97.1 The Ticket -- No. 21 Illinois paid a visit to Mackey Arena Tuesday night, hoping to pick up a rare Big Ten road win.
The Illini's chances of doing so took a bit of a hit early on when guard Alan Griffin was assessed a Flagrant 2 foul for apparently intentionally stepping on Purdue's Sasha Stefanovic, who had been knocked to the floor after scoring a bucket in traffic.
Griffin, who entered the game averaging 8.9 points and 4.4 rebounds per game for the resurgent Illini, was ejected from the game and escorted off the court.
"That's just absolutely ridiculous, uncalled for and he should be gone."Illinois' Alan Griffin was ejected after stepping on a Purdue player. pic.twitter.com/LzG9GWqkap
— ESPN (@espn) January 22, 2020Alan Griffin just got tossed for stepping on Stefanovic. Two shots and the ball for Purdue.Big mistake for the young #Illini guard. You can't do that, especially on the road in the Big Ten. pic.twitter.com/517o6p9pAL
— Gavin Good (@itsallG_O_O_D) January 22, 2020Illinois (13-5, 5-2 Big Ten) has won four straight and climbed into the AP Top 25 Poll in recent weeks. Keeping that streak alive will be no easy task, as Big Ten road teams entered Tuesday night just 7-42 in road games during conference play. One of those wins, however belongs to Illinois -- a 71-70 win at Wisconsin on Jan. 9.
It is unclear whether Griffin will have to miss any games for his actions. The Illini travel to Ann Arbor to face Michigan Saturday afternoon.
