Illinois vs. Fichigan

Illinois vs. Fichigan
Tonight @ 6 p.m.

There are two undefeateds left in all of college basketball, and both will see action tonight as Illinois heads to Ann Arbor and Boston College takes on Notre Dame in South Bend. If you get a chance, flip over at the commercials because BC vs. the Fighting Irish should be a good one. Notre Dame has some phatty beads and they're going to expose BC like a college girl on Bourbon Street. And as all the sinners pass out from a night of booze and debauchery, Illinois will be the only team left w/a chance to run the table in the regular season.

Michigan

After last year's "championship" run in the Not Important Tournament (NIT), Michigan looked strong earlier this season and was poised to surprise a few teams and maybe even earn a birth in the NCAA. Unfortunately, injuries to Lester Abram (shoulder - season ending) and Graham Brown (hernia), combined w/Daniel Horton's indefinite suspension for allegedly choking his girlfriend (how many felons are we going to play this year?), the Wolverines are flat on their backs and looking up at the champ.

Abram and Horton were the team's top players, but without them Michigan has dropped their last 6 games in a row. Dion Harris (6'3" 205) has tried to fill the void at point guard, but his 9 turnovers against tOSU show his inexperience handling the rock. As a team, Michigan recorded 29 turnovers in Saturday's loss, and they have tallied 88 turnovers in the last 4 games. That has to be a record. Keep your eye on Sophomore Brent Petway (6'8" 205), the kid has big league hops and is fun to watch.

Illinois

From what I've read, the mood in the Illini locker room following Sunday's game against Indiana was so somber that you would have thought the team lost by 13 instead of won by 13. Bruce Weber said earlier in the season that Illinois doesn't have to lose in order to learn. A blow out win over Michigan should prove that tonight.

The Illini will come out w/intense 3-quarter court pressure to take advantage of Fichigan's inexperienced backcourt. They'll want to play like they did in the first five minutes of the Indiana game. Deron Williams collected 7 of his 11 assists in that opening sequence Saturday. The kid collects dimes like everyone's favorite Champaign bum "Spare Anything" on Green Street. Deron's scoring average took a hit as he only had 1 point Saturday, but I think he'll break out tonight w/a double-double…20 pts 10 dimes.

Illinois - 87
Fichigan - 69


Sincerely,

Dee's 'Fraids