Bertrand was the lone breath of fresh air in a sea of crud tonight; Photo by Cary Frye

Is a win always really a win? Even though technically Illinois beat the Minnesota Gophers tonight 81-72, it took two overtimes to get there, when one (or none) should’ve been enough.

What an annoying and frustrating night. That pretty much sums it up. Aside from another spark from Joseph Bertrand (and a sweet one-handed dunk from Tracy Abrams), there wasn’t a lot to be happy about in this game. Sure, in the end Meyers Leonard had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and Brandon Paul had 21 points and 6 rebounds, but when you have an extra 10 minutes in a game you tend to run up the numbers. Though I am cranky, I have to congratulate Leonard on his 5th double double of the season, now I shall expect it every game.

The Illini started off strong and were up by as many as 13 points in the first half. At halftime the lead was just 10, thanks to a last-second bank 3-shot  from Rodney Williams. Coming into the second, Illinois still seemed to be doing well and Bertrand was all over the place. Then the mistakes began, and they never seemed to stop. On the bright side, every time someone screwed up they would come back and fix it when possible.

With regulation winding down, the Illini were down 2 points and had the ball. Then, Leonard committed a stupid turnover and I was ready to throw the remote and call it a night. Leonard fouled Julian Welch, who is normally a good free throw shooter, but he missed the front end of a 1 and 1. Leonard got the rebound, was fouled and made both free throws. He then went ahead and got a block on the other end, bringing the game into overtime.

In the first overtime, everything seemed to be coming up Illini. Game was tied 70-70, Minnesota missed a layup, and Sam Maniscalco had the ball in his hands with 15 seconds to go. Inexplicably, Sammy took a 3-pointer for absolutely no reason with 10 seconds still to go in the game. Rather than running the offense that was probably drawn up for him a minute prior in the timeout, he decided to make a contested shot with plenty of time to miss and allow Minnesota to get a shot off. I screamed, the dog got scared, the husband worried that the neighbors would call the police. But come on, Sammy! The game could’ve ended at that moment. It was a tie game, get a foul, or get a 2, just end the misery so I can get on with my life.

So then second overtime began. Finally, the Illini calmed down and managed to pull ahead to a comfy 6-point lead with a little over a minute to go. Ralph Sampson III, who had a team-high 22 points for Minnesota, was the only player to score for Minnesota in the second overtime, and Illinois was finally able to pull out a win.

Yeesh, that was way too complicated for the first game of the Big Ten Season for Illinois. The Illini were at home and Minnesota is missing their best player, this should’ve been a slam dunk easy win, not a grind-out double overtime sludge fest. Is a win really a win when it’s infinitely more difficult than it should have been? This is just the beginning for Illinois, who have to head to West Lafayette on Saturday to play at Purdue. Then of course the stretch gets harder with Wisconsin, Ohio State, Michigan State and Michigan ahead, and I guess now we have to worry about Indiana as well? This was supposed to be the easy game, and it was nothing but.

Again, on the bright side Mr. Bertrand had 13 points and 2 blocks. I have no idea why he wasn’t on the court at all times because he was the one who got it done every time. He mentioned after the game that he is playing his best ball since high school, as he is finally relaxed. Though Paul had solid numbers in terms of points and rebounds, he also had 5 turnovers – as did Abrams and Leonard. Twenty-one turnovers is just way too many. Paul admitted after the game that he has made some mistakes and needs to grow out of them, but he’s a junior so when’s that growing up thing going to happen? I am also never going to forgive Maniscalco for that damn 3 at the end of the first overtime. A written apology will be the only thing that I can accept.

Another small glimmer of hope, Nnanna Egwu actually figured out how to use two hands with a rebound, and then follow through to score! He had 5 rebounds and 3 blocks to go with his 2 points. Perhaps he’s learning and maturing? Maybe Paul should get a few pointers on how to do that?

I know I’m being hard on the guys, but starting off conference play with a double overtime game at home is really not what you want to do. They have now set the tone for the rest of the season, which is something like “if you want we’ll make lots of mistakes so you can catch up, so no need to play hard at the beginning of the game.” I wonder what would happen if you put that to music.

So here we are with a 1-0 record in conference play and 12-2 overall, but for some reason, it truly feels like a loss.

Next up, the Illini will head to Purdue on Saturday at 3pm.

Crandall Head has reportedly left the Illini; Photo by Cary Frye

This post was supposed to simply be a preview to tonight’s B1G Conference opener for the Illini against Minnesota, but news is circulating that Crandall Head has left the program.

