What started as a series of question marks entering the 2012-13 Fighting Illini men's basketball season ended up so much better off. Nobody knew what to expect when John Groce took over the Illinois program, but they soon found out that it appeared to be on better terms than originally thought. The Illini stormed out to a 12-1 non-conference record before hitting a rough patch as the Big Ten season began. The Illini stumbled to a 2-7 start in conference play, and it figured to get even worse as #1 Indiana visited the Assembly Hall in February. But the Illini slayed the giant and subsequently turned their season around, as the Illini went 6-1 during that stretch to even out their Big Ten record at 8-8 entering the final week of the regular season. That didn't go as well as planned, as the Illini dropped the final two games, both road contests, to enter the Big Ten Tournament with a 21-11 overall record and an 8-10 mark in the Big Ten. Figuring that the Illini were already in the "Big Dance" due to key wins over Butler, Gonzaga, Ohio State and Indiana, the Illini set their sights on improving their seeding with a strong performance at the United Center. The Illini prevailed in game 1 against Minnesota 51-49, as Brandon Paul hit a jumper as time expired, leading the Illini to victory and a quarterfinal matchup against the top seeded Hoosiers, who were undoubtedly looking for revenge. Indiana exacted that revenge, downing the Illini 80-64, and bouncing them from the tourney. This year's Selection Sunday special was much more pleasant for Illini Nation, as they found their team heading back to the tourney bound for Austin, Texas. The first obstacle in the way was the Colorado Buffaloes, who seemed to be almost a mirror image of the Illini. After a stellar first half that saw the Illini take a 37-21 lead at the break, the polar opposite occurred in the second half. That second stanza saw the Illini blow the seemingly insurmountable lead and actually trail the Buffs with about 5 minutes to play. But, as has been the case for much of this season, Brandon Paul bailed the Illini out with 17 points and led them to victory and a third round matchup with the Miami Hurricanes. The Illini were not expected to beat Miami, but they fared much better than anyone thought, and actually had a chance to win the game late. Even though the Illini lost 63-59, some positive thoughts resonated in the defeat. Normally, when a team loses in the tourney, ending their season, questions are raised and feelings of emptiness are sometimes experienced. With this loss, those feelings were not there. The Illini played one of their better games, but could not match the physical nature of the Hurricanes. The Illini finished the season at 23-13, which can be considered a success. However, the Illini will be losing four players that helped them to this success. Paul, D. J. Richardson, Tyler Griffey, and Sam McLaurin all will be gone next year, and it was announced on Friday that fellow Illini players Devin Langford, Mike Shaw, and Ibby Djimde will be leaving the program and have been granted their transfer releases. Yes, this creates a void in the numbers of the team, with just a handful of players returning for next season. However, this could also mean that Groce is confident that the future recruiting classes may be in fact better than first thought, and that he is clearing the way for such players to enter the program in the next couple of years. It's evident that Langford, Shaw and Djimde did not play a whole lot this past season, and that could be contributed to either not being talented enough to play at the Big Ten level to simply not fitting the system that Groce is trying to install in Champaign. Still, I wish those guys well, and hope they latch on somewhere that they can see more playing time. After all, they deserve it.
Going into the season, the women's basketball program had undergone some turmoil during the tenure of then coach, Jolette Law. Enter new coach Matt Bollant, who had endured ultimate success at Wisconsin-Green Bay to try and turn the program around, The results were nothing less than positive, as the Illini ended up with a 19-14 record, and a deep run into the WNIT. Even though the season didn't culminate with a return trip to the NCAA Tournament, the season could be considered a success, because the win total almost equaled that of the past two seasons combined. Bollant had a couple of players that he inherited that were pretty good, in Amber Moore and Karisma Penn, who set numerous team records during their tenure at Illinois. Moore broke the career record for three-pointers attempted (599), and season records for three-pointers made (86) and attempted (236). Moore also ranked 34th nationally in three-pointers made per game (2.61). Penn broke career records for blocked shots (270) and attempted free throws (747), while eclipsing season records in offensive rebounds (123), free throws made (179) and attempted (262). Penn also ranked nationally in several categories, including points (19.2 - 28th), steals (2.91 - 25th), blocked shots (2.18 - 29th), and field goal percentage (50.6 - 35th). Alexis Smith also ranked nationally in assists per game at 5.1. The future definitely looks bright for Bollant and the women's program, and a return to the NCAA women's tournament is something that is certain to happen sooner than later.
The Fighting Illini spring sports are underway, with both the men's baseball and women's softball teams into the depth of their seasons. Regarding the baseball team, Dan Hartleb's team is off to an 18-7 start, and have had decent weather thus far in the season, making sure that not many of their games were postponed. The Illini ventured down to Busch Stadium in St. Louis on Tuesday to battle Missouri in the diamond version of the Border War. The Illini came out on top by a 6-2 score, as Hartleb employed six pitchers, scattering just seven hits and allowing just 1 run. The Illini will travel to Bloomington, Indiana this weekend for a conference series with the Indiana Hoosiers. They will play three single games, beginning with a contest under the lights Friday evening starting at 5:05 CT. Saturday's game will begin at 1:05 CT, with the series finale on Sunday slated for a 12:05 CT first pitch.
Coach Terri Sullivan's Illini softball team have not fared as well, stumbling out of the gate to an 11-17 overall record, with just a 1-5 record in Big Ten play. The Illini will host Indiana State on Wednesday evening at Eichelberger Field at 6:00 PM CT, before traveling up to Evanston this weekend for a conference series with the Northwestern Wildcats, beginning with a 4:00 PM CT first pitch on Friday.
Two Steps Forward.......Three Steps Back.
The rebuild of the Illinois football program continues as they drop a tough 34-31 loss in overtime to Purdue.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
Wednesday, March 13, 2013
March Is On!
Welcome to March Madness. You see this phrase everywhere these days, and for good reason. Now that the calendar has turned to March, this begins perhaps the most exciting month of the entire year. College basketball fans all across the country revel in the fact that there is wall-to-wall hoops action for virtually the entire month, and another phrase "get your brackets ready" will soon be uttered as well. The Fighting Illini have had a roller coaster of a season, starting out the season very well, then having a lull in the middle of the season that saw them start out the Big Ten season a dismal 2-7. However, the Illini turned the season around when it counted, and since their huge win against Indiana last month, have been playing much better, although it hasn't been showing up on the scoreboard at all times. Illinois finished up the regular season on Sunday afternoon, dropping a 68-55 decision to the Ohio State Buckeyes at Value City Arena in Columbus to finish the regular season 21-11 and 8-10 in the Big Ten Conference. One might look at that league record and think it wasn't that good, but at the beginning of the season, I think everyone would have taken that. Sure, there were games that the Illini lost that they shouldn't have, but this season in the Big Ten, was anything but easy. The league was very competitive this season, and with all of the teams in the Top 25 of the country for the entire year, every night was an adventure. This week's Big Ten Tournament promises to be one of the deepest in recent memory, and who knows what will happen when the four day event is over on Selection Sunday. The tourney returns to Chicago's United Center for the first time since the 2006-07 season beginning on Thursday, and it is anybody's guess as to how it will go. Here is a quick synopsis of all 12 teams in the conference, and their seed in the tourney.
#1 Indiana (26-5, 14-4) - By far the best team top to bottom in the Big Ten this season, the Hoosiers are extremely lucky that they are regular season champs all by themselves, and they have a disastrous collapse by Michigan in the last minute of play to thank for that. Indiana is led by their center Cody Zeller and strong forwards Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford, and have some momentum going into the weekend. However, their championship was marred a little bit by the antics of head coach Tom Crean, who exchanged words with Michigan assistant coach Jeff Meyer after the game. It's not the first time that Crean has exhibited this activity, and judging by who his brothers-in-law are, it's not a total surprise and I am fairly confident that it won't be the last time.
