Taylor has 17, Central Florida beats Illinois 68-58 in NIT
ORLANDO, Fla. -- B.J. Taylor scored 17 points, Tacko Fall had a double-double and Central Florida held on to defeat Illinois 68-58 on Wednesday night to advance to the final four of the NIT.
A.J. Davis and Matt Williams added 16 points apiece for the Knights (24-11), who play TCU in a semifinal game at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Fall had 10 points and 10 rebounds.
UCF was the fourth-seed in the bracket and Illinois (20-15) No. 2 but due to an arena conflict the Fighting Illini couldn't host the game. The Knights took advantage with the first sellout crowd in 10,000-seat CFE Arena history to move within one win of tying for the most in school history.
Both teams had five 3-pointers in the first half but Illinois only had two other baskets, shooting 7 for 26 to fall behind 34-19.
UCF pushed the lead to 19 midway through the second half and was up 52-37 before Malcolm Hill rallied the Illini. Hill hit back-to-back 3-pointers and then made three free throws with 3:14 to play to cut the deficit to six. But Davis made 5 of 6 free throws from there and Taylor was 6 of 8 in the final minute.
Hill had 29 points to finish his Illini career with 1,846, third all-time. Jamall Walker went 2-1 as the interim coach after replacing John Groce, who was fired after the Big Ten Tournament. Illinois introduced Oklahoma State coach Brad Underwood as its new coach on Monday.
Game Information
- Referees:
- Doug Shows
- Tim Clougherty
- Patrick Evans
2023-24 Big Ten Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Purdue | 17-3 | - | 34-5 |
Illinois | 14-6 | 3 | 29-9 |
Nebraska | 12-8 | 5 | 23-11 |
Northwestern | 12-8 | 5 | 22-12 |
Wisconsin | 11-9 | 6 | 22-14 |
Indiana | 10-10 | 7 | 19-14 |
Michigan State | 10-10 | 7 | 20-15 |
Iowa | 10-10 | 7 | 19-15 |
Ohio State | 9-11 | 8 | 22-14 |
Minnesota | 9-11 | 8 | 19-15 |
Penn State | 9-11 | 8 | 16-17 |
Maryland | 7-13 | 10 | 16-17 |
Rutgers | 7-13 | 10 | 15-17 |
Michigan | 3-17 | 14 | 8-24 |
2023-24 Big 12 Conference Standings
Team | CONF | GB | OVR |
---|---|---|---|
Houston | 15-3 | - | 32-5 |
Iowa State | 13-5 | 2 | 29-8 |
Baylor | 11-7 | 4 | 24-11 |
Texas Tech | 11-7 | 4 | 23-11 |
BYU | 10-8 | 5 | 23-11 |
Kansas | 10-8 | 5 | 23-11 |
Texas | 9-9 | 6 | 21-13 |
TCU | 9-9 | 6 | 21-13 |
Oklahoma | 8-10 | 7 | 20-12 |
Kansas State | 8-10 | 7 | 19-15 |
Cincinnati | 7-11 | 8 | 22-15 |
UCF | 7-11 | 8 | 17-16 |
Oklahoma State | 4-14 | 11 | 12-20 |
West Virginia | 4-14 | 11 | 9-23 |