First things first, the Illini will welcome the Golden Gophers to the Assembly Hall tonight to kickoff conference play for both teams. While this seems like an easy start to the conference season, Minnesota might be tougher than we originally thought.

True, Minnesota wasn’t really supposed to have a great year, but at least they had Trevor Mbakwe, the leading rebounder in the Big Ten last season and pre-season All Big Ten player. However, at the end of November the school reported that after the team’s first loss to Dayton, Mbakwe had torn his ACL and would be out for the season.

Clearly losing Mbakwe is a huge blow to Minnesota, though they’ve gone on to win 6 more games, including beating Virginia Tech at home for the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in the first game after the loss. However, aside from VT, the teams are nothing really to write home about. USC is the only team from a major conference, and they’re not really having the best season. Then, of course, there is the fact that Minnesota hasn’t won on the road since losing Mbakwe.

So basically, I expect a win tonight, and I expect it to be big. Minnesota has played on the road once this year on Nov. 24 against DePaul (so really it doesn’t count). They’re going to be nervous, and blinded by the height that the Illini can boast. Additionally, Illinois will still be smarting from that really close game against Missouri last week.

Obviously the Illini are no longer ranked, and nor do they deserve to be. A win tonight is going to be expected, so the team won’t get any props for pulling it off, unless it’s a big one with a wide margin (at least from me.) A loss, however, would be rather detrimental to their morale, image, and RPI. No one wants to lose the conference opener, at home, against a team that isn’t supposed to be that great anyway and recently lost their best player. Add that all up and the Illini should be ready to dominate.

Minus a Head

It has now been confirmed that Crandall Head has left the Illini program and will look to transfer. More on this disappointing news later today. Luther Head was one of my all-time favorite players from Illinois, which can be seen from the fact that my dog is named Luther.

I had high hopes for Crandall, but he hasn’t seen a lot of playing time, and when he is in he makes a lot of mistakes. He also missed some time early on in the season for “not doing what he’s supposed to,” according to Bruce Weber.

Luther made a lot of mistakes early on, but he matured and grew into his role with the Illini, and led them to a championship game. Perhaps Crandall just doesn’t have the drive, or he just wants to play more.

As more news come, look for another post on Crandall. Sad to see him go, but honestly it might not make too much of a difference to the team right now in terms of on the court, though who knows what it does for them off the court.

I wish him nothing but the best of luck in his future endeavors.

Leonard gets his dunk on against Cornell; Photo by Cary Frye

For the second time this season, Meyers Leonard has been named Big Ten Player of the Week. However, this time he doesn’t have to share the honor with anyone.

Leonard was honored for his performance against Cornell and Missouri last week. It’s somewhat of a surprise, considering they didn’t actually win the game against Missouri. Also, in my opinion Bertrand was the one who had the standout game that night, but either way it’s nice to get some more props for the Illini, even if it’s the same guy getting all the attention.

Here’s what he did:

·         Averaged 16.5 points and 14.5 rebounds in Illinois’ 64-60 win over Cornell and 78-74 loss to No. 9/8 Missouri in St. Louis last week

·         Also averaged 3.5 assists, 2.5 blocks and 1.0 steals while shooting 62.5 percent from the floor last week

·         Set a career high with 16 rebounds against Cornell

·         Earns his second Player of the Week award of the season and of his career

The only other time that Illinois was honored this season was when Leonard was named co-player on December 5. Congrats to him!

Last week the rumors were flying, and today the University of Illinois confirmed that senior running back Jason Ford and redshirt freshman wide receiver Jake Kumerow are academically ineligible under NCAA rules to participate in the 2011 Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl on Dec. 31.

Ford is Illinois’ leading rusher in 2011 with 600 yards on 155 carries (3.9 ypc) and seven touchdowns. He finishes his career 1,962 career rushing yards, which ranks 16^th on the all-time Illinois rushing list, and 26 career rushing touchdowns, which is second in Illinois history behind only Howard Griffith’s school record of 31.

Kumerow played in seven games in 2011 and had three catches for 15 yards on the season. All three of his catches came in the regular season finale at Minnesota on Nov. 26.

From what I heard, Ford just stopped going to class. While he may be the leading rusher in 2011, he still didn’t live up to his expectations, which means going to the NFL is going to be tough in the first place. Now he will be missing the bowl game, so scouts that maybe gave a poop about him will simply forget he existed. I mean, really he should’ve kept up his academic end of the bargain to, you know, help out the team in what’s already going to be a really difficult game with all the coaching turmoil, etc. But, instead, Ford decided to just stick up his middle finger to the entire team and the fans. I’m only happy that in the process he is completely screwing himself.

I don’t even know who Kumerow is, so it’s not fair to go off on him, and perhaps his issues are slightly different. Also, as a redshirt freshman he is sort of young and can learn from his mistakes. Jason Ford knows better, he apparently just didn’t care.

The Illini will leave for San Francisco on Dec. 26.

Bertrand had a standout game against Missouri; Photo by Cary Frye

I knew it was most likely going to happen, but it still stings. In a way it’s good that the Illini kept it close for most of the game, but bad because it means perhaps they could’ve pulled off the upset. In the end, it was Missouri that was triumphant (for the third year in a row) in St. Louis for what is now known as the Bud Light Braggin’ Rights Game (oops). Final score: 78-74.

Despite solid efforts from the starters and a big boost from Joseph Bertrand – who had a career-high 19 points on 9-for-9 shooting, it was a case of too little too late. Down by 11 points at the half, the Illini at least looked alive throughout most of the game. Brandon Paul was a beast again with 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, logging in the first double double of his career. Meyers Leonard also had a double double with 14 points and 13 rebounds.  DJ Richardson supplied a respectable 14 points.

Down by as many as 14 points in the second half, it took the Illini a while to really get going. Then, with Bertrand leading the charge, they took off. With 7 minutes left, a Leonard free throw tied the game up 62-62. Then, with just two minutes to go the Illini even had a 1-point lead!  Then the Tigers scored, then Michael Dixon (anyone else notice he looks like TI?) stole the ball and Kim English made a layup and poof- bye-bye lead.  A more mature team maybe could’ve still pulled off the win down by 4 with 43 seconds to go (there was a lot of time leaking off the clock when a foul might’ve made sense), but alas this wasn’t the team to make that happen.

I guess I can’t be too upset, because looking at the stats the Illini ended up giving them hell by the end of the game, just not enough hell. Some telling stats include the fact that Illinois had 17 turnovers, and shot just 10 free throws compared to Missouri’s 23 – both of which can be a sign of maturity.

As I said before the game began, Missouri is at an advantage with 8 seniors compared to Illinois’ 1, who quite honestly wasn’t really on fire last night. I have to be proud of the effort the guys put in, and chalk it up to the fact that Missouri really is just better. Making an undefeated  No. 8/9 team in the nation sweat in the last few minutes of a game is an impressive feat, just next time let’s take it all the way to the buzzer.

I would assume that the Illini will no longer be ranked next week, though this loss won’t count against them too much when the tourney committee sits down. I can just hear the analysis now as experts discuss the bubble teams (which, let’s face it seems likely for Illinois). “They lost at the United Center to an average UNLV team by a lot, but they really gave Missouri as scare in another neutral site!” It’s clear that one thing the team needs to work on is winning at neutral sites, because this is getting ridiculous.

Up next, conference play begins!! The Illini will start off by welcoming Minnesota at the Assembly Hall on Dec. 27 at 6:30 pm. Minnesota has just one loss this year at home against Dayton, so perhaps they are a little tougher than people first imagined. Either way Illinois should try to beat them into a bloody pulp to raise their spirits.

Tomorrow the Illini will be playing in what could be a really huge and exciting game, and normally I’d be pretty nervous. However, the loss to UNLV left my mind clouded with doubt and I have to imagine that Thursday’s game isn’t going to go they way I would hope. Luckily, a loss won’t make a big difference, but a win would be a tremendous boost. Either way, this game will show the fans – and Coach Weber – about how Illinois can handle a top-tier team in what could be a hostile environment.

To clarify, Illinois will head to St. Louis on Thursday to play Missouri in the annual Busch Braggin’ Rights Game. This game used to be a pretty easy win for Illinois, who are 20-10 overall – including a winning streak that went from 2000-2008. All that changed in 2009 when Missouri embarrassed Illinois with a 81-68 slaughter. Missouri then grabbed a win in 2010, 75-64. That’s two losses in a row, which means the Tigers fans think they’re really awesome and that Missouri owns this match.

If you think about it, no one on the current Illini roster has won a Braggin Rights Game. The only senior is a transfer, and thus everyone else has only had two chances and failed miserably at both. I’m sure this is tough for Tyler Griffey especially, as he is a Missouri native and was recruited heavily by Missouri as well. One has to wonder if he regrets his decision at all, but he seems to be happy as an Illini and is getting a lot more opportunities to get more playing time this year.

As a side note, that also means that no one on the team has ever won at the United Center (as an Illini), so these are certainly records that need to be broken ASAP.

Anyway, while I always want Illinois to get the W, I can’t say that I believe this is the year that it will happen in St. Louis. Missouri is one of the few teams left undefeated, and they are currently ranked 9/8 in the nation. The game is supposed to be a neutral site, and the fan base is usually pretty even. However, with two losses in a row for Illinois in St. Louis and the memory of UNLV so fresh – coupled with Missouri’s early success this year – makes me fear that the Illini fans won’t show up.

Illinois had a win against Cornell this week, but it isn’t one that will make them feel better about themselves as they barely squeaked by with a four-point win. A win is a win, but that wasn’t the first close call and too many scares like that can do a number on the fragile egos of college kids. We saw what happened to the football team who had numerous close games in a row and it wasn’t good. Luckily, unlike the football team, the basketball team was able to bounce back after UNLV.

One hopes that the guys have been watching a lot of tape and making adjustments, but after watching the Cornell game and failing to see adjustments from UNLV I’m not confident that happened. The difference Monday was that Meyers Leonard actually tried, and shots went in. The offense didn’t look anymore together, and there were still many randomly jacked-up 3′s. Also, all the points came from the starters. I have a hard time believing those changes have been made in three days, but who knows. As I said before, this will give an indication as to how the Illini play against a team that may not be more talented, but knows how to find success. How will Illinois react, and will they able to break through and get a win that will make the nation reconsider their status. This is the last game before conference play, and the Illini need to come out on a positive note.

It would have been amazing to come into this game undefeated, but UNLV ruined that dream. The team would’ve been oozing confidence, and it would’ve made for an exciting match. Now, the Illini might have the mentality that I have: we’ve already lost once, what does it matter if we lose to a top-10 team? Although, they may/should be thinking how fantastic it would feel to bring down an undefeated team. I’m sure they want to win, and I don’t think they have the lethargy that we saw last year, but something was amiss at the United Center. I don’t think that pulling off a win is an impossible task, but it is certainly not going to be easy.

When you look at Missouri’s record, it isn’t as impressive as some, which is why they are ranked at the bottom of the top 10 despite being undefeated. Key wins include a win at Cal, who was ranked at the time but has since fallen off. Missouri also beat Notre Dame, but so have a lot of other people. Last key win came at Villanova, another team that is having a down year. I’m certainly not saying that Missouri is a bad team, I’m just saying that maybe the Illini will give them more of a game than they are used to – at least I hope that is what will happen. The key difference has to be experience, as Missouri has just two freshmen and eight seniors on their team. Illinois has just about the opposite with one senior and six freshman. Maturity can oftentimes trump talent, which will be the case if the Tigers get the win.

I will be biting my nails until tipoff tomorrow at 8pm, but will rest assured knowing that a loss does not mean the end of the world, though it will certainly piss me off. Here is your chance to ruin the hopes and dreams of Missouri fans by giving them the first loss of the season, so why not seize the day Illini?

The game will be aired on ESPN2.

DJ Richardson is quickly becoming my favorite Illini; photo by Cary Frye

After Saturday’s icky loss to UNLV at the United Center, questions naturally began to spring up about whether the Illini are really a team that could be successful this year. The polls think they still have potential, as the Illini are still ranked in both polls (24 in coaches, 25 in AP). Though there were many moments tonight that were reminiscent of Saturday’s horror, in the end the starters made sure tonight’s game against Cornell would result in a win. I really think the score should have been 64-58,  but Shonn Miller tipped one more in at the buzzer, so the final score was 64-60.

Down by as many as 10 points in the first half, Illinois was able to make adjustments and keep the game closer in the second. Despite Cornell’s 10 3s and Illinois’ 14 turnovers, Illinois was able to remain in the game at all times. Once it got down to a 10-point deficit and the 3s continued to rain down from the sky, I was worried that the UNLV loss could spell disaster for the rest of the season.  Josh Figini was 3 for 3 from behind the arc, and Drew Perry also contributed three 3s. Luckily, the guys stayed poised and never let things get out of hand.

