I still like the old-school helmets…

On Thursday, the Big Ten released the 2013 conference football schedule. There will be eight conference games for each team,  with a brand-new division alignment. It will also be the first season that new Big Ten members Maryland and Rutgers join in on the fun.

Illinois will face West Division foes Purdue (Oct. 4), Minnesota (Oct. 25) and Iowa (Nov. 15) at home, and will travel to Nebraska (Sept. 27), Wisconsin (Oct. 11) and Northwestern (Nov. 29). The Fighting Illini’s two cross-division opponent are Ohio State (Nov. 1, away) and Penn State (Nov. 22, home).

Beginning in 2014, the Big Ten football division alignments will feature Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Ohio State, Penn State and Rutgers in the East Division and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin in the West Division. Each school will play the other six schools in its division plus two teams from the other division in 2014 and 2015, which will serve as transitional years in which the schools will still be playing eight-game schedules. Beginning in 2016, each school will play three teams from the other division as part of its nine-game schedule. The cross-division games will include one protected matchup on an annual basis between Indiana and Purdue.

We’ve also got the non-conference schedule in place, so go ahead and start planning your football plans for next year:

Nov. 22               Penn State                    Memorial Stadium
Nov. 29               at Northwestern          Evanston, Ill.
Dec. 6 at Big Ten Championship Game Indianapolis, Ind.

Brandon Paul’s younger brother, Darius Paul, has announced that he will transfer from Western Michigan to Illinois. Paul (the second) will have to sit out for a year, but will then have three years of eligibility left.

Darius has about 4 inches and 20 pounds on his brother at 6-foot-8 and 220 pounds. The forward was named MAC Freshman of the Year and averaged 10.4 points and 5.7 rebounds last season. Though Brandon was at times inconsistent, when he was “on” he was a superstar. In fact, last night he was named Most Outstanding Player at the Illini Basketball Banquet.

The most recent Illini sibling to join the team was Crandall Head (brother of Luther Head, an integral part of that historical 2004-2005 team). While that didn’t work out so well – he transferred in the middle of his sophomore year – it’s pretty clear now that John Groce is very different from Bruce Weber.

The Illini might go through some growing pains next year with a ton of freshman and not a lot of upperclassman, 2014 may look to be a stellar year for the Orange and Blue.

If you need help keeping track of all the new guys, take a look at this scholarship chart from the Champaign Room, and just stick Darius Paul into 2014 as well:

We are still waiting to hear of Oregon State standout Ahmad Starks will make the switch to Illinois. His visit was this last week.

At least the logo doesn’t suck!

It’s the end of an era, or perhaps we could look at it as the beginning of something great. This afternoon, the University of Illinois announced that the Assembly Hall will henceforth be known as State Farm Center.

Clearly, State Farm offered the University a lot of money for naming rights, and the school snatched it up. In fact, they signed a 30-year, $60-million agreement ti change the name to the State Farm Center. The building will now embark in a “major” renovation project, that is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2016.

According to the release: The name State Farm Center will be referenced for the building immediately and be incorporated into the building at the earliest availability as the project moves forward. Some utility work on the building and surrounding grounds could begin this summer, with the first major phase of the project expected to begin in March 2014. State Farm Center is scheduled to be completed in time for the 2016-17 basketball season.

“From the very early stages of this project, it was clearly apparent that naming rights for the building would play a major part in thefunding model,” said Athletic Director Mike Thomas. “This agreement complements support from campus and our students while supplementing support from the community.”

Of course I’m very happy that the Assembly Hall will undergo some much-needed renovations. It’ll be nice to know the building won’t fall apart anytime soon, and recruits are going to be attracted to the idea of playing in a shiny, fancy arena for a school that is willing to invest in basketball. I just wish these things could happen without changing the name of the structure.

As a Champaign native, the Assembly Hall was a staple of my childhood, and now that I’m old enough to understand what’s happening around me (sometimes) the Assembly Hall has been an important part of my life. According to the plans that I’ve seen, there won’t be huge changes to the spaceship-like exterior, so that beautiful dome will still sit nestled among the cornfields and the aromatic south farms. If that weren’t the case, then perhaps I would protest.

I’ve already seen IU fans express pleasure that they’ll be the sole Assembly Hall in the area, which is yet another reason to be slightly saddened by this name shift.

I’m never good with change, and I suspect ala the Sears Tower in Chicago, I will still be referring to the home of my Illini as the Assembly Hall for many years to come. Please don’t correct me, because I know what I’m doing.

I know it’s necessary, and I won’t really complain, but I can still mourn the loss of my Assembly Hall, right?

The rest of the schedule is up in the air, but the one Illini football game that really matters to fans this year is on the calendar. The Chicago Homecoming game vs. Washington at Soldier Field will take place at 5pm.

According to the release: “With the evening start, thousands of UI alumni and fans in the Chicagoland area will be able to enjoy a full day of tailgating and a special Chicago-style street fest area located just outside Soldier Field.”

