Illinois vs. tOSU

Illinois vs. tOSU

Tonight @ 6pm

We were 21-15 last year, and we finished 5^th in the Big 10 with a 10-8 record. Typically, the top 5 teams in the Big 10 are virtually guaranteed a spot in the big dance. But last year, the tournament committee pulled the old switcheroo and put Minnesota, the #6 team, into the tournament.

This year, we sit at 17-10 overall and 7-7 in conference. Looking at the record, and judging by our recent play, I’m not sure that there are many casual Illini fans who think we are tourney bound. But what was expected to be an exceptionally strong year for the Big 10 has turned out to be very top heavy conference.

Only tOSU, Purdue, and Wisconsin have winning records in the Big 10. Illinois is actually tied for 4^th with MSU, while PSU and Michigan are only a ½ game back at 7-8. Illinois will make the tournament this year, but they will have to split the last 4 games at the very least.

TEAM	CONF	OVERALL
Ohio State	12-2	25-2
Purdue	11-3	22-5
Wisconsin	10-4	20-6
Illinois	7-7	17-10
Michigan State	7-7	15-11
Michigan	7-8	17-11
Penn State	7-8	14-12
Minnesota	6-8	17-9
Northwestern	6-9	16-10
Indiana	3-11	12-15
Iowa	3-12	10-17

I’ve been an Illini fan my entire life, and I’ve never thought of the Illini as a team that measures success based on making the tournament. We win Big 10 Titles and make deep runs in the tournament. I thought that this year was when we would return to those standards. That is why 2010-11 has been so frustrating for all of us. We returned 5 starters and 7 letter winners that were joined by a top 10 recruiting class. It is going to take a deep run in the tournament for most Illini fan to consider this season a success.

tOSU – Time to get to work.

The Muckeyes have only lost twice this year. If you missed the 2^nd loss, it was this past Saturday at the hands of the Purdue Boilermakers 76-63. What does this mean for the Illini? It means the Buckeyes are mad.

The last time we played tOSU, we were on the losing end of a hard fought, 73-68 game. Two players made the difference for tOSU. Of course, one of them was Jared Sullinger who scored 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in 40 minutes of play. The other player was freshman guard Aaron Craft. Craft only had 5 points in the game, but he absolutely shut down Dimitri McCamey. This was the beginning of D-Mac’s February slump.

We’re playing the #2 team in the nation after a home loss. We need more than a few players to step up and have a good game; we need everybody. We need McCamey, Mike Davis, Brandon Paul, and Jereme Richmond. We need Coach Weber, Coach Price, Coach McClain, and Coach Howard. Even Graduate Assistants Chester Frazier and Sean Harrington need to be in top form. Hell, the water boy better bring his A game. With all that, I’m still nervous.

Illinois – 61

tOSU – 65

Sincerely,

The Bubble