with an impressive free throw percentage of 86.4. Kasten would finish the game with 31 points and 13 rebounds, while Jeffries added just four points to his first-half total to make 20 for the game.
“They did a good job stealing the game,” commented Stone. “When we were down three, we had to foul. But when a team makes all of their foul shots, it’s really hard to come back.”
The Titans’ win over the Bears was no fluke. They came into the game prepared to exploit the weaknesses that the Bears have, such as their reliance on double-teaming.
“We doubled a lot all year,” said Parrott. “This game, we were hurting in recovery. They would pass it around a few times and get an open three-pointer. We talked about getting better on our double-teams at halftime, but we just didn’t do it in the second half.”
The Titans were also able to take advantage of the Bears’ lack of strength inside. Outscoring WU 38-24 in the paint and out-rebounding them 46-41, the Titans played a very physical brand of basketball. Just ask Parrott, who spent two hours in the hospital after the game nursing two teeth that were knocked out by an errant elbow.
“A lot of teams’ strategy is to try to get physical with us,” said Stone. “So every time we cut through the lane, [the Titans] would bump us hard.”
Essentially, the Titans played the best game of their season, while the Bears had an off-shooting night, thereby sending home one of the tournament’s heavy favorites.
However, this offers no consolation to WU. They had bigger plans in mind.