Wow, that sounds like a ton of fun! To bad that I will not be able to attend the festivities, or most likely the game. Come to think of it, plenty of others are in the same situation as I am. You see, Sept. 14 also happens to be Yom Kippur, THE most important holiday on the Jewish calendar. For observant Jews, this means that the afternoon is spent inside the walls of a synagogue, observing the somber holiday that occurs right after the new year (Rosh Hashannah). We are supposed to be spending the day fasting and atoning for our sins, which means no fun activities like tailgating.

As soon as the sun goes down, Yom Kippur ends. According to the Internet, that will be 7:05 PM on Sept. 14. The fun can begin with a great meal breaking the fast, and we’re free to do anything we like (though usually it’s nice to spend time with friends and family). However,  the earliest I could get down to Soldier Field is about 8pm as I shove a pre-packed dinner into my starving face. Which means there really isn’t much of a point. If I head into a local bar for my great post-Yom Kippur meal I’ll at least be able to catch the second half.

Now if the game started at 7 or 7:30 (which is truly “Under the Lights” as the release boasts), then that would be a different story. This is the first time the Illini will visit Soldier Field, and there is absolutely no way I will be able to attend the game – even though it’s taking place in the city where I live. Yom Kippur requires a bit of a sacrifice (hence the fasting), so I guess I can’t complain too much.

What I can complain about is scheduling. A couple years ago when Illinois played Northwestern at Wrigley Field, the game was scheduled after I had already bought tickets to New York in anticipation of seeing the basketball team play at Madison Square Garden. The choice was easy for me since I am more of a basketball fan, but why should there have been a choice? Again, bad scheduling.

Anyway, for those of you who won’t be hindered by a holiday, tickets are on sale now for as low as $30 at the Illinois Athletic Ticket office. You can call 1-866-ILLINI-1 or purchase them online. Please say an I-L-L or an I-N-I for me and the rest of us who won’t be able to attend.

Jon Ekey, a forward from Illinois State, announced that he will spend his last season of NCAA basketbal eligibility with Illinois.

He earned an undergraduate degree from Illinois, and thanks to that fancy new rule that brought us Sam McLaurin and Sam Maniscalco before that, Ekey can play immediately with Illinois this coming season. The only caveat is that Ekey must seek a graduate degree that was not available at Illinois State. I assume the same was true for McLaurin and Maniscalco, but I feel like that has become more apparent this year.

Last season, the 6-foot-7, 220-pound forward averaged 6.5 points, 4.2 rebounds, and one block for the Redbirds. He also averaged about 23 minutes a game.

Remember that Cancun game in November 2011 when ISU almost beat Illinois? Well, Ekey was a big help in that effort with 14 points, 6 rebounds and 3 blocks. He also was 3-6 behind the arc.

Ekey and Bertrand will be the only two seniors on the Illini roster next year, when wel welcome a whopping six new players onto the court (redshirt Junior Rayvonte Rice and freshmen Austin Colbert, Malcolm Hill, Maverick Morgan, Kendrick Nunn and Jaylon Tate.)

The team is going to be very young next year, and will need the experience of Ekey to asset Bertrand in leadership duties. I’m sure Nnanna Egwu and Tracy Abrams will also be leaned on heavily in that department.

The Illini still have one scholarship open for this upcoming season.

Last night, Aaron Cosby, a transfer guard from Seton Hall, committed to Illinois. He just visited the campus this week. He was supposed to follow up with an official visit to Missouri, but has now canceled that trip.

The 6′ 2″, 190-pound guard played for Seton Hall for two years, and averaged 12.6 points last year. He is originally from Louisville, KY.

Cosby will sit out this upcoming season, and join the team for the 2014-2015 season. So far, Cosby and Champaign’s Michael Finke are the only two players who will start playing with the Illini the season after next.

Very excited about the new commit, and now let’s find some chaps to join the team for this upcoming season!

Tyler Griffey’s last-second shot to beat No. 1 Indiana at home will live on in the minds of Illini fans for decades to come. Now, thanks to Geico, that play will hold a place in history for everyone!

Throughout the college basketball season, fans voted on Facebook to choose which plays were the best. Had I known, I would’ve voted for Griffey thousands of times. Luckily, others did the job for me. After eight weeks of nominees, another vote led to the play of the year.

In case you forgot what happened, here is my recap of that game. 

For your viewing pleasure, also take a look at the video in question:

Other finalists included:

• Alex Barlow (Butler) game-winner vs. Indiana
• Majok Majok (Ball State) last-second dunk vs. Norfolk St.
• Walt Lemon Jr. (Bradley) running 3-pointer vs. Missouri St.
• Nerlens Noel (Kentucky) monster slam vs. Auburn
• Roosevelt Jones (Butler) buzzer-beating floater vs. Gonzaga
• Nick Johnson (Arizona) game-saving block vs. SDSU
• Marcus Lewis (Eastern Kentucky) full-stretch alley-oop vs. SE Missouri St.

Mike Shaw was the most productive of the transfers; Photo by Cary Frye

Now that the Tourney dust has settled, word started pouring on via Twitter, that some guys might be moving on. Of course those sources can’t always be trusted, but there is now a press release on FightingIllini.com announcing that three members of this year’s team will be transferring elsewhere.

Sophomores Mike Shaw, Ibby Djimde and redshirt freshman Devin Langford have all informed the University of Illinois that they will be transferring after the Spring semester. If none of these names are familiar to you, then you’ll understand why these guys are transferring. Of the three, Shaw probably had the most minutes this year, but none of them really made a huge impact. At the beginning of the season John Groce wanted the team to be 10 guys deep, but that never really happened.

I do wonder how those discussions go down, and how much of the decision belongs to the player, and how much is a result of finding out from the staff that their minutes probably won’t be increasing very much next season.

Two starters are graduating (D.J. Richardson, Brandon Paul) as well as a trusty sixth man/sometime starter (Tyler Griffey), so it may seem shocking to hear that three more will be leaving, but we have a four talented freshman coming in. Also, redshirt Rayvonte Rice will be joining the team after sitting out for a year and should be able to jump right in.

Now Groce has a bunch of scholarships to play with, and I’m guessing he’ll pick up another 5th year senior ala Sam McLaurin, and perhaps a juco transfer here and there. I’m not (overly) concerned with what will happen, but I do worry about the team chemistry and dynamics next year. The 2013-2014 Illini are going to look very different, but I don’t know if that’s a bad thing.

I have faith that Groce can bring the new guys together and make everything work. And, we’ll still have Joseph Bertrand, Tracy Abrams and Nnanna Egwu as anchors. The only other guy that may be thinking about transferring is Myke Henry, but he has seen enough playing time that he might not be considering leaving (please don’t go!). If he continues to get better, Henry could get a job in the starting lineup.

“Mike, Ibby and Devin are outstanding young men who have always represented the University of Illinois in a first-class manner,” said Groce. “We will help them in any we can during this process to find the best fit, so that they are able to achieve their goals on the basketball court and in the classroom.”

Best of luck to Shaw, Djimde and Langford!!

Despite completely blowing a 16-point halftime lead, Illinois managed to hang on tight and overcome the Colorado Buffaloes to advance in the NCAA Tournament. Final score: 57-49.

The Illini were up 37-21 at halftime, thanks to some great defense and 11 points from D.J. Richardson. Then, as expected, everything went downhill. The typical Illini drought began, and we made it really easy for Colorado to crawl back into the game.

Colorado went on a 21-0 run, and Illinois did not have a FG until 8:33 left in the game, when Tracy Abrams finally made a layup. Colorado had extended their lead to 5 points, and that Abrams layup was very, very necessary.

Brandon and the gang got it done on Friday; Photo by Cary Frye

A 3-pointer from Richardson put the Illini back on top by 1 point with 6:33 to go, and Illinois started to look like a team that actually knew how to play basketball again. Brandon Paul managed to make it to the free throw line again and again, and the senior came through when he was needed the most. Illinois started to pull away, and held onto the lead until the buzzer.

Paul had 17 points, and 3 steals, and he was 9-10 from the free throw line. Richardson contributed 14 point and 5 rebounds. Abrams also got into the act with 13 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists.

It sucks that the Illini let that lead slip away, but it’s not like this is the first time we’ve seen it happen. Imagine a 21-0 Colorado run without such a large lead and then we’re really in trouble. The Illini made 8 3′s in the game, but they had 31 attempts. When the shots weren’t falling (that 12 minutes without a field goal), Paul started to go inside and get things done.

Miami up Next

John Groce should feel really great about this win, and proud of what the guys have done this season. Now let’s just keep those good vibes going into this evening’s game against Miami! That team we saw in the first half, and in the last 3 minutes or so, that is a team that can beat Miami. However, that other team we saw for the first 12 minutes of the second , that team is going to get slaughtered. Your move Illini, who are we going to see tonight?

I believe a win is absolutely most definitely possible, but it is sadly unlikely. Charles Barkley is positive it won’t happen, but I don’t agree. Miami has a lot of wins this year for sure, but it’s hard to be afraid of the team just because they are this year’s ACC Champs.

The fact that Miami didn’t earn a 1-seed as regular season AND conference champs tells you what the committee thought about the ACC this year. And while that loss at FGCU looks a little less embarrassing now that the Eagles upset Georgetown, a late season home loss to a Georgia Tech team that Illinois beat earlier in the season makes me feel a tad more confident.

However, Miami made mincemeat out of Pacific winning by nearly 30 points, but that’s going to happen when you play a Big West team. The Hurricanes did beat MSU in the Big Ten/ACC Challenge back in November, but they haven’t played a Big Ten team since. Here’s hoping we can show them what it’s like to play with the B1G boys.

The key is not to be intimidated. We can do this. Just play Illinois basketball (the kind where we make shots, not lose leads) and we might just make things happen.

The game is at 7:40 PM tonight on TNT.

Click here if you’d like to see some highlights from Friday’s win!