Illini Basketball: Up and Down

So it goes for Bruce Weber and his Fighting Illini basketball team. They are a team of ups and downs, and night in and night out, they are like a box of chocolates: you never know what you are going to get. This team has shown flashes of brilliance (see Gonzaga, Michigan State), as well as moments of total destruction (re-live UIC, Penn State) during this season, and some drama has been added as of late just for good measure. Over the last 4 games, the Illini are just 1-3, but some will say that a moral victory was achieved in the last defeat, a 73-68 setback to top-ranked Ohio State. What disturbs me more about this loss is the fact that the Illini had an 8 point lead in the second half, and frankly let it slip away during the last 10 minutes of the game. Freshman Jereme Richmond (more about him in a moment) had his best game yet as an Illini, notching his first double-double of his young collegiate career with 18 points and 10 rebounds, and ended the week with his two best games yet. This is coming off a tumultuous week for Richmond, who left the team briefly to take care of a personal matter at home. Or so we were led to believe. More pieces of this saga are beginning to surface, and it appears now that Richmond was considering transferring because of not playing as much as he thought he deserved. We may never know the real reason why he did not travel to Wisconsin when the Illini played the Badgers, but he did drive up to Madison with his parents and since that little ordeal, has played much better. Given the recent improvement in Richmond's game, I believe he has deserved to crack the starting rotation, which still hasn't happened. Weber has his detractors, and I have been known to defend him in this blog, as well as in casual conversation. However, I must shake my head at some of the decisions that he has orchestrated lately. For instance, continuing to start Bill Cole, as well as some of the other seniors, when in fact they haven't warranted being in that role lately. Another one just happened on Sunday against the Buckeyes, when Weber mentioned in the postgame interview room that he asked the team in the huddle who wanted to take the last shot to try to beat the Buckeyes. Isn't that the coach's job to make that decision? After all, this isn't the movie Hoosiers, and we don't have someone like Jimmy Chitwood who said he wanted the ball. Instead, Cole said he would take the shot, and when he couldn't get open to take said shot, they went inside to Tisdale, and a turnover resulted, which basically ended the game. Weber has been taking a lot of heat lately, and I think it might actually be starting to get to him. Since the Final Four year, the Illini have won just one NCAA Tournament game, and have missed the big dance twice in that span. Plus, those were Bill Self recruits, and even though the recruiting has been on the upswing in the past couple of years, they are still unproven and attitudes probably won't change until the Illini are back in the tourney and can win a game or two. The Illini can take the next step toward that on Thursday night when they travel across the border to Bloomington to battle the Indiana Hoosiers (8:00 pm central time, Big Ten Network). The Illini have been suspect of playing to the level of their opponent, and with the Hoosiers still down, this is a very important game for Weber and his team to make a statement. The Hoosiers have already lost Maurice Creek for the season, and may be without former Champaign Central standout Verdell Jones III when they battle the Illini. The Illini enter play with Indiana at 14-6 overall and 4-3 in Big Ten action. Yes, folks, there is still time, but it must start with a big win over Indiana. No doubt about it.

The Illini football team enjoyed some success at the end of their 2010 season, as they defeated Baylor in the Texas Bowl, but it apparently has come with a price. Three of the top underclassmen have decided to forego their senior seasons and instead test the NFL waters. The first to announce was running back Mikel Leshoure, who set numerous records for the Illini, including the school record for rushing yards in a game at Wrigley Field in Chicago. Also going pro are linebacker Martez Wilson and defensive lineman Corey Liuget, both of whom enjoyed success with the Illini last season. In a way, you cannot blame them for making the jump, because with a possible lockout looming in the league, now might be the best time to go. Coach Ron Zook will undoubtedly miss these guys next season, and the list of incoming recruits is not as impressive as it has been in the past, but it could be worse. I believe that the bowl victory will carry some weight in that area, but it may be a couple of years until the benefits are seen. The coaching staff overhaul that was done before the season began looks even larger now, and hopefully they will be able to build on what they have started. With signing day less than 2 weeks away, the class of 2011 will be announced and the pieces will more than likely fall into place. What remains to be seen is if those pieces are large enough to fill the void left by the trio that could have returned. We shall see.