On Saturday, Meyers Leonard played like sludge and the team lost. Tonight, he almost had a double double in the first half (9 rebounds, 15 points). In total, against Cornell Leonard had 19 points and 14 rebounds to log his fourth double double for the season. He also had 3 blocks, and it clearly made the difference. There was a moment where he headed to the locker room with what appeared to be some sort of back tweak, but he came back out a few minutes later to continue he Leonard domination.

Leonard can’t do it all alone, of course, and his four other starters were right there with him. Tyler Griffey had 7 rebounds and 8 points; after a shaky start DJ Richardson had 17 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists; and Brandon Paul took over again as the clock started to wind down and totaled 3 assists, 15 points and 3 rebounds. Sam Maniscalco could have done a little bit more, but he had 5 points and 6 assists, and made two free throws with just 6 seconds to go to seal the win.

Aside from the starters, there is nothing to report, and yet again the Illini bench scored a whopping zero points. Nuh uh, this isn’t good – and it’s also the reason why the game was way too close for way too long.

A win is a win and I will take it and run, but now I’m getting scared for the rest of the season. Coming up next, the Illini will head to the annual Bragging Rights game in St. Louis. Missouri is super hot right now, so I’m just going to go ahead and give it to the Tigers. However, a win would be HUGE for Illinois in St. Louis.

The important thing is that Illinois got out alive tonight, and can still head into conference play with just 1 or 2 losses. And, a loss to Missouri is not going to hurt them in terms of RPI or any respect, though a win could really give them a boost in so many ways. That game will be on Thursday at 8pm on ESPN2.

Richardson was the only Illini who showed a sign of life last night; photo by Cary Frye

Apparently, the Illini were unable to beat the curse of the United Center. With last night’s 64-48 loss to UNLV, they have now lost at the United Center three years in a row to teams that they really should have beaten. Not to take anything away from UNLV – who made noise earlier this season by beating a No. 1 UNC – but it’s not like they were playing amazing basketball yesterday; Illinois just played worse.

Fans knew that there were some chinks in the Illini armor, but we filled those with hopes, denial and Meyers Leonard dunks. With Leonard playing like crap, those holes were revealed and Illinois lost. The offense was anemic, and just like last year we couldn’t win with Demetri McCamey the only one playing – this year we can’t win with DJ Richardson the only one playing.

Richardson, who has been solid all year, had 19 points and a career-best 8 rebounds (5 was his previous best). He also had 2 assists, but Richardson can’t do all the work, nor should he have to. Brandon Paul tried to do his part with 5 steals, but what good is a steal if no one can shoot the ball? He also ended up fouling out with just 7 points. Sam Maniscalco and Leonard couldn’t get going, and thus the Illini failed. Leonard had 7 points, 6 rebounds and no blocks, while Maniscalco had just 6 points and 2 assists. Leonard actually had more assists with 3 total.

What we’ve learned is that when Leonard is ineffective, the team has a tough time. Honestly, Leonard looked like he was playing through sludge. I don’t know if he was hungover or just didn’t care that he was in front of thousands of fans who really really wanted a win. He just furthered my point that he is not ready for the NBA.  Normally reliable even from the free throw line, he was 1-6!! Again, what’s the point of getting fouled if you’re just going to waste that chance. Word is that according to Weber, Leonard let the NBA go to his head, while my husband thinks that he’s spending too much time with his girlfriend. Either way, get it together or you’ll watch your NBA dreams go up in a puff of smoke ala McCamey.

Here are some ugly stats: The Illini shot 22% for the game, and 28.6% from behind the arc. They were also 50% at the free throw line, which is really appalling. My golden child Richardson was 2-2, btw. Also icky is that UNLV blocked 9 or our shots, while Paul was the only one on the team to get a single block.

UNLV was up 33-22 at the half, and pretty much held onto that lead the entire game. Illinois got about as close as 8 points, and then would do something stupid to let UNLV get that lead back into double digits. Then, in the end, Illinois just gave up. They threw up their hands to the curse of the United Center and let UNLV score even more so that the loss could look even worse than it did while watching the game.

This isn’t the worst loss that could happen, but it’s a blow to the Illini ego at the beginning of what will be a tough week. Tomorrow night they’ll have Cornell at home, which isn’t going to be a cake walk. Then, on Thursday they will head to St. Louis and play an undefeated Missouri, a game that I can almost assure you will be a loss. As long as they can beat Cornell at home, then Illinois will be 11-2 going into conference play (Minnesota comes to town on 12/27). This isn’t a terrible record by any means, but the Illini have to make sure to avoid a downward spiral and beat Cornell tomorrow. They also need to give Missouri an actual game, which based on yesterday’s performance might not happen.

