CHAMPAIGN — The Illinois Fighting Illini may have seen their NCAA Tournament hopes go up in flames after going down to defeat at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers 67-62 on Wednesday evening at the Assembly Hall in Champaign.

The Illini and Purdue came into the game with identical records at 16-9, with Purdue coming in a game better in the Big Ten at 6-6, compared to the Illini at 5-7.

The Illini started off the game with a lot of energy, as they raced out to an early 7-2 lead. It would be their only lead of the game, as the Boilermakers caught fire from the floor by Lewis Jackson, who finished with 13 points.

Purdue built a lead as large as 13 points in the first half, as the Illini couldn’t do much to stop the Boilermaker offensive attack.

“We had a lot of energy in the first half, and sustained it for the remainder of the game,” Purdue coach Matt Painter said.

The Illini closed the gap to 36-28 at the half, and got as close as two points late in the game, but every time the Illini made a run, the Boilermakers came back with a run of their own.

Freshman Tracy Abrams had the best game of his young Illini career, finishing with 22 points. It was Abrams that kept the Illini in the game all night, as he was driving and slashing in the lane when it seemed no one else wanted to.

“I don’t have much to say, really,” Illini coach Bruce Weber said. “It all boils down to accountability, and Abrams is stepping up and becoming a leader, which is the problem. He (Abrams) is the only one talking after the game, and the older players are not taking that responsibility”.

“We need to take each game one at a time, and focus on the next game on Saturday,” Abrams said afterwards.

Robbie Hummel paced the Boilermakers with 19 points, and had a double-double by grabbing 11 rebounds. D. J. Byrd matched Jackson with 13 points, while Terone Johnson added 12 for Purdue (17-9, 7-6).

“Robbie played well as a senior, and even though he got fatigued a couple of times during the game, still managed to finish out down the stretch at the line,” Painter said afterward.

Illinois falls to 16-10 overall and drops to 5-8 in the Big Ten, and really needed this one at home in order to feel good about their NCAA Tournament chances when the field is announced next month.

The Boilermakers edged the Illini on the boards, winning the battle by a 34-29 margin.

“We kept a couple players in front of us, which enabled us to get some extra rebounds,” Painter remarked when asked about his team’s performance.

Brandon Paul scored 19, while Joseph Bertrand added 12 for Illinois, who only had four players enter the scoring column. Sophomore Meyers Leonard scored the remaining nine points for the Illini, and had another good game on the glass — grabbing 12 rebounds.

“We still feel like we have a run in us, and even though this is a tough stretch that we are going through, we still feel like we can still make something happen,” Bertrand said when asked about the team and their current losing streak, which has now reached four games.

The Illini travel to Nebraska on Saturday to face the Cornhuskers (4:00 p.m., Big Ten Network), in a game that is now crucial to the Illini getting back to respectability in the conference standings.