#2 Ohio State (23-7, 13-5) - Coach Thad Matta has been up near the top of the Big Ten standings for the past four years, and this season was no exception, as they rode the shirttails of guard Aaron Craft and forward Deshaun Thomas. One would have thought that losing a player the caliber of Jared Sullinger would have brought the Buckeyes back down to the middle of the pack, but one would be wrong. Matta somehow had his guys regroup and once again challenge for the title. They almost pulled it off.
#3 Michigan State (24-7, 13-5) - Talk about your success stories. Spartans coach Tom Izzo has been doing this for a long time, and he knows how to get his team in position for the postseason. Michigan State is once again right up there at the top of the conference standings, and will have a bye into the quarterfinal round, a trend that has been the norm rather than the exception. Even though Draymond Green took his talents to the NBA at the end of last season, the emergence of Derrick Nix and continued quality play of Keith Appling have once again propelled the Spartans into position to challenge for yet another Big Ten Tournament title.
#4 Wisconsin (21-10, 12-6) - There are few things in this world that are guaranteed. Among them, however, is that no matter what kind of a team Bo Ryan puts on the floor, that they will be successful. The same holds true this season and Ryan has taken a bunch of unproven players and made them into a squad that grabbed the final first round bye in the tourney. Led by Jared Berggren and sharpshooting freshman guard Sam Dekker, the Badgers were a pleasant surprise in the Big Ten this season and with any luck, will continue that surprise run to a possible fantastic finish.
#5 Michigan (25-6, 12-6) - Talk about a troubling end to an otherwise great season. All Michigan had to do to gain a share of the conference title was beat Indiana in the final game of the season. It looked as if that was going to happen until the Wolverines began to miss free throws, and, ultimately, threw away the game and what turned out to be a top four seed in the tourney. Michigan must now play on the opening day of the conference tournament, and will face Penn State, a team that beat them just a couple weeks ago. Michigan is still loaded with talent, as player of the year Trey Burke will hopefully lead the Wolverines to win the tournament by winning four games in as many days.
#6 Iowa (20-11, 9-9) - The Hawkeyes are a prime example of a team that stayed steady during the regular season, took care of business on their home floor, and managed to do well enough to just narrowly miss an opportunity for a first round bye in the tourney. Roy Devyn Marble still remains one of the better players on this team, but Aaron White and Adam Woodbury certainly factored into Iowa's success this season. Coach Fran McCaffrey may not have finished in the top 5 of the conference standings, but the future bodes well for he and his program, and the thought of a top tier finish is not out of the ordinary in the near future.
#7 Purdue (15-16, 8-10) - How do you ask that the Boilermakers received a higher Big Ten Tournament seed than Minnesota and Illinois when they tied with them in the standings, yet have a worse overall record? The answer is easy. Welcome to the Big Ten. Purdue had a better head to head record against the other teams in the league, and that is why they received the higher seed. Coach Matt Painter lost quite a bit last season, and it was not a surprise that the Boilermakers struggled at times this year. An early win against Illinois in West Lafayette proved that Purdue could play with the best of the best, and led by guards D. J. Byrd and Anthony Johnson, the Boilermakers did just enough to wrest away the #7 seed from the likes of the Illini and the Gophers. Freshman A. J. Hammons had a good first season as well, which certainly didn't hurt matters any.
#8 Illinois (21-11, 8-10) - As has been previously mentioned, the Illini had a roller coaster of a season, starting out 12-0, and then stumbling out of the gate in the Big Ten to start the conference season 2-7 before making a strong late season run to finish at 8-10. First year coach John Groce was left with a decent stable of talent from former coach Bruce Weber, and Brandon Paul, D. J. Richardson and Tyler Griffey made the most of their senior year and have the Illini poised to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing the field several times over the past few seasons.
#9 Minnesota (20-11, 8-10) - The Golden Gophers are another team that have had their ups and downs this season. Minnesota started off as one of the top 10 teams in the country, came into Champaign early in the season and beat the Illini, and were looking like they were one of the top teams to beat in the Big Ten. But, the Gophers fell on hard times due to an injury to Rodney Williams, and as a result, have fallen back down to earth and will enter the Big Ten Tournament as the #9 seed opposite Illinois. Each team won on the other's floor, so on a neutral court, anything goes. Minnesota relies on their go-to guy Austin Hollins and big man inside Trevor Mbakwe, but the bigger story here may be coach Tubby Smith, who may be coaching for his job. Stay tuned.
#10 Nebraska (14-17, 5-13) - Nebraska, the newcomer (for now) to the league, is still dealing with some growing pains, and the fact that they had their first four games against the top 4 teams in the league to start the season didn't help much. New coach Tim Miles, a great addition to the Big Ten, has the Cornhuskers heading in the right direction, and with a little talent added in Lincoln, they can begin their ascent up the Big Ten standings. Nebraska relies on their star player Brandon Ubel, and Miles only plays about 7 guys in most games so depth is a serious issue. The Cornhuskers will battle Purdue on Thursday, with the winner getting the right to face #2 Ohio State in the quarterfinals on Friday.
#11 Northwestern (13-18, 4-14) - Don't blame Wildcats coach Bill Carmody if he feels that he cannot catch a break. Northwestern was finally in position to challenge for their first ever NCAA Tournament bid this year, but a series of unfortunate events decided otherwise for "Chicago's Big Ten Team". First, Drew Crawford was lost with a season ending injury, and then JerShon Cobb was an academic casualty, which set them back quite a ways. The Wildcats came into Champaign and beat the Illini earlier in the season, a game in which the Illini played quite possibly their worst game of the season, and the hero of that game, transfer from Louisville Jared Swopshire, had a monster game. Swopshire later was lost with an injury as well, and the rest pretty much speaks for itself. At this point, it is hard to fathom how Carmody will keep his job after all of this, but if he does, I guess he has a valid reason for the lack of success this year.
#12 Penn State (10-20, 2-16) - Not much good has come out of Happy Valley this year, dating back last year to all of the news surrounding the football program and the ultimate death of Joe Paterno as a result. To add insult to injury, the Nittany Lions started off the Big Ten season with 13 straight losses, before upsetting Michigan at the Bryce-Jordan Center to gain their first conference win of the season. The season probably wrote its own script early on when Penn State's best player and preseason player of the year candidate Tim Frazier was lost for the season. Head coach Patrick Chambers, himself one of the more fiery coaches in the league, did the best with what he had, and led by D. J. Newbill, found a way to win 2 games in the league. That still gave them the bottom seed in the tournament opposite Michigan, who no doubt will be looking for revenge from that earlier loss.
Time to lace 'em up and play some ball. I'm ready, are you?
The Fighting Illini women saw their Big Ten Tournament run end prematurely last Thursday, as they were defeated 58-57 by Wisconsin in the opening round at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. Illinois, who needed to win at least one game in the tournament to be considered as an at-large entrant in the NCAA Tournament, probably are on the outside looking in now, as their record stands at 16-12. Karisma Penn, who has been the mainstay of the Illini this season, was plagued with foul trouble and only scored 8 points. Ivory Crawford led the Illini in scoring with 14 points, while Amber Moore and Adrienne GodBold added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Even though it seems that the Illini will not be dancing with the big kids this season, new coach Matt Bollant definitely has the program heading in the right direction.
Not sure what is going on with the Illinois football team and its hiring of coaches, but yet another one has flown the coop after merely a month on the job. Jim Bridge, who came to Illinois from North Carolina State, lasted just 41 days and has taken the same position, which is offensive line coach, at conference rival Purdue. To fill the staff vacancy, head coach Tim Beckman has added A. J. Ricker, who came from Middle Tennessee State. Ricker had previously coached at Western Michigan, where he was the offensive line coach/run game coordinator under coach Bill Cubit, who is now the offensive coordinator at Illinois. Let's hope Ricker stays a while.
