Krush, GameDay, B. Paul and C. Payne...

Mike Davis heard rumors the Orange Krush students were going to make the Iowa game their annual road trip.
So when Illinois’ junior forward saw 160 pale college students arrive en masse shortly before tipoff Wednesday night in black Iowa T-shirts -- and proceed to pack the first 20 rows behind the northeast basket -- he grew delightfully suspicious.
And when the Krush ripped off their Iowa garb and revealed their orange gear just as the Illini prepared to break the huddle for tipoff, Davis was the first to spot the transformation.
He and several teammates started bouncing around and pointing at the Krush with smiles on their faces.
The Krush probably didn’t help the Illini pull off their 57-49 win, but they certainly didn’t hurt.
“I’m pretty sure Iowa’s pretty mad about that,” Davis said. “But that was great of them to show up. Great support.”
Iowa coach Todd Lickliter took several moments before he answered a question about the Krush _ and eventually decided to keep it light.
“Did they pay?” he finally offered. “I thought that they obviously traveled well…and those seats are empty and they filled them.”

SETTING UP SATURDAY
With this win, Illinois joined Wisconsin and Ohio State at 7-3 in the Big Ten. That’s two games behind Michigan State, which comes to Champaign on Saturday.
In case you haven’t heard, ESPN’s College Basketball GameDay crew will host its Saturday morning show from Assembly Hall.
Mike Davis claims he’s going to wake up early and hang out in the crowd.
“Two of my friends from home (Virginia) are coming, so they’re going to go,” Davis said. “I think I’ll go with them. I’ll be there to watch the show. It’s a big thing. I might try to get front row…it’s going to be a fun event. A once-in-a-lifetime thing to get to do. It’s big exposure for us, so it should be fun.”
Point guard Demetri McCamey has more grandiose plans.
“I’m going to be sleeping, trying to get rest,” he said. “It’s going to be a tough game even if (Kalin) Lucas doesn’t play. They’re a real good team. We’ve got to be ready Saturday.”

NO BRANDON PAUL PAYOFF
Illinois coach Bruce Weber saw great stuff from freshman guard Brandon Paul in practice on Monday and Tuesday, so he was eager to find out if it would carry over to Carver-Hawkeye Arena.
Weber gave Paul 8 minutes in the first half, but his struggles limited him to 4 minutes after halftime. The Warren Township graduate finished with 2 points, 3 rebounds and a steal (he probably deserved a block, too, but didn’t get credit).
Once again, Paul shot 1-for-7 from the floor as he couldn’t figure things out on the offensive end. On his first possession of the night, he drove baseline, encountered the helping big man and didn’t hit anything with his layup try.
If he could become somewhat efficient offensively, he’d be tough to keep off the court.
“I thought maybe he was about to take some steps,” Weber said. “He’s still kind of uneasy. ‘Should I go (to the hoop)? Should I not? Should I pull up?’ It would be nice if he could get some things going because he could add to our offense.”

PAYNE’S PAINFUL DAY
Iowa freshman point guard Cully Payne told reporters after the game that he’s suffering from pneumonia, which makes his 34-minute effort even more impressive.
Alas, an early airball on a 3-pointer earned Payne the Orange Krush’s wrath. They chanted “Airball” every time he touched the ball. Payne then switched to driving and making impossible passes to teammates. He had 3 assists with no turnovers for the game.
When Payne launched another airball early in the second half (the shot clock was running out), the Krush switched their chant to “Airballs.”
Once again, Payne decided to start attacking the basket. With 9:55 to go, when Payne drove hard to the hoop and hit a layup while getting fouled by Bill Cole, most of the Iowa fans in the house gave Cully a standing ovation.

LW