Sean Merriman, BTN.com web editor, January 16, 2014
After kicking off the Big Ten season with impressive wins over Indiana and Penn State, Illinois has now lost three straight, including Wednesday night's 66-58 loss to Purdue in Champaign. Illinois coach John Groce addressed the media following the game and had some strong words, making it very clear how unhappy he was with his team's performance.
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"It's just unacceptable," Groce said following the loss. "They (Purdue) were tougher than us physically and they threw us around like a bunch of rag dolls. Our guys better figure out very quickly the physical toughness that's required on the backboard."
Purdue outrebounded Illinois 42-28 in the loss, including a 23-7 advantage on the boards in the second half.
"We got abused on the backboard," Groce said.
Watch Groce's full opening statement in the video above.