#1 Indiana (26-5, 14-4) - By far the best team top to bottom in the Big Ten this season, the Hoosiers are extremely lucky that they are regular season champs all by themselves, and they have a disastrous collapse by Michigan in the last minute of play to thank for that. Indiana is led by their center Cody Zeller and strong forwards Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford, and have some momentum going into the weekend. However, their championship was marred a little bit by the antics of head coach Tom Crean, who exchanged words with Michigan assistant coach Jeff Meyer after the game. It's not the first time that Crean has exhibited this activity, and judging by who his brothers-in-law are, it's not a total surprise and I am fairly confident that it won't be the last time.
#2 Ohio State (23-7, 13-5) - Coach Thad Matta has been up near the top of the Big Ten standings for the past four years, and this season was no exception, as they rode the shirttails of guard Aaron Craft and forward Deshaun Thomas. One would have thought that losing a player the caliber of Jared Sullinger would have brought the Buckeyes back down to the middle of the pack, but one would be wrong. Matta somehow had his guys regroup and once again challenge for the title. They almost pulled it off.
#3 Michigan State (24-7, 13-5) - Talk about your success stories. Spartans coach Tom Izzo has been doing this for a long time, and he knows how to get his team in position for the postseason. Michigan State is once again right up there at the top of the conference standings, and will have a bye into the quarterfinal round, a trend that has been the norm rather than the exception. Even though Draymond Green took his talents to the NBA at the end of last season, the emergence of Derrick Nix and continued quality play of Keith Appling have once again propelled the Spartans into position to challenge for yet another Big Ten Tournament title.
#4 Wisconsin (21-10, 12-6) - There are few things in this world that are guaranteed. Among them, however, is that no matter what kind of a team Bo Ryan puts on the floor, that they will be successful. The same holds true this season and Ryan has taken a bunch of unproven players and made them into a squad that grabbed the final first round bye in the tourney. Led by Jared Berggren and sharpshooting freshman guard Sam Dekker, the Badgers were a pleasant surprise in the Big Ten this season and with any luck, will continue that surprise run to a possible fantastic finish.
#5 Michigan (25-6, 12-6) - Talk about a troubling end to an otherwise great season. All Michigan had to do to gain a share of the conference title was beat Indiana in the final game of the season. It looked as if that was going to happen until the Wolverines began to miss free throws, and, ultimately, threw away the game and what turned out to be a top four seed in the tourney. Michigan must now play on the opening day of the conference tournament, and will face Penn State, a team that beat them just a couple weeks ago. Michigan is still loaded with talent, as player of the year Trey Burke will hopefully lead the Wolverines to win the tournament by winning four games in as many days.
#6 Iowa (20-11, 9-9) - The Hawkeyes are a prime example of a team that stayed steady during the regular season, took care of business on their home floor, and managed to do well enough to just narrowly miss an opportunity for a first round bye in the tourney. Roy Devyn Marble still remains one of the better players on this team, but Aaron White and Adam Woodbury certainly factored into Iowa's success this season. Coach Fran McCaffrey may not have finished in the top 5 of the conference standings, but the future bodes well for he and his program, and the thought of a top tier finish is not out of the ordinary in the near future.
#7 Purdue (15-16, 8-10) - How do you ask that the Boilermakers received a higher Big Ten Tournament seed than Minnesota and Illinois when they tied with them in the standings, yet have a worse overall record? The answer is easy. Welcome to the Big Ten. Purdue had a better head to head record against the other teams in the league, and that is why they received the higher seed. Coach Matt Painter lost quite a bit last season, and it was not a surprise that the Boilermakers struggled at times this year. An early win against Illinois in West Lafayette proved that Purdue could play with the best of the best, and led by guards D. J. Byrd and Anthony Johnson, the Boilermakers did just enough to wrest away the #7 seed from the likes of the Illini and the Gophers. Freshman A. J. Hammons had a good first season as well, which certainly didn't hurt matters any.
#8 Illinois (21-11, 8-10) - As has been previously mentioned, the Illini had a roller coaster of a season, starting out 12-0, and then stumbling out of the gate in the Big Ten to start the conference season 2-7 before making a strong late season run to finish at 8-10. First year coach John Groce was left with a decent stable of talent from former coach Bruce Weber, and Brandon Paul, D. J. Richardson and Tyler Griffey made the most of their senior year and have the Illini poised to return to the NCAA Tournament after missing the field several times over the past few seasons.
#9 Minnesota (20-11, 8-10) - The Golden Gophers are another team that have had their ups and downs this season. Minnesota started off as one of the top 10 teams in the country, came into Champaign early in the season and beat the Illini, and were looking like they were one of the top teams to beat in the Big Ten. But, the Gophers fell on hard times due to an injury to Rodney Williams, and as a result, have fallen back down to earth and will enter the Big Ten Tournament as the #9 seed opposite Illinois. Each team won on the other's floor, so on a neutral court, anything goes. Minnesota relies on their go-to guy Austin Hollins and big man inside Trevor Mbakwe, but the bigger story here may be coach Tubby Smith, who may be coaching for his job. Stay tuned.
#10 Nebraska (14-17, 5-13) - Nebraska, the newcomer (for now) to the league, is still dealing with some growing pains, and the fact that they had their first four games against the top 4 teams in the league to start the season didn't help much. New coach Tim Miles, a great addition to the Big Ten, has the Cornhuskers heading in the right direction, and with a little talent added in Lincoln, they can begin their ascent up the Big Ten standings. Nebraska relies on their star player Brandon Ubel, and Miles only plays about 7 guys in most games so depth is a serious issue. The Cornhuskers will battle Purdue on Thursday, with the winner getting the right to face #2 Ohio State in the quarterfinals on Friday.
#11 Northwestern (13-18, 4-14) - Don't blame Wildcats coach Bill Carmody if he feels that he cannot catch a break. Northwestern was finally in position to challenge for their first ever NCAA Tournament bid this year, but a series of unfortunate events decided otherwise for "Chicago's Big Ten Team". First, Drew Crawford was lost with a season ending injury, and then JerShon Cobb was an academic casualty, which set them back quite a ways. The Wildcats came into Champaign and beat the Illini earlier in the season, a game in which the Illini played quite possibly their worst game of the season, and the hero of that game, transfer from Louisville Jared Swopshire, had a monster game. Swopshire later was lost with an injury as well, and the rest pretty much speaks for itself. At this point, it is hard to fathom how Carmody will keep his job after all of this, but if he does, I guess he has a valid reason for the lack of success this year.
#12 Penn State (10-20, 2-16) - Not much good has come out of Happy Valley this year, dating back last year to all of the news surrounding the football program and the ultimate death of Joe Paterno as a result. To add insult to injury, the Nittany Lions started off the Big Ten season with 13 straight losses, before upsetting Michigan at the Bryce-Jordan Center to gain their first conference win of the season. The season probably wrote its own script early on when Penn State's best player and preseason player of the year candidate Tim Frazier was lost for the season. Head coach Patrick Chambers, himself one of the more fiery coaches in the league, did the best with what he had, and led by D. J. Newbill, found a way to win 2 games in the league. That still gave them the bottom seed in the tournament opposite Michigan, who no doubt will be looking for revenge from that earlier loss.
Time to lace 'em up and play some ball. I'm ready, are you?
