Summertime . . . . .Quiet times on campus

The summer months on the University of Illinois campus tend to be quiet and uneventful. However, the last couple of months the Illinois sports teams have been in the news, and a couple of individual student/athletes have been creating quite a buzz in their respective sports. First, on the football side of things, the announcement of Nathan Scheelhaase as the starting quarterback entering Camp Rantoul has caused some fallout in the ranks. Jacob Charest, who saw some action last season when Juice Williams was benched, has decided to transfer closer to his North Carolina home, most likely because of the Scheelhaase verdict. This leaves true freshman Chandler Whitmer as the backup to Scheelhaase, so if there are any issues early on with the offense (and given the state of the program as of late, that is entirely possible), look for Whitmer to get his feet wet. Personally, I think that Charest made a premature decision by leaving, but I can see the issue from both sides. And, to add to the intrigue, it was announced earlier on Tuesday that former defensive lineman Josh Brent has decided to enter the NFL supplementary draft instead of trying to regain his eligibility. Brent enrolled at Parkland last spring as a measure to increase his grades, but according to a UI spokesman, didn't improve them as much as he needed to, and therefore, is exploring the NFL option instead.

On the basketball front, the men's program continues to point upward, while the women's program remains a question mark. Coach Bruce Weber got yet another commitment from Mychael Henry, which means that the program is in good hands for the distant future. With all of the interest in assistant coach Jerrance Howard lately, the Illini are in need to make a move to keep him in place. However, Jerrance's heart bleeds orange and blue, so that shouldn't be a problem. Howard has been courted by Coach John Calipari of Kentucky, where he was an assistant before coming to the Illini coaching staff. Howard played for the Illini and is a good candidate for a future head coach one day.

Another semester, another player dismissed from the Illini women's team. It really should come as no surprise, but freshman guard Brianna Jones has been booted by Jolette Law for a violation of team rules. Also announced earlier this week was the transfer of Fabiola Josil to North Florida. This has become a broken record of sorts, with the total of players leaving the program for one reason or another increasing on a yearly basis. Something needs to be done about this and quick, or else this program will remain in limbo and will never rise to the level that it is capable of.

Now for some better news. Illini junior Scott Langley made quite a splash in the golfing world recently. Langley won the individual title in the NCAA Tournament in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and then won a US Open qualifier in his home area of St. Louis to get to play with the pros at Pebble Beach. Langley finished the tournament at 8 over par, shooting a 292 for the weekend, giving him a tie for 16th place overall. Not a bad showing for the youngster, who insists that he will be back at Illinois for his senior season to try and help the Illini win the NCAA team title next season.

Finally, Illini track and field standout Angela Bizzari has completed a sensational season on the track, winning the Dike Eddelman award for the third time. This is unprecedented, and I am sure that she has an Olympic future in front of her. Bizzari had to withdraw from the 5000 meters at the NCAA Championships, citing a case of nerves as the culprit.

Enjoy the rest of the summer folks, as Camp Rantoul is only 50 days away!

Illini Draft hopefuls and other tidbits

The local radio scene in Champaign-Urbana has a lot of information regarding the Fighting Illini, and with good reason. The main AM station is the flagship of the Illini Sports Network, and offers some good coverage of Illini sports of all kinds. While listening to the elder statesmen of the scene, Jim Turpin and Loren Tate one morning, they happened on to a topic that I couldn't agree more with; the fact that it seems to be basketball season all year round, or at least the main topic for sports talk radio. Even in the fall, when football season is upon us and Ron Zook's squad should reign supreme, for some reason people still want to talk about basketball. Maybe it has something to do with the way the respective sports have fared over the past few seasons, with the basketball team enjoying modest success, while the football team has not endured much success, except for a bowl appearance here and there. Basketball talk seems to be more interesting for people, what with recruiting issues, coaching banter, and potential NBA Draft picks, there is a lot to talk about. Normally, with football recruiting, that is centered around a certain time of the calendar year, while basketball recruiting seems to be more widespread.

