Garris takes cager defense apart

Off the court, Illinois point guard Kiwane Garris won't say he is the most valuable player in the Big Ten. But on the court, particularly last night, Garris proved what he won't admit.

His 27 points on 7-of-14 shots, including four-of-five on 3-point attempts, and four steals helped Illinois win convincingly over Penn State, 87-65.

The Lion defense, one that played softer than usual, found Garris to be indefensible. If he wasn't squaring up from behind the arc, Garris was intercepting passes on his way to transition dunks.

"A lot of times they broke down a little bit and the ball got kicked out to me where I was open," Garris said. "I got a couple of steals and some easy baskets."

Illinois coach Lon Kruger, whose team appears on the bubble for an NCAA tournament, knows that Garris is the key to the Illini's success. For Illinois to burst that bubble, Garris will need to have more nights like last night.

"Kiwane has been terrific for us all year," Kruger said. "People have been trying to stop him all year, yet he keeps getting better."

People like Lion point guard Ryan Bailey.

Bailey has seen what Garris can do, but stopping the Illini point guard is a different story.

"He played well, I have to hand it to him," Bailey said. "He was hitting his threes. We tried to defend him against his drive and he would step back and hit the three. He's such a great player."

Despite surpassing Iowa point guard Andre Wooldridge last night as the league leader in scoring (18.9 points per game), Garris refuses to take top billing.

"There has been a lot of good players," he said. "Mostly guards. You just try and compete just to stay with guys like that. Andre Wooldridge is a great player. He picked up the slack when (preseason player of the year) Jess Settles went down."

Garris has been named Big Ten Player of the Week twice this season, a feat that Minnesota's Bobby Jackson and Michigan's Lou Bullock have also accomplished, which places Garris in the upper echelon of conference guards.

Garris' two assists last night brought him two assists closer to the league's assist lead -- also held by Woolridge. But perhaps Garris' biggest assist will be getting his team into the NCAA tournament.