The Fighting Illini women saw their Big Ten Tournament run end prematurely last Thursday, as they were defeated 58-57 by Wisconsin in the opening round at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. Illinois, who needed to win at least one game in the tournament to be considered as an at-large entrant in the NCAA Tournament, probably are on the outside looking in now, as their record stands at 16-12. Karisma Penn, who has been the mainstay of the Illini this season, was plagued with foul trouble and only scored 8 points. Ivory Crawford led the Illini in scoring with 14 points, while Amber Moore and Adrienne GodBold added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Even though it seems that the Illini will not be dancing with the big kids this season, new coach Matt Bollant definitely has the program heading in the right direction.
Not sure what is going on with the Illinois football team and its hiring of coaches, but yet another one has flown the coop after merely a month on the job. Jim Bridge, who came to Illinois from North Carolina State, lasted just 41 days and has taken the same position, which is offensive line coach, at conference rival Purdue. To fill the staff vacancy, head coach Tim Beckman has added A. J. Ricker, who came from Middle Tennessee State. Ricker had previously coached at Western Michigan, where he was the offensive line coach/run game coordinator under coach Bill Cubit, who is now the offensive coordinator at Illinois. Let's hope Ricker stays a while.
Friday, March 1, 2013
Happy 50th Birthday Assembly Hall!!
This weekend's Illini basketball game will be a big event on many levels. First of all, the Assembly Hall turns 50 on Saturday, and as important, it is the annual Senior Day that will see the final game be played for three mainstays, one transfer, and a seldomly used walk-on. But more on that later. The Assembly Hall has seen many different events in the history of its existence, and as a child, I remember seeing Barnum and Bailey's Circus in there and wondering how neat the place looked, seemingly looking like a spaceship in the middle of a campus. Over the course of its time, it has seen many Illini basketball games, and who could forget Eddie Johnson's shot to defeat Michigan State (1979), Andy Kaufman's last second shot to defeat Iowa (1993), or during the magical season of 2004-05, the night that the Illini knocked off Wake Forest to rise to #1 in the nation, a lofty perch they would remain at for nearly the entire season. (Sorry Indiana, you have had 3 chances this season to hold the top spot, and you have blown them all). Of course, Brandon Paul's 43 points to take down Ohio State last season also stands out, as well as a couple weeks ago when the Illini knocked off #1 Indiana to subsequently save their season. The building is set to undergo a massive renovation after next year's basketball season, and early graphics that I have seen will make the interior look a whole lot different. However, the exterior will look much the same as it has over the past 50 years.
One of the main tenants of the Assembly Hall over these past 50 years are the various basketball teams of the Fighting Illini. On Saturday, the Illini ( will take the court for the final time in the 2012-13 season (vs. Nebraska. 4:15 pm CT, BTN), and with that, 5 Illini will be playing their final game on the Assembly Hall court. This group of seniors have been through a lot, seeing some success, a lot of frustration and disappointment, and endured a coaching change at the end of last season. One by one, I will briefly recognize and analyze each one of these seniors, and their value to the Illinois program through their tenure.
The Illini currently are 20-9 overall and 7-8 in the Big Ten, and really could use this win against Nebraska to secure their ticket into the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
D. J. Richardson - The last in a succession of players from the Peoria area, Richardson had a good freshman season, then slid downward for the next two seasons. This year, D. J. has had a resurgence, and is responsible for quite a few Illini wins. He has proven that he can still shoot from long range, and even though he has fallen out of favor with some of the Illini faithful, he still has had a pretty good career at Illinois.
Brandon Paul - Brandon has had a steady career at Illinois, and has also had some monster games, most notably the aforementioned 43 point effort against Ohio State last season. Paul will go down as one of the more prolific scorers in Illini history, and probably has the best shot out of all the outgoing seniors to continue his game at the next level in the NBA. With other scorers, namely Richardson, stepping up this season, the Illini have not had to rely on Brandon as much this season. During the famous slide early this season, Paul disappeared, but has resurfaced at the right time.
Tyler Griffey - Tyler has had an up and down career as an Illini, seeing a little action as a freshman, then being pressed into service as a sophomore to play a lot of minutes. As a junior, Griffey's playing time diminished once again, but when the coaching change occurred at the end of last season, he once again has seen a lot of action. Now out of the starting linuep, his confidence disappeared, thus decreasing his scoring output. Griffey may very well be remembered for slipping away from Indiana's Cody Zeller and scoring the winning layup at the buzzer to upset the top-ranked Hoosiers. Griffey is a very nice kid, and his honest and pleasant demeanor will be missed.
Sam McLaurin - A fifth-year transfer from Coastal Carolina, McLaurin was brought in by John Groce to supplement the vacancy left by Meyers Leonard, who took his game to the NBA at the end of last season. McLaurin brings a presence to the inside that has been very positive, and is now in the starting lineup, or if not, one of the first players off the bench. Sam has given the Illini some quality minutes, and while not a scorer, does the job that Groce asks him to do on the boards.
Kevin Berardini - A seldom used redshirt junior, Berardini has decided to go out with this class. The job of a walk-on is not glamorous, and the time that they put in at practice for as little playing time that they get may not seem worth it to most. But Kevin has kept a great attitude from it, and he transferred to Illinois at the end of his freshman year, where he played at Loyola Marymount.
The Illini women's basketball team also was celebrating senior night on Thursday evening at the Assembly Hall, and this group of seniors have not had a very good career as a team, although one of those players, Karisma Penn, will go down as one of the best players in the history of the program. Penn has been a double-double machine, recording 41 of those in her Illini career, including another one against Ohio State. The Illini, unfortunately couldn't get the job done against the Buckeyes, losing 64-53, sending these seniors out on a sour note. However, this Illini team are sending the seniors off in much better shape than when they came into the program. A lot of this can be attributed to new coach Matt Bollant, who has brought a new style and energy to the program. The Illini currently sit at 16-11 overall and 9-6 in the Big Ten, their best marks in both categories in several years. Along with Penn, Adreienne GodBold also played her final game as an Illini. GodBold came to Illinois with a lot of potential, and lived up to that hype for most of her time in Champaign. However, a setback occurred early this season, when she was deemed academically ineligible and had to sit out the first part of the season. Since her return, the Illini have bounced back and are battling for their first NCAA Tournament berth in several years. A third senior, Kersten Magrum, is done at Illinois, due to sustaining several concussions over the past couple of years. Magrum also had a decent career at Illinois, but sadly, it was cut short due to the injuries. The Illini will conclude the regular season on Sunday when they travel to West Lafayette to battle the Purdue Boilermakers (3:00 pm CT, BTN), a team that they have had a lot of trouble against in the past few seasons. The women's version of the Big Ten Tournament begins next Thursday at the Sears Centre in suburban Hoffman Estates.
Even though the weather outside doesn't put you in the frame of mind for football, Illini coach Tim Beckman officially begins his second season as head coach on Monday with the start of spring workouts. The coaching staff has been overhauled, and some new faces will be stepping up this year for the Illini, but don't count on it adding to wins just yet. This team will be young and inexperienced, but hopefully some of the junior college transfers coming into the program will be able to be a stopgap and at least make them relevant. What this means for the future of Beckman is too early to tell, but it cannot get much worse than ie ended last season. The annual spring game will be on Friday night, April 12th this season, a change from the Saturday afternoon that it has been on for the last few years.
Some of the minor sports get overlooked in favor of the major, revenue producing sports, but these so called non-revenue sports have been among the most successful lately. A special congratulations go out to the women's indoor track and field team, who won the Big Ten Championship last weekend. Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey, herself a standout athlete at Illinois, has really done a great job with this team, and is now reaping the rewards of that teaching. Ashley Spencer, who had a great freshman year on the track for the Illini, is continuing that trend as a sophomore, and helped the Illini get their first conference title since 1996.