Over the past few seasons, the Illini have missed out on most of the top recruits in the state of Illinois, and as a result, they have gone elsewhere to play their college ball. It seems like Illinois just cannot land that premiere player, although that trend might be changing just a bit. Jereme Richmond, who is one of the top players in the state, has been committed to the Illini since he was a freshman in high school. Richmond is set to enter Illinois this summer, bringing full circle a recuiting saga that has lasted well over 4 years. Two other incoming players , Meyers Leonard and Crandall Head, have not been on the radar nearly as long. Leonard was virutally unknown until his junior year, when he began to blossom into the player that he has become. He is now rated as one of the top 20 players to come out of the class of 2010, which is an added benefit to Coach Bruce Weber and his coaching staff. Head, the younger brother of former Illini Luther Head, has been heralded as a potential star, but injuries have limited his play over the past year, so he is a wait-and-see type of player that very well may be a redshirt candidate when he enrolls at Illinois later this year.

Football recruiting, on the other hand, has taken a serious hit over the past season. With the coaching staff shuffle on the football side of things taking place, some recruits that were all but signed, sealed and delivered, are no longer in the mix. This has given a sense of pessimism to the outlook for 2010, and people just don't seem to want to talk about most of the players that are in this incoming class. I talked about not being impressed at the Illini's spring football game for the players that are coming back, and really cannot see how most of these recruits will do anything to give the Illini any reasonable chance at attaining a bowl bid for this season, something that may save Ron Zook's job. Hopefully I am wrong about this feeling, but for now, that is the way I see it.

Back to basketball again, the Illini's chances to make a serious run for Houston in 2o11 got stronger on Saturday, when both Demetri McCamey and Mike Davis pulled their names out of the NBA Draft and will return to school for their senior seasons. McCamey, who would have remained in the draft if he was guaranteed a first round pick, didn't feel that it was likely to happen, and will attempt to elevate his stock by finishing out his career as an Illini. Davis, who more than likely was just testing the waters by exploring the NBA, probably didn't have that good of a chance to be drafted high, and will more than likely benefit from another year in the college ranks. A deep run is a possibility for the Illini if everything holds together, and with playing time limited for some, it remains to be seen if there will be any other transfers before the start of the season. We know that Stan Simpson is already gone, and Richard Semrau is not returning to max out his eligibility either, but with an influx of guards on this Illini team next season, one wonders what the future holds for a guy like Jeff Jordan. With Joseph Bertrand in the mix for next season, it really limits the field at that position. I guess we will just have to wait and see how this plays out over the summer. Yet another example of basketball talk reigning supreme.

Finally, to close this installment of the Illini Guy Report with a quick recap on the baseball and softball teams, two squads apparently going in different directions. The baseball team took 2 of 3 from Ohio State over the weekend in Columbus, and find themselves at 23-22 overall, yet just 8-10 in the Big Ten. They will host Purdue this coming weekend at Illinois Field for a three game set starting Friday evening. The games on Friday and Saturday will begin at 6:05 pm, while the series finale on Sunday is slated to start at 1:05. The softball team is enjoying their best season in school history, and despite a 3-2 loss to DePaul last Wednesday, are 39-6 overall and 12-2 in conference play. They will close the regular season at home this week against Purdue on Wednesday for a doubleheader, then single games this weekend on Friday and Saturday against Minnesota. There is still a good chance that the Illini will host either a first and second round matchup, or even a super regional. Stay tuned.

Hooray! It's Spring!

