Written by BTN.com staffThe Illini (11-0) were coming of a win at Gonzaga on Saturday that helped move them into the top 10, but were sluggish against the Spartans. Illinois was shooting 46 percent from the field coming in but shot just 35 percent on the night.
Rashid Gaston scored 12 points and Pendarvis Williams added 11 for Norfolk State (6-6), which led for much of the first half.
Richardson left late in the first half with a badly bruised shoulder but returned.
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Joseph Bertrand athletic putback:
FINAL: No. 10 Illinois went into the locker room with the momentum and came out of the second half flying as well en route to a 64-54 victory over Norfolk State on Tuesday at Assembly Hall. Illinois (11-0) trailed 24-19 with 4:36 to go in the first half, but went on a 20-5 run over the next 6:24 to take a 10-point lead. Rashid Gaston was a bright spot for Norfolk State (6-6) in the loss with 12 points, eight rebounds, and 5-of-9 shooting from the field. Brandon Paul sparked the Fighting Illini, as he scored 14 points and hauled in eight rebounds in the victory.
HALFTIME: No. 10 Illinois trailed early, but it leads Norfolk, 32-29, after a first half that featured five lead changes. Brandon Paul, fresh off his 35-point game at Gonzaga, scored 10 points and grabbed three rebounds to lead the undefeated Illini. Sam McLaurin and D.J. Richardson both added four points for a balanced Illini attack that featured nine scorers. Norfolk’s Pendarvis Williams already has 11 points and four rebounds.
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How, when there are unused BTN channels and Illinois is ranked, IS THIS GAME NOT BEING TELLEVISED? I pay for DirecTV so I can watch Illini basketball & you don’t bother to play it?!?!?! What’s the problem?
Hi Nicole – During the fall we use Extra Football Game Channels to televise multiple games at a time, however these Extra Game Channels are only available to the Big Ten Network during the 13 football Saturdays of the season. During the conference portion of the basketball season, the Big Ten schedules games in such a way where there is no overlap. Consequently, there is no need for Extra Game Channels and the basketball games that BTN holds the rights to will be televised live.
How do you determine what games are shown on the btn. I thought we would be able to see more Big Ten games than two a night. What is the use of having all the alternate channels if they’re not showing anything. As a big Illini fan I am very disappointed to have missed at least 4 games this year. With my internet I refuse to watch a game for ten dollars in stop and go streaming. I have dish network and pay enough for tv viewership the way it is. We used to get local programming that had better coverage than the btn. I hope next year you can improve your amount of coverage of all Big Ten teams.
A very unhappy viewer,
Don Eckstein
Hey Don – BTN cannot control the scheduling of games, and during the non-conference schedule there are a lot of overlaps. A number of these non-conference games will stream live via the Big Ten Digital Network and then replay on TV via Student U. Please check BTN.com/Shows for potential replays.
During the fall we use Extra Football Game Channels to televise multiple games at a time, however these Extra Game Channels are only available to the Big Ten Network during the 13 football Saturdays of the season. During the conference portion of the basketball season, the Big Ten schedules games in such a way where there is no overlap. Consequently, there is no need for Extra Game Channels and the basketball games that BTN holds the rights to will be televised live.