One of the main tenants of the Assembly Hall over these past 50 years are the various basketball teams of the Fighting Illini. On Saturday, the Illini ( will take the court for the final time in the 2012-13 season (vs. Nebraska. 4:15 pm CT, BTN), and with that, 5 Illini will be playing their final game on the Assembly Hall court. This group of seniors have been through a lot, seeing some success, a lot of frustration and disappointment, and endured a coaching change at the end of last season. One by one, I will briefly recognize and analyze each one of these seniors, and their value to the Illinois program through their tenure.
The Illini currently are 20-9 overall and 7-8 in the Big Ten, and really could use this win against Nebraska to secure their ticket into the upcoming NCAA Tournament.
D. J. Richardson - The last in a succession of players from the Peoria area, Richardson had a good freshman season, then slid downward for the next two seasons. This year, D. J. has had a resurgence, and is responsible for quite a few Illini wins. He has proven that he can still shoot from long range, and even though he has fallen out of favor with some of the Illini faithful, he still has had a pretty good career at Illinois.
Brandon Paul - Brandon has had a steady career at Illinois, and has also had some monster games, most notably the aforementioned 43 point effort against Ohio State last season. Paul will go down as one of the more prolific scorers in Illini history, and probably has the best shot out of all the outgoing seniors to continue his game at the next level in the NBA. With other scorers, namely Richardson, stepping up this season, the Illini have not had to rely on Brandon as much this season. During the famous slide early this season, Paul disappeared, but has resurfaced at the right time.
Tyler Griffey - Tyler has had an up and down career as an Illini, seeing a little action as a freshman, then being pressed into service as a sophomore to play a lot of minutes. As a junior, Griffey's playing time diminished once again, but when the coaching change occurred at the end of last season, he once again has seen a lot of action. Now out of the starting linuep, his confidence disappeared, thus decreasing his scoring output. Griffey may very well be remembered for slipping away from Indiana's Cody Zeller and scoring the winning layup at the buzzer to upset the top-ranked Hoosiers. Griffey is a very nice kid, and his honest and pleasant demeanor will be missed.
Sam McLaurin - A fifth-year transfer from Coastal Carolina, McLaurin was brought in by John Groce to supplement the vacancy left by Meyers Leonard, who took his game to the NBA at the end of last season. McLaurin brings a presence to the inside that has been very positive, and is now in the starting lineup, or if not, one of the first players off the bench. Sam has given the Illini some quality minutes, and while not a scorer, does the job that Groce asks him to do on the boards.
Kevin Berardini - A seldom used redshirt junior, Berardini has decided to go out with this class. The job of a walk-on is not glamorous, and the time that they put in at practice for as little playing time that they get may not seem worth it to most. But Kevin has kept a great attitude from it, and he transferred to Illinois at the end of his freshman year, where he played at Loyola Marymount.
The Illini women's basketball team also was celebrating senior night on Thursday evening at the Assembly Hall, and this group of seniors have not had a very good career as a team, although one of those players, Karisma Penn, will go down as one of the best players in the history of the program. Penn has been a double-double machine, recording 41 of those in her Illini career, including another one against Ohio State. The Illini, unfortunately couldn't get the job done against the Buckeyes, losing 64-53, sending these seniors out on a sour note. However, this Illini team are sending the seniors off in much better shape than when they came into the program. A lot of this can be attributed to new coach Matt Bollant, who has brought a new style and energy to the program. The Illini currently sit at 16-11 overall and 9-6 in the Big Ten, their best marks in both categories in several years. Along with Penn, Adreienne GodBold also played her final game as an Illini. GodBold came to Illinois with a lot of potential, and lived up to that hype for most of her time in Champaign. However, a setback occurred early this season, when she was deemed academically ineligible and had to sit out the first part of the season. Since her return, the Illini have bounced back and are battling for their first NCAA Tournament berth in several years. A third senior, Kersten Magrum, is done at Illinois, due to sustaining several concussions over the past couple of years. Magrum also had a decent career at Illinois, but sadly, it was cut short due to the injuries. The Illini will conclude the regular season on Sunday when they travel to West Lafayette to battle the Purdue Boilermakers (3:00 pm CT, BTN), a team that they have had a lot of trouble against in the past few seasons. The women's version of the Big Ten Tournament begins next Thursday at the Sears Centre in suburban Hoffman Estates.
Even though the weather outside doesn't put you in the frame of mind for football, Illini coach Tim Beckman officially begins his second season as head coach on Monday with the start of spring workouts. The coaching staff has been overhauled, and some new faces will be stepping up this year for the Illini, but don't count on it adding to wins just yet. This team will be young and inexperienced, but hopefully some of the junior college transfers coming into the program will be able to be a stopgap and at least make them relevant. What this means for the future of Beckman is too early to tell, but it cannot get much worse than ie ended last season. The annual spring game will be on Friday night, April 12th this season, a change from the Saturday afternoon that it has been on for the last few years.
Some of the minor sports get overlooked in favor of the major, revenue producing sports, but these so called non-revenue sports have been among the most successful lately. A special congratulations go out to the women's indoor track and field team, who won the Big Ten Championship last weekend. Coach Tonja Buford-Bailey, herself a standout athlete at Illinois, has really done a great job with this team, and is now reaping the rewards of that teaching. Ashley Spencer, who had a great freshman year on the track for the Illini, is continuing that trend as a sophomore, and helped the Illini get their first conference title since 1996.
Wednesday, February 20, 2013
It's funny how one shot can change the fortunes of a basketball team. Rewind with me to the night of February 7th, when the #1 Indiana Hoosiers visited the Assembly Hall to take on the Fighting Illini. The Illini were in the midst of a three game losing streak, and had dropped six out of their last seven games, and came into the game with the Hoosiers at 15-8 overall, but just 2-7 in the Big Ten. All signs pointed to yet another loss, and what most certainly would be another season without an NCAA Tournament appearance. But lo and behold, Tyler Griffey saved the Illini that night by breaking away from his defender, Cody Zeller, and shuffled toward the basket to give the Illini a stunning 74-72 win over Indiana, and began a total turnaround of the season that finds them now on a four game winning streak at 19-8 overall and 6-7 in the Big Ten. The Illini are in a stretch of games now that they should win, and they are making the best of the situation at hand by winning these games by a sizable margin. The latest win, a 69-41 rout at Northwestern this past Sunday evening at Evanston, avenged an earlier defeat to the Wildcats, a then resume damaging 68-54 loss back in January at the Assembly Hall. Since the Indiana win, the Illini seem to once have the confidence that they exhibited in the pre-conference part of the schedule, in which they won the Maui Invitational and also went to Gonzaga and came away with a win, a feat that very few teams can claim. Once again, it appears that the Illini are in position to return to the NCAA Tournament, barring a horrifying collapse that would mirror last season. Yes, as I have said before, this is the same group of players that Bruce Weber recruited and coached, and at times, they still look like that group that tanked down the stretch last season. The Illini have another home game that should be winnable on Thursday evening against Penn State (7:15 pm, BTN), but we all know what happens when the Nittany Lions play in Champaign. Penn State has had one of those forgettable seasons, coming into the game with the Illini at 8-17 overall and winless in the Big Ten at 0-13. But, one does not have to think back very far to realize that Penn State always seems to play Illinois tough. However, this year's Nittany Lion team is missing a key piece. Tim Frazier, who came into the season as one of the all-Big Ten preseason players of the year is out for the season with an injury. Frazier only played in four games this season, and averaged just over 16 points per game for Penn State before he was hurt. So, coach Patrick Chambers is definitely relying on guards Jermaine Marshall and D. J. Newbill to step up in Frazier's absence. Whatever the case may be, the Illini cannot let their guard down and need to take care of business at home. Who knows, we might be talking about what kind of seed the Illini will get in the NCAA Tourney, not just if they will make it this season.