Welcome to 2011

2010 didn't end very well on several Illini fronts, however, both the Illini men's basketball and football teams finished the year with victories, on the same day nonetheless. Amid speculation that they would go down to Houston and lay the proverbial egg in front of what was to be a pro-Baylor crowd, the Illini quieted their critics by dismantling the Bears 38-14, as Mikel Leshoure continued his assault on the record books by rushing for 184 yards and 3 touchdowns. Working at a disadvantage because of playing a Texas team in their home state, it didn't seem to bother the Illini all that much. Baylor, who was playing in their first bowl game since 1994, seemed to have the edge with their outstanding quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin, who came into the game as the fifth most prolific passer in the country, did pass for 306 yards and a touchdown, but his two early fumbles in the first half gave Illinois all they needed to jump on top and pretty much stay there for the entire game. The Illini assured themselves of a winning season at 7-6 with the victory, and also could very well see extensions come to fruition for Coach Ron Zook and several of his assistants. Herein lies the problem. Does Zook warrant an extension? After all, this was just the Illini's 3rd bowl appearance since the 2001 season, which isn't a very good track record. But, I am sure that there will be a reworking of the contract at some point, and I won't be surprised when it does happen.

After a pair of demoralizing losses before Christmas, Bruce Weber's Fighting Illini men's basketball team have righted the ship, and are out to a perfect 3-0 start in Big Ten play, including a big win over a top 25 team in Wisconsin. After starting out conference play at Iowa on the same night as the football team's bowl win against Baylor, the Illini got much needed wins against the Badgers and Northwestern. In the game against the Wildcats, the Illini couldn't do much wrong at all and finally played the way everyone expected them to play for much of the season. It may have been that Weber gave them a wake-up call after the losses to UIC and Missouri, or simply the fact that the players felt embarrassed and wanted to make a statement. Well, they did against Northwestern, shooting a blistering 70.5% from the field for the game, which was an Illinois record for field goal shooting in a game. The first half alone the Illini only missed 4 shots, enroute to a lead that they would never relinquish. However, the next stretch of games will be a tell-tale sign as to how good this Illinois team is. With games on the road at Penn State (Tuesday, 8:00 pm, Big Ten Network) and then a rematch with Wisconsin next Saturday, followed by home games with Michigan State and Ohio State, the possibility of remaining undefeated in conference play seems a stretch at best. Currently the Illini are 13-3 overall and still perfect in the Big 10 at 3-0. Penn State will be coming in on a high note after upsetting Michigan State at home over the weekend. We shall see how it transpires.

Finally, what in the world is going on with the women's basketball program at Illinois? It seems like the program is going in reverse after their latest setback, an overtime heartbreaker to Northwestern 69-66 on Sunday afternoon at the Assembly Hall. They still are not drawing very big crowds, so not a lot of people are seeing this destruction occur. Jolette Law means well, but with all of the suspensions and eventual transfers from the program, you wonder if she is just Theresa Grentz lite. I seriously think that athletic director Ron Guenther missed the boat badly on this hire, because in order to build this program back up to respectability, you first need to put a team on the floor that is going to put people in the seats. At this rate, they wouldn't fill up one side of Huff Gym with the crowds they have been seeing. Plus, at 6-10 overall and 1-2 in the Big Ten, a trip to a postseason tournament seems very unlikely at this point. Maybe things will improve, but I don't see it happening anytime soon.

Illini, we have a bowl game!

At long last, the news is official. The Illini will be heading south later this month to play in the Texas Bowl in Houston. The Illini finished the regular season at 6-6, losing at Fresno State by the slimmest of margins 25-23. Most of the speculation about where the Illini were going already pretty much had been decided, but the official word came down last Sunday. The Illini will be facing the Baylor Bears, who haven't been to a bowl themselves since 1994. Baylor finished the regular season 7-5, and feature a prolific offense, led by quarterback Robert Griffin III. Griffin completed 274 of 413 passes on the season for 3,195 yards and threw 21 touchdowns. He also rushed for 8 touchdowns on the year, making him as durable of a threat on the ground as he is in the air. The Illini have had some problems containing high-powered offenