[NCarmean18Participant]

After two-and-a-half days sightseeing throughout Rome, the Fighting Illini took the court tonight for the first time, defeating Roma Selezione 78-68 in Illinois’ first game of its 2011 Italy Tour. As expected, the Illini were rusty early, but used a third-quarter surge where they doubled up the hosts in the scoring column to pull away and earn the 10-point victory.

Illinois’ depth and constant rotation of fresh players to apply pressure defensively took its toll. The Illini grabbed 13 steals and forced 22 turnovers, and held a dominant 43-to-22 advantage on the boards. Neither team shot very well, but the Illini capitalized on its 20 offensive rebounds.

Illinois’ leading scorer was G Joseph Bertrand who put up 14 points on 6-7 shooting to go along with his 5 assists.  Illinois’ defense was the key to victory tonight with 3 different players posting 3 steals.  Two of them, guards D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul will play key parts in Illinois’ run back to the NCAA tournament this fall. 

Overall, this game was a step in the right direction for Illinois, they lack chemistry offensively but are a great defensive team with a ton of depth to show for it.  I look forward to game 2 in Italy.

[Author]

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