Speaking of remarkable turnarounds, the job that Illini women's coach Matt Bollant has done this season is short of amazing. Bollant came from Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he dominated the Horizon League. It was a foregone conclusion that Bollant would come to Illinois and reverse the losing course that former coach Jolette Law brought with her to Champaign. So far this season, the Illini are 15-9 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten, and have surpassed their win total for last season. Illinois, winners of six out of their last eight games, had an entire week off between their last set of games, and defeated Wisconsin 60-53 on Monday night at the Assembly Hall to pull into a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten standings. Karisma Penn, who had another solid game for the Illinois, scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to record her 12th double-double of the season. Penn has largely been the go-to person this season, but other players, such as Adrienne GodBold and Amber Moore have complemented Penn and are putting Illinois back into the NCAA Tournament picture for the first time in over a decade. The Illini have a very tough road test on Wednesday evening when they travel to Penn State to battle the Nittany Lions (6:00 pm CT, No TV). Penn State is in command of the Big Ten right now at 21-3 overall and 11-1 in conference play. Expect the rest of the country to stand up and take notice if the Illini can pull this one off.
Things seem to be in a state of disarray for Tim Beckman and the Illini football team as they prepare to begin spring workouts in a couple of weeks. The coaching staff is undergoing a bit of an overhaul, as more and more of the coaches that came in with Beckman are beginning to jump ship and look elsewhere for jobs. The latest to flee is cornerbacks coach Steve Clinkscale, who apparently is headed to coach defensive backs at Cincinnati. Already gone are Chris Beatty (fired), Keith Gilmore (left for North Carolina), Luke Butkus (left for Florida International, and then the Jacksonville Jaguars a week later), and Billy Gonzales (going somewhere). Greg Colby, who both coached and played at Illinois, returns to coach the defensive line. Colby, a native of Danville, returns to his roots, and will attempt to continue what Gilmore started. Maybe the 2-10 season had a little too much to do with all of the defections, or they saw some kind of an underlying factor with Beckman that forced them to look elsewhere for job security. In any event, the coaching staff will look significantly different next season. Let's hope that it brings some wins with them, or else we might be having this conversation in a year or so with the head coaching position.
Speaking of remarkable turnarounds, the job that Illini women's coach Matt Bollant has done this season is short of amazing. Bollant came from Wisconsin-Green Bay, where he dominated the Horizon League. It was a foregone conclusion that Bollant would come to Illinois and reverse the losing course that former coach Jolette Law brought with her to Champaign. So far this season, the Illini are 15-9 overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten, and have surpassed their win total for last season. Illinois, winners of six out of their last eight games, had an entire week off between their last set of games, and defeated Wisconsin 60-53 on Monday night at the Assembly Hall to pull into a three-way tie for third place in the Big Ten standings. Karisma Penn, who had another solid game for the Illinois, scored 26 points and grabbed 14 rebounds to record her 12th double-double of the season. Penn has largely been the go-to person this season, but other players, such as Adrienne GodBold and Amber Moore have complemented Penn and are putting Illinois back into the NCAA Tournament picture for the first time in over a decade. The Illini have a very tough road test on Wednesday evening when they travel to Penn State to battle the Nittany Lions (6:00 pm CT, No TV). Penn State is in command of the Big Ten right now at 21-3 overall and 11-1 in conference play. Expect the rest of the country to stand up and take notice if the Illini can pull this one off.
Things seem to be in a state of disarray for Tim Beckman and the Illini football team as they prepare to begin spring workouts in a couple of weeks. The coaching staff is undergoing a bit of an overhaul, as more and more of the coaches that came in with Beckman are beginning to jump ship and look elsewhere for jobs. The latest to flee is cornerbacks coach Steve Clinkscale, who apparently is headed to coach defensive backs at Cincinnati. Already gone are Chris Beatty (fired), Keith Gilmore (left for North Carolina), Luke Butkus (left for Florida International, and then the Jacksonville Jaguars a week later), and Billy Gonzales (going somewhere). Greg Colby, who both coached and played at Illinois, returns to coach the defensive line. Colby, a native of Danville, returns to his roots, and will attempt to continue what Gilmore started. Maybe the 2-10 season had a little too much to do with all of the defections, or they saw some kind of an underlying factor with Beckman that forced them to look elsewhere for job security. In any event, the coaching staff will look significantly different next season. Let's hope that it brings some wins with them, or else we might be having this conversation in a year or so with the head coaching position.
Friday, February 8, 2013
Wow. Simply wow. This has only happened 3 times in the 108 year history of Fighting Illini basketball, and I am proud to say that I witnessed the last two of them, and watched the third one on television. Of course, I am talking about the Illini knocking off the #1 team in the nation. The Illini shocked the nation by defeating the Indiana Hoosiers 74-72 on Thursday night at a raucous Assembly Hall in Champaign. This has been a roller coaster season for the Illini, and beating the nation's elite team, especially Indiana, makes this even more special. Before the game, the Illini were taking themselves out of any possible NCAA tournament talk, but given the fact that now they have beaten 4 top 10 teams, I don't see any possible way that you can leave them out of that discussion at the moment. Quality wins over Butler to win the Maui Invitational, Gonzaga in Spokane, and Ohio State and Indiana at the Assembly Hall look really good on their tournament resume, but losses at home to Northwestern and Minnesota, and on the road at Purdue, are the ones that really are hurting this team right now and are the main reason that they are not considered a lock for the "Big Dance". Make no mistake about it, Indiana is a very good team, and was deserving of the top ranking in the country coming into the game. They looked every bit of it for much of the game too, taking an early lead and extending that to as much as 14 points into the second half. But, this season in college basketball has proven that you never know what is going to happen, and the Illini never gave up for a second. The seniors, namely Tyler Griffey, really stepped up down the stretch, and it was just a feel-good story all around. Griffey, who had been virtually non-existent in the past several weeks, seemingly broke out of his shooting slump by hitting a jumper, then followed that up with a three ball. Griffey finished with 14 points, but helped significantly by grabbing 8 rebounds. D. J. Richardson and Brandon Paul also contributed during the comeback, leading the Illini in scoring with 23 and 21 points, respectively. However, the final couple of plays are what people will be talking about for years to come. With the score tied at 72-72, Richardson stole the ball and was poised to go in for the game winning layup. But the Hoosiers' Victor Oladipo swatted the ball away and out of bounds with .9 seconds remaining. Out of timeouts, the Illini had to work in an inbounds play they had practiced, and Griffey broke free from Christian Watford to score the winning basket as time expired. The win improves the Illini record to 16-8 overall and 3-7 in Big Ten play, and makes the next game even more important. The Illini travel to Minnesota to battle the Golden Gophers on Sunday afternoon (5:00 pm CT, BTN), and have a chance to sustain the momentum that this big win created. As far as memorable Illini wins are concerned, this one ranks right up there with the Arizona win in Chicago back in 2005, as well as the last time the #1 team came to town, which was Wake Forest back in December of 2004. This may not have been a season saver for the Illini, but it very may well go a long way in determining their fate once the brackets are announced on Selection Sunday.
The Illini women's basketball team's future is also looking up these days, as they continue to push onward toward the end of their season. Going into Thursday night's game at Michigan, Matt Bollant's squad had won their last six games away from home, bringing the true meaning of the term "road warriors" to light. However, their streak came to an end against the Wolverines, as they lost 72-69, but had a chance to tie the game at the end, but Ivory Crawford's three pointer rimmed out. Still, this season could be deemed a success for Bollant and the Illini, as they are 13-9 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten, both marks surpassing last year's totals. The Illini also finish the regular season with 4 of the final 6 games being played at the Assembly Hall, and can make a strong case for a top 5 seed in the Big Ten tournament next month at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. The Illini will welcome Minnesota on Sunday afternoon (1:00 pm CT, BTN), then take a full week off before hosting Wisconsin the following Monday evening. If you haven't been out to see a women's basketball game this season, I strongly suggest you give it a try. They are a fun team to watch!