No offense, but that Illini spring football game on Saturday was less than a stellar affair. All the hype building up during spring practice regarding the new coaches and their respective regimes finally was able to be seen, and if the performance on the field is anything reminiscent of what will take place in the fall, then some people have cause for worry. Gone are Juice Williams and Arrelious Benn, who are trying to ply their trades at the next level (more on this later on), and with the new coaching staff comes some new players as well. Starting at the quarterback position, Nathan Scheelhaase looks to be the person that will take the baton and carry on as the season begins in August. Scheelhaase ran plays with the first team offense, and while his numbers looked okay (11-2o, 126 yards passing), his perfomance stated otherwise. Scheelhaase threw two interceptions, and at times, was left scrambling in the backfield. It is apparent that Scheelhaase has the potential to be a good quarterback, but his trademark is his arm, and that was never really utilized during the game. His counterpart on the other side, Jacob Charest, was much worse, only completing 2 passes in 8 attempts for just 15 yards. Charest was sidelined for a good portion of the game with an ankle injury, which gave incoming freshman Chandler Whitmer a chance to get some action. Charest also threw two interceptions, and mis-handled a snap late in the ball game. Whitmer completed 7 of his 8 passes for 43 yards, including a 1o yard touchdown reception to Eddie Viliunas as time expired. Even though the quarterbacks were "off-limits" during the game, as evidenced by the white jerseys, Whitmer was in position to get sacked several times. On the ground, the result was much better and more encouraging, as Mikel Leshoure and Jason Ford led the way with 129 and 99 yards, respectively. Leshoure, who carried the ball 12 times, scored twice, including a 75 yard scamper that had to please Zook. Ford, who just had 6 carries, scored once on a 56 yard run down the sidelines. So much for the change in offensive structure.

But we had to see this coming, didn't we? As last season ended, the recruits started to de-commit, and even some of the players on the roster either left school or asked to be released from their scholarships. One such player was wide receiver A. J. Jenkins, who apparently had seen enough of what was going on and wanted his release. When Paul Petrino was hired as the offensive, it must have been enough to sway Jenkins to stay put. Good thing, On Saturday, Jenkins caught 6 passes for 95 yards, and may have jumped into the role of leading receiver. All this from a guy who was as good as gone a few short months ago. The crowd, which was announced as just under 6,000, looked a lot smaller, and the weather forecast was probably the blame for more fans not attending. The outlook doesn't look that good for 2o1o, but with some luck, this team may be lucky to win the 6 games it needs to become bowl eligible. A favorable non-conference schedule might be the saving grace, because the way the team is right now, they are not ready for what the Big Ten may throw at them.

Football at Wrigley Field? It's official! The Illini will play Northwestern at the Friendly Confines on Saturday, November 20, in the first football game to be held in the park since the Bears last played there nearly 50 years ago. The game, which will actually be a home game for the Wildcats, is sure to be a big draw and will also be a hot commodity for television, so look for a major network to pick the game up. Let's just hope that the teams warrant such exposure.

The NFL Draft has come and gone, and several Fighting Illini players were drafted and will try and take their game to the next level. Benn was taken in the second round (pick #39) by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, which was a bit disappointing for Regus, who thought he might go higher. A player that wasn't upset with his pick was Jon Asamoah, who was drafted in the third round (pick #68) by the Kansas City Chiefs. Asamoah almost sounded giddy on his teleconference, saying that this was a dream come true, although when he entered college at Illinois, didn't realistically think that this was ever an option. Finally, the final Illini player taken in the draft was Bloomington Central Catholic product Michael Hoomanawanui, who was selected by the St. Louis Rams in the 5th round (pick #132). Several players that went undrafted signed free agent contracts after the conclusion of the draft. Juice Williams signed with the Bears, wide receiver Jeff Cumberland signed on with the New York Jets, Daniel Dufrene signed with the New York Giants, and Chris Duvalt inked with the Seattle Seahawks. Once team mini-camps begin, it remains to be seen how far some of these players will continue on with these teams.

Finally, not to be left out, the Illini basketball team made some news over the past couple of weeks with a couple of players declaring for the NBA Draft. No surprise was Demetri McCamey, who has been toying with the idea for quite some time, but more peculiar was junior Mike Davis, who also declared. Neither player has hired an agent, so if they don't like what they are hearing about their draft prospects, they can return to school in the fall and resume their careers with Illinois. More on this later.