I’m a tad worried about the team’s future now, as we saw what happens when Meyers Leonard can’t get going, and we have to be able to bounce back when Leonard isn’t able to produce. Just like it’s not fair to make Richardson do all the work, it’s not fair to force Leonard to be good every night. There was a lot of standing around looking confused yesterday, and then lots of missed shots. The first part can definitely be fixed, and then perhaps it will lead to the solution to the second part.

Again, this wasn’t the worst thing that could happen to Illinois, but it is disappointing to see them lose at the United Center AGAIN. Next year, I might do Illinois a favor and stay home. The fact that I was sitting by a 10-year old boy who was eating the entire game and had no idea what was happening (He didn’t understand the concept of a jump ball) and then switched in the second half to sit by a know-it-all Santa clone did not help my mood. Oh, and to add insult to yesterday’s injury, the volleyball team lost to UCLA in the national championship, so that happened.

Up next, the Illini need to bounce back and beat Cornell on Monday at 7.

In the past, the United Center was thought to be the Illini’s home away from home where winning comes easy. Since the 1994-95 season, the Illini are 32-10, which is a pretty great record to have. However, in the last few years something has happened, and the United Center is no longer a friendly place for the Illini basketball team. The fans are still friendly of course (providing the Illini are winning), but the team just hasn’t been winning.

Since moving to Chicago, I have attended every United Center game, so perhaps this jinx is my fault? Keep in mind that 32-10 record included Big Ten Conference Tournament games, because I just figured that out.

Anyway, we’re talking about the curse that occurs every December when the Illini host a variety of teams, including the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) Flames every four years. My first United Center game was in 2006, when the Illini beat UIC 71-66. Then, in 2007 a far-from-prime Arizona team headed to the United Center and beat Illinois,  72-78 in overtime. I got to see another win in 2008 when Illinois trounced Georgia 76-42 (sidnote the next year I visited a friend in Atlanta and saw Georgia get revenge with a win over Illinois). However, that Georgia win was the last I’ve seen, as the next year Gonzaga won 85-83 in overtime, and last year UIC stunned the crap out of Illinois, winning 57-54.

The UIC loss last year was a fluke, but oh yeah it happened. Thus, since I’ve been attending United Center games the Illini have a record of 2-3. That is a losing record at the team’s “home away from home,” and includes a two-year skid. I’ve had enough! It’s time to break the curse.

This year, Illinois will welcome UNLV to town, which will be sort of a rematch after last years first round of the tournament where Illinois got the win! However, Illinois lost four players and added seven new ones to the team this year, so we’re hardly the same. UNLV has  a brand-new coach in Dave Rice, so they’re not the same team, either and at least three players have left. While Illinois won in March of this year 73-62, this is by no means an indication as to what will happen on Saturday.

On the bright side, this year’s Illini team looks nothing like the one that lost at the United Center last year. This team would not have lost to UIC, because they’ve got the tenacity and love for the game that drives them to win, which wasn’t anywhere in last year’s team. UNLV had a big win against North Carolina this year, but they have since lost on the road to Wichita State and Wisconsin. That big win was in Las Vegas, so perhaps the team doesn’t travel well? So far they have only won win on the road vs. UC Santa Barbara.

The United Center is still essentially a home game for Illinois, which will be to our advantage for sure. However, the six freshman have never played at the United Center, and since most of them are from Chicago they might be a tad nervous in front of the home crowd. For this reason, I imagine Coach Weber will be sticking more to the starting lineup like he did against Maryland. Despite UNLV’s two losses, the team is still quite good; beating North Carolina is no easy task. But I believe the undefeated No. 19 Illini will still be triumphant. Of course I had hoped we could go into this game both undefeated, as it would be an even more solid win for Illinois, but the fact that UNLV has lost a couple times makes the game less intimidating.

To add insult to injury in terms of the curse, the Illini have also had a week off from playing. Some thing a break is a good thing, but I think it will make them start off somewhat slow and sluggish, but probably nowhere near as sluggish as last year’s team finished every game! So there is another plus.

For the first time this year, I will also be in the stands as a fan, rather than in press row. I’m ready scream and yell and show the Illini my appreciation for all they’ve ton. I hope they can return the favor with a win.

The game will be at 4pm on Saturday at the BTN.