Tim Beckman landed a class of 25 players on National Letter of Intent signing day on Wednesday, and judging by the level of recruits incoming, the future could look a bit brighter. But before you accuse me of drinking from the trough that has the orange kool-aid, let me explain. The Illini won just 2 games in 2012, and the selling job that Beckman and his staff have done to bring these guys in is pretty good. Headlining the class is Aaron Bailey, a quarterback from Bolingbrook that could step in this fall and make an impact. Out of the 25, 10 are early enrollees and 5 of those came from the junior college ranks, which means that they have some experience. Other key signees in the class include Dillan Cazley from Charleston, Kendrick Foster from Peoria Richwoods, and Paul James from Miami, Florida. A complete list of the recruiting class can be accessed by going to fightingillini.com and choosing the football link at the top of the page. The Illini begin spring practice on March 5, with the annual spring game set for Friday night, April 12th at 8:00 pm.
The Illini women's basketball team's future is also looking up these days, as they continue to push onward toward the end of their season. Going into Thursday night's game at Michigan, Matt Bollant's squad had won their last six games away from home, bringing the true meaning of the term "road warriors" to light. However, their streak came to an end against the Wolverines, as they lost 72-69, but had a chance to tie the game at the end, but Ivory Crawford's three pointer rimmed out. Still, this season could be deemed a success for Bollant and the Illini, as they are 13-9 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten, both marks surpassing last year's totals. The Illini also finish the regular season with 4 of the final 6 games being played at the Assembly Hall, and can make a strong case for a top 5 seed in the Big Ten tournament next month at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates. The Illini will welcome Minnesota on Sunday afternoon (1:00 pm CT, BTN), then take a full week off before hosting Wisconsin the following Monday evening. If you haven't been out to see a women's basketball game this season, I strongly suggest you give it a try. They are a fun team to watch!
Tim Beckman landed a class of 25 players on National Letter of Intent signing day on Wednesday, and judging by the level of recruits incoming, the future could look a bit brighter. But before you accuse me of drinking from the trough that has the orange kool-aid, let me explain. The Illini won just 2 games in 2012, and the selling job that Beckman and his staff have done to bring these guys in is pretty good. Headlining the class is Aaron Bailey, a quarterback from Bolingbrook that could step in this fall and make an impact. Out of the 25, 10 are early enrollees and 5 of those came from the junior college ranks, which means that they have some experience. Other key signees in the class include Dillan Cazley from Charleston, Kendrick Foster from Peoria Richwoods, and Paul James from Miami, Florida. A complete list of the recruiting class can be accessed by going to fightingillini.com and choosing the football link at the top of the page. The Illini begin spring practice on March 5, with the annual spring game set for Friday night, April 12th at 8:00 pm.
Friday, February 1, 2013
A familiar road
Haven't we seen this story play out before? The Illini get out to a fast start to a season, to only see it crumble right before their eyes. Illini fans were glad to see Bruce Weber leave after last season, and agreed that it was time for him to move on. However, the players that he recruited to Illinois stayed behind to play for new Illini bench boss John Groce. Illini Nation was pleasantly surprised in the early part of the 2012-13 campaign, as the Illini stormed out of the gate to a 12-0 record, and put wins over top 15 opponents Butler, Gonzaga and Ohio State in their back pocket. Those teams are still among the nation's elite teams, but the Fighting Illini are nowhere to be found in the rankings, not even receiving votes at this time. Coincidence? Groce, as has been previously mentioned here, wanted to downplay the fact that his team was exhibiting a lack of confidence and was thinking about their epic collapse last season, and that the direction that they were heading was eerily too familiar with what happened a year ago. True, the schedule has been brutal, what with the Big Ten being as strong as it has been in several years. But that doesn't take into account that losing at home to Northwestern and on the road at Purdue, two games that should have pointed to wins. To be an elite team in the Big Ten, you need to hold serve on your home court and try to steal one or two on the road, both of which this year's version of the Illini have been unable to do. Granted, the last couple of games for the Illini have been tough, losing to Michigan at home and Michigan State on the road, but those were expected to be losses. Michigan has by far the best team in the conference in many years, and they are loaded at every position. Then there is Michigan State, who year in and year out, remains one of the top teams in the Big Ten, no matter how much they happen to reload. The Breslin Center in East Lansing is one of the tougher venues to play in, ans the Illini have not won up there since the 2006 season. The Illini came out looking much better than they had in previous games, scoring the first 8 points of the game to take control of the game for the entire first half, taking a 37-27 lead into the halftime locker room. Whatever adjustment Michigan State coach Tom Izzo made at the half must have worked, because the Spartans stormed out of the gate in the second half, scoring the first 14 points of the half to totally reverse the course of the game and take a lead that they would never relinquish. Once one of the best shooting teams in the nation from beyond the arc earlier in the season, the Illini have had trouble finding their range, and it has shown, especially in the win column. Senior Tyler Griffey is a distinct example of this futility, having gone from hitting long range jumpers on a regular basis to barely drawing iron on shots lately. Griffey has lost confidence enough that he is even passing on shots that normally would go in. Groce has said that the shooting woes have played a direct effect on their recent slide, noting that the team probably made more fundamental mistakes earlier in the season. However, their hot shooting masked that deficiency, and now the lack of hitting shots is beginning to take its toll. We knew this last season, but this team is soft and it really shows when going up against strong, physical teams such as Michigan State, and soon to be Indiana. The Illni , currently 15-7 overall and 2-6 in conference play, are running out of time this season, and will need a strong finish to the season to make the NCAA Tournament. Sure, they have the resume building wins to make a strong case, but bad losses (see at Purdue and home to Northwestern), have made that questionable. It now makes every win that much more important, and they can get back on the right track on Sunday when they welcome the Wisconsin Badgers to the Assembly Hall (2:30 pm CT, BTN). The Badgers thoroughly embarrassed the Illini in their first meeting of the season, beating the Illini 74-51 at the Kohl Center in Madison last month. This Wisconsin team is not the most physical that coach Bo Ryan has had in his time in Madison, but, like Izzo, he always manages to get everything out of the players that he brings in. This is a winnable game for the Illini, but then again, so was Northwestern and at Purdue. So, at this point, it remains to be seen what will play out. It all depends on which team shows up, and right now, my guess is as good as yours. I have no idea.
I know I shouldn't say this, but who would have thought that the team that we would be talking about with the best chance of getting into the NCAA Tournament would be the Illini women? This statement is fact that coach Matt Bollant is doing wonders with the Illini, having now knocked off 3 top 25 teams to be in contention in the Big Ten. The Illini, now 12-8 overall and in a 5 way tie for third place in the Big Ten at 5-3, are playing some of the best basketball of all the teams in the league, and that can be attributed to the return of Adrienne GodBold, who was academically ineligible for the first semester. Karisma Penn once again is leading the team, and in their latest triumph, a 74-62 win over #24 Iowa on Thursday night at the Assembly Hall, Penn led a balanced attack for the Illini with 18 points. GodBold and Amber Moore each scored 17 points, while Ivory Crawford added 14 points. This is just the type of output that Bollant was looking for, and he was quoted this past week by saying that "I expected to get this team back to prominence in the Big Ten and visions of the NCAA Tournament, or else I never would have left Green Bay". Considering that the Illini won 11 games last season and have already eclipsed that mark this year, he is well on his way to reversing fortunes of this program. The Illini will look to continue their success on the road in the Big Ten this season, where they haven't lost, when they travel to Madison to battle Wisconsin on Sunday (2:00 pm CT, No TV). I like the direction that this program is headed.
The #6 Fighting Illini wrestling team is off to a good start on the season, despite losing one of their top grapplers, B. J. Futrell to an injury. The Illini dominated Indiana by a score of 30-9 to set up a very important weekend for Coach Jim Heffernan and his squad. On Friday night, they travel to Oak Grove H.S. in Oak Grove, Ohio to battle the #5 Ohio State Buckeyes, before returning home on Sunday to battle #1 Penn State. Hopefully, with the absence of Futrell, the Illini can rely on some of the other veterans to step up and assume the leadership role that Futrell exhibited and retain their stature as one of the elite teams in the nation.
I know I shouldn't say this, but who would have thought that the team that we would be talking about with the best chance of getting into the NCAA Tournament would be the Illini women? This statement is fact that coach Matt Bollant is doing wonders with the Illini, having now knocked off 3 top 25 teams to be in contention in the Big Ten. The Illini, now 12-8 overall and in a 5 way tie for third place in the Big Ten at 5-3, are playing some of the best basketball of all the teams in the league, and that can be attributed to the return of Adrienne GodBold, who was academically ineligible for the first semester. Karisma Penn once again is leading the team, and in their latest triumph, a 74-62 win over #24 Iowa on Thursday night at the Assembly Hall, Penn led a balanced attack for the Illini with 18 points. GodBold and Amber Moore each scored 17 points, while Ivory Crawford added 14 points. This is just the type of output that Bollant was looking for, and he was quoted this past week by saying that "I expected to get this team back to prominence in the Big Ten and visions of the NCAA Tournament, or else I never would have left Green Bay". Considering that the Illini won 11 games last season and have already eclipsed that mark this year, he is well on his way to reversing fortunes of this program. The Illini will look to continue their success on the road in the Big Ten this season, where they haven't lost, when they travel to Madison to battle Wisconsin on Sunday (2:00 pm CT, No TV). I like the direction that this program is headed.
The #6 Fighting Illini wrestling team is off to a good start on the season, despite losing one of their top grapplers, B. J. Futrell to an injury. The Illini dominated Indiana by a score of 30-9 to set up a very important weekend for Coach Jim Heffernan and his squad. On Friday night, they travel to Oak Grove H.S. in Oak Grove, Ohio to battle the #5 Ohio State Buckeyes, before returning home on Sunday to battle #1 Penn State. Hopefully, with the absence of Futrell, the Illini can rely on some of the other veterans to step up and assume the leadership role that Futrell exhibited and retain their stature as one of the elite teams in the nation.
Saturday, January 26, 2013
Somewhat Back To Normal
It's funny what a win can do to the confidence of a basketball team. Losing 5 of their last 6 games, including their last 3 games, the Fighting Illini traveled to Lincoln, Nebraska this past Tuesday night to get back on the winning track, at least for the time being. D. J. Richardson regained his shooting touch, scoring a career high 30 points to help lead the Illini to a much needed lopsided victory. It seems forever and a day ago since the Illini were thoroughly embarrassed in Lincoln last season, and if that wasn't the beginning of the end for Bruce Weber and the 2011-12 Illini team, then it led to that. This version of the Illini have proved that they can play with the best of the best, and also lose to the not so fortunate. Which puts the game on Sunday into the category of not knowing what will happen. The Illini will battle #2 Michigan on Sunday (5:00 pm, CT, BTN), and even though the Wolverines come in as perhaps the cream of the crop in the Big Ten, the Illini have proven before that they can step up in the big games (see Butler, Gonzaga and Ohio State). Michigan has a lot to play for as well, because if they can get past the Illini, they will become the nation's #1 team when the new poll is released on Monday. But first things first, they have to come into Champaign and get a win. The Illini's next 5 games proves to be a brutal stretch, as they will face 4 teams that are in the top 25 and a fifth, Wisconsin, who may enter the poll after knocking off #12 Minnesota on Saturday. Everyone knew that the Big Ten would be dog-eat-dog this season, and it is proving to be just that. Coach John Groce doesn't want to look past Michigan in this next stretch of games, but that doesn't mean that the members of the media (which I am among the throngs) can't. A game at Michigan State (ranked #13) looms next for the Illini on Thursday night, followed by a return to the Assembly Hall a week from Sunday to battle Wisconsin, the first team that the Illini will see for the second time this season. After that, Indiana (ranked #7) comes to Champaign, and then the Illini will travel to Minneapolis to battle the Minnesota Golden Gophers (ranked #12 before losing to Wisconsin) the Sunday after. If that doesn't speak volumes over a key few games that might make or break their season, then I don't know what does. After all, everyone knew that this wouldn't be easy, and the Illini have proven that they can beat anyone on any given night.
The Fighting Illini women's basketball team has found success on the road in the Big 10 this season pretty satisfying. However, playing at home hasn't been so easy for Matt Bollant's squad. Case in point: The Illini defeated Nebraska in Lincoln 62-52 to win their third straight away from the Assembly Hall, but in coming back to play in front of the home fans against Northwestern, lost 62-58 to drop their third consecutive home game. The Illini (10-8 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten) hope to continue their success on the road on Monday evening when they travel to Minnesota to battle the Golden Gophers (13-6 overall, 2-3 in the Big Ten). So far Bollant has not disappointed in getting this team to play well for him, and it will be even more interesting to see what he can do when he gets his own players here.
The coaching carousel for the football team continued last week when Jim Bridge was hired from North Carolina State to take over the offensive line, a position that was vacated when Luke Butkus left to join former boss Ron Turner, who was hired as head coach at Florida International. Butkus, who claimed that Illinois was his dream job for coaching, evidently woke up and realized that the grass may be greener elsewhere. More power to him, and I wish him the best of luck. Luke is a good guy and will succeed wherever he goes. Word also came down on Saturday that defensive line coach Keith Gilmore is leaving Illinois to be reunited with his former coach Vic Koenning at North Carolina. That will once again leave another position to fill on the staff, one that Coach Tim Beckman will no doubt fill pretty quickly. With national letter of intent signing day approaching on February 6th, they will need to make a move and fast. Stay tuned.
The Fighting Illini women's basketball team has found success on the road in the Big 10 this season pretty satisfying. However, playing at home hasn't been so easy for Matt Bollant's squad. Case in point: The Illini defeated Nebraska in Lincoln 62-52 to win their third straight away from the Assembly Hall, but in coming back to play in front of the home fans against Northwestern, lost 62-58 to drop their third consecutive home game. The Illini (10-8 overall, 3-3 in the Big Ten) hope to continue their success on the road on Monday evening when they travel to Minnesota to battle the Golden Gophers (13-6 overall, 2-3 in the Big Ten). So far Bollant has not disappointed in getting this team to play well for him, and it will be even more interesting to see what he can do when he gets his own players here.
The coaching carousel for the football team continued last week when Jim Bridge was hired from North Carolina State to take over the offensive line, a position that was vacated when Luke Butkus left to join former boss Ron Turner, who was hired as head coach at Florida International. Butkus, who claimed that Illinois was his dream job for coaching, evidently woke up and realized that the grass may be greener elsewhere. More power to him, and I wish him the best of luck. Luke is a good guy and will succeed wherever he goes. Word also came down on Saturday that defensive line coach Keith Gilmore is leaving Illinois to be reunited with his former coach Vic Koenning at North Carolina. That will once again leave another position to fill on the staff, one that Coach Tim Beckman will no doubt fill pretty quickly. With national letter of intent signing day approaching on February 6th, they will need to make a move and fast. Stay tuned.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)