New York state of mind

Two down, and.........three to go? The Fighting Illini continued their run in the NIT Tournament with a convincing 73-58 win over the Kent State Golden Flashes on Monday night, and in the process, moved into the quarterfinals of the tourney and only need one more win to earn a return trip to New York, this time with a little more meaning. Rewind back to last week with me for a moment when the Illini traveled to Stony Brook, New York to battle the Stony Brook Seawolves on their home court, despite being given the #1 overall seed in the tourney. You see, a little thing called Cirq du Soleil was booked at the Assembly Hall, and Huff Hall on campus didn't have a regulation sized court. Plus, some goofy rule about games not being played at neutral sites in this tournament left no choice than to move the game to the opponent's floor, hence Stony Brook. This was a huge deal for the school, and they came out playing like it, too. But, in the end, the Illini were just too physical, and they eaked out a 76-66 victory, moving them into their matchup with Kent State.

Nobody was really excited to miss the NCAA Tournament and settle for the NIT, but there's an old adage that goes something like "when life gives you lemons, make lemonade". Can the same be said for apples? Or, in this case, The Big Apple? Spurned from the NCAA, the Illini made it their mission to play to win the NIT, and so far, they are holding up that claim. The next chink in the armor comes on Wednesday evening when the Illini host the Dayton Flyers (8:00 pm central time, ESPN2) in the third round, or as I like to call it, the quarterfinal round of the NIT. The winner of this game gets to play in Madison Square Garden in the Final Four. There are still some big names left in the NIT field, and the Illini have the possibility of running up against some of these teams down the road. They may even have some scores to settle with the teams for past meetings in the NCAA Tourney. Virginia Tech (2008 NCAA, loss), North Carolina (2005 National Championship, loss), and the game on Wednesday against Dayton (1982 NIT, loss and 1990 NCAA, loss). Previous records can be eliminated in these situations, but I thought it would still be fun to recount the past meetings that the Illini have had with the aforementioned schools and the sweet revenge that the possibility of winning an NIT Championship would be. Yes, I know it is not the "Big Dance", but it is still a trophy and all the players that I talked to after the Illini win on Monday night agrees with me.

Actually, the Illini have a chance to play on the parquet of MSG four times out of their next seven games, because the Illini will be in the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic in New York coming up in November. When the season ended in Indianapolis and the Illini were left out of the 65 team NCAA field, Coach Bruce Weber told the guys that this NIT opportunity was similar to an early season tournament for next season. All they are losing are Dominique Keller, who has seen limited action the past few weeks, Richard Semrau, who is leaving the program at season's end and never was much of a factor this year, and spiritual leader Bubba Chisholm. There may be another one or possibly two that might not return, but essentially the Illini remain intact for the 2010-2011 season, plus they will be adding 3 players to the mix and also getting Joseph Bertrand back from his redshirt season. All the more incentive to play as a team and get better, so that when they season officially starts, they can pick up where they left off. Literally.

Uusally only 3 teams end up winning their last game of the season, the eventual NCAA Champion, plus the NIT Champ and third-place winner. The Illini can possibly lay claim to the latter two scenarios, and they are just one win away from getting a chance to do so.

Bracket Racket - Let The Madness Begin

Well, that wasn't the result that Illini Nation was expecting. After a valiant run in the Big Ten Tournament over the weekend at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, the Illini found themselves on the outside looking in at the field of 65 as the brackets were unveiled on Sunday night. Still, this event is one of the highlights of my sports season, and not seeing Illinois pop up on the screen is, frankly, a little strange. Since Lou Henson departed as coach of the Illini, they have only missed the NCAA Tournament a total of 3 times in that span, and have not played in the NIT since 1996, which coincidentally was Henson's final game as coach of the Illini. Until this year. Since the Illini wasn't one of the 65 teams selected for the "Big Dance", they accepted a bid to play in the NIT, which is more commonly thought of as the little sister of the NCAA Tournament and may as well stand for such terms as "Not Invited Tournament" or "Not Interested Tournament". Whatever you wish to call it, the Illini are playing in it, and there is little anyone can do about it. Thanks to a scheduling conflict at the Assembly Hall (Circ du Soleil has the Hall booked for all of this week), the Illini have to hit the road in the first round, despite being given a #1 seed in the NIT.

So, where are they headed, you ask? To Stony Brook University (Wednesday, 8:00 pm ESPNU), which is on Long Island, New York (I had no idea where it was, so I had to look it up). This is the Seawolves' first ever post-season berth since becoming a Division 1 team 11 years ago, and the photo at the beginning of this blog shows the Pritchard Gymnasium, where the team has played their games while their other facility was being renovated. To say that this gym is small would be a gross understatement. Luckily, the venue that the game will be played in is about 5200 capacity, still a small crowd compared to what the Illini are used to playing in front of. The question I have about this is if the game is going to be held in a cracker box such as this, why couldn't the University use Huff Hall, which would have given the Illini a home game in the first round like is should be. According to Bruce Weber Huff isn't a legal court, so it couldn't be used. Not really sure that that means, or they could have moved the game to a neutral site closer to Champaign-Urbana so fans could actually attend the game and support the team. It is no secret that the Illini are disappointed to not be playing in the tournament with 4 letters, and to give them an assignment such as this in the first round tells me 1 of 2 things. They are either rewarding the Illini with a somewhat easy matchup, or penalizing them by putting them in the middle of nowhere and letting them travel sans fans to the contest. It is almost evident that a lot of fans won't bother to make the trip east, and the Illini fans fortunate enough to live near New York City will get the rare opportunity to see their team up close in a venue that may resemble a high school facility.

So, how did the Illini get themselves in this mess to begin with? Everything always seems to point back to the Las Vegas Invitational and the two games that were played in Sin City, which were both losses, and bad ones for the NCAA resume as a result. They knew it then, and those games kept showing up and looking worse as time went on. The Illini did have some quality wins throughout the season, with victories at Wisconsin, at Clemson, and at home against Vanderbilt and Michigan State. Couple those with another win over Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten Tourney and a double overtime loss to top-seeded and eventual tourney champ Ohio State in the semis, and the feeling was a little bit more relaxed. But, nobody saw what Minnesota was doing, and slowly, they knocked off Penn State on Thursday, Michigan State on Friday, and thoroughly embarrassed Purdue on Saturday to get to the championship game. This changed the view of things quite sharply and many thought that if it came down to Illinois and Minnesota, that Minnesota would get the nod. Well, in the end, that is exactly what happened. Minnesota's name was called on Selection Sunday, and the Illini's were not, and the snub has once again reared the 'Fire Weber' threads on message boards, which frankly, was expected.

If the Illini can get by the Seawolves, they would play their next two games at the Assembly Hall, but how many fans will actually show up to the games? Fans aren't excited about playing in the NIT, especially with the likes of North Carolina, Connecticut, Virginia Tech and Mississippi State in the field as well. The NIT bracket resembles a region or two of what would normally look like teams in the NCAA Tournament. Maybe the Big Dance should expand to 96 teams. That would probably make the NIT irrelevant, and we would not be having this discussion.

Regardless, enjoy the game and hope that the Illini can play another game in front of the home crowd.

The Second Season

Ok, bracketologists, this week is dedicated to you. Championship week has arrived, the precursor to the unveiling of the 65 teams that will battle it out for the national championship next month. If you are a sports fan, especially a college basketball fan, then chances are you are in heaven this week. So much is on the line this week for so many teams, and that could not be more apparent for the Fighting Illini, who find themselves on shaky ground and square on the NCAA bubble. Not to say that they don't deserve to be where they are, because they have had some really bad losses this season and, to make matters even worse, haven't taken care of business over the past few weeks to solidify themselves a spot in the "dance". Yet, sitting at 18-13 overall as they head to Indianapolis to begin play in the Big Ten Tournament on Friday, there they are being talked about as one of the Lucky 65 that will be rejoicing come Sunday. Personally, I don't see this, because the Illini have really done nothing as of late to give me any indication that they belong in the field come Selection Sunday. Losing at home against Minnesota and Wisconsin during the critical stage of their season doesn't bode well, but who am I to say? That is the selection committee's job to seed these teams, and not mine. Thank goodness for that!

The Illini certainly will know their opponent in the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, because they just faced them last Sunday. The Wisconsin Badgers, probably still sore from the beatdown that the Illini gave them in Madison in February, came into the Assembly Hall with a score to settle and a point to prove. In the first meeting, the Badgers were without Jon Leuer, who was injured, but it didn't take long for the Illini to see that he was back. The game was pretty tight throughout, but once again the Illini fell behind by double digits and tried to make a valiant comeback, which fell short this time around. Demetri McCamey, who has carried the Illini through thick and thin this season, had another sub-par game, and even got into it with Coach Weber on the bench. Weber joked with reporters after the game saying it was all "hugs and kisses" between him and his star guard, and that it was a good teaching moment between a father and a son. Since Weber doesn't have any sons of his own, he probably makes those points evident through the players that he coaches. I have normally been a defender of Weber and some of the things that he does, but on Sunday, he did (or didn't do) some things that maybe could have swung the momentum in the other direction. At the end of the first half, with 2 fouls to give and trailing by 3, Weber could have called for fouls that would have essentially ran out the clock. Instead, he doesn't call for the fouls, and Keaton Nankivil buries a triple at the buzzer that put the Badgers up by 6. The Illini would get no closer than 5 in the second half, and will now limp into Conseco Fieldhouse needing at least 1 win, maybe more to feel good about their chances on Sunday.

Speaking of the Big Ten Tournament, the action kicks off on Thursday with 3 games, leading off with Michigan (8 seed) vs Iowa (9 seed) squaring off at 1:30 central time. After that game, Northwestern (7 seed) takes on Indiana (10 seed), followed by Minnesota (6 seed) battling Penn State (11 seed) to close out the action on the first day. Friday's action begins at 11:00 central time with the top seed Ohio State Buckeyes taking on the Michigan-Iowa winner. The Illini (5 seed) and the Badgers (4 seed) are the second game of the day, then after a little break, the evening session kicks in with the second seed Purdue taking on the winner of the Northwestern-Indiana game. Michigan State, the third seed, will face the winner of the Minnesota-Penn State game in the final game on Friday. The winners of those matchups will meet on Saturday afternoon with the championship game set for Sunday afternoon, just before the brackets are unveiled.

In closing this Big Ten Tournament edition of the "On Campus With The Illini Guy" blog, the Illini have had some good wins this season, namely on the road at Clemson, at home against Vanderbilt and Michigan State, and also the win at Wisconsin. However, bad losses in Las Vegas against Utah and Bradley, and the loss at Georgia sting at this point, while the loss at the United Center in Chicago against Gonzaga really would have put this team over the top, just have fans shaking their heads at this point. Is it enough? We shall see in a few short days. Enjoy the tournament folks, because you know I will!

Welcome To March Madness

It's here! That month on the calendar that has bracketologists everywhere up in arms. Yes, I'm talking about March Madness, that event that occurs every year around this time and for basketball purists like myself, is pure heaven. The Fighting Illini have endured a wicked stretch of games over the past couple of weeks, and all that is left now are two games, one on the road against Ohio State (March 2, 8:00 pm), and at home against Wisconsin (March 7, 11:00 am). Let's backtrack for a minute, to the beginning of this grueling cavalcade, shall we? When the Illini entered this 8 game mini-season, they were still trying to fins themselves and a lot of "experts" gave them no chance, many even going as far to say that they would not win any of the 8 games remaining. Well, the Illini have defied those pundits' beliefs with a 3-3 mark, which is about as good as you can expect. A win at home against Michigan State, who was without Kalin Lucas, and victories on the road against Wisconsin and Michigan, gave Illini fans hope for the postseason. However, home losses to Ohio State and Minnesota in this stretch, and a road loss to Purdue, have Illini Nation on pins and needles as they await the final two games of the regular season. As has been the mantra for this Illini team for most of the season, they fall behind a team and then try to make a valiant comeback effort, sometimes not being able to come back full circle. This was the case last Saturday, as the Illini dug themselves a hole against Minnesota, trailing by as much as 19 points during the contest, and then staging a thrilling comeback and almost pulling the game out. However, the Illini lost 62-60 to the Golden Gophers, and maybe the only person who would have been able to get the Gophers on that day was Carl Spackler himself. This is nothing new for this Illini team, spotting the other team a double digit advantage, but some teams you just cannot come back on. Saturday, Minnesota was one of those teams. Presenting matchup problems for the Illini from the start, the Illini just didn't have it in the first half, as they missed shot after shot, en route to only scoring 14 points in the half and a 10 point deficit. At times I have heard churches louder than the Assembly Hall was, but the play by the Illini gave the fans something to cheer about. It finally did get loud, but down the stretch, both Bill Cole and Demetri McCamey fouled out, leaving literally no floor leader to complete the comeback. The Illini had a good look at the final shot, but couldn't get it done. Jeff Jordan, with his dad in attendance, decided to pass off the final shot and got it to freshman D. J. Richardson, who missed the shot as time expired. His Airness would not have passed over that shot, and maybe it was a confidence thing with Jeff, but whatever the reason, the Illini went down to defeat.

So, where does this leave the Illini come Selection Sunday? Depends on who you talk to and what you look at. The loss to Minnesota certainly didn't help their chances, and my firm opinion is the Illini need to win at least 1 of the last 2 games, plus a win in the Big Ten Tournament to feel somewhat good about their chances. The Illini currently stand at 18-11 overall and 10-6 in Big Ten play as of the Ohio State game, which means that to get to that elusive total of 20, they will indeed have to win at least 1 of the remaining 2, plus win one in Indy at the conference tournament. But even then, it is not a given that the Illini are in. Many fans have been speaking their displeasure lately about Bruce Weber and his coaching abilities, and most of this banter has been coming from fans that are not too happy with the way he is coaching or even the current plight of the team. The Big Ten has been pretty tough this season, and certainly the Illini losses in Las Vegas to Utah and Bradley don't help the resume, but they have had some good wins this season as well, including wins at home against Vanderbilt, as well as road victories at Clemson and Wisconsin. I have seen the Illini anywhere falling between an 8 seed to an 11 seed, and that can certainly change over the final week of the regular season.

It was announced last week by Weber that Richard Semrau would not return for his fifth season, the one he received when he sat out as a medical redshirt. Semrau has been buried on the bench this year, and is pursuing a master's degree at the U of I and just thinks it is best that he not come back. He cited the lack of play and wanting to focus on his degree as the reasons for his decisions. I wish him well.

This has been another disappointing season for the Fighting Illini women's basketball team, and there has been some turmoil and controversy as well, starting with the departure of Destiny Williams earlier in the season. That being said, the tandem of Lacey Simpson and Jenna Smith, have played out their home careers with the Illini, and now Jolette Law's ladies venture to Indianapolis later this week to battle the Indiana Hoosiers in the opening round of the Big Ten Tournament (Thursday, March 4 3:50 pm central time), on the Big Ten Network. All Smith has done has become the all-time rebounding and blocks leader in program history, and ended up second in career points. Simpson became the all-time steals leader, as well as the record for most games played as an Illini. Both will be sorely missed, and one wonders what direction the program is headed in with them two gone. Law was supposed to be this savior for the program and set it towards new heights. However, the Illini finished 15-13 in the regular season and 7-11 in the conference, and received the 9th seed in the conference tourney opposite the Hoosiers. Is there a run left in them as they gear up for Indy? Doubtful, but we shall see.

The Fighting Illini baseball and softball teams have begun their seasons, and the women's softball team is on fire out of the gate, starting out the season 14-1. They will next play on March 9 in Peoria against Bradley University. On the men's side, the baseball team is just 1-2 on the young season, and will compete in the Keith LeClair Invitational this weekend in Greenville, North Carolina. Teams that the Illini will face in this tournament will be Western Carolina, West Virginia, and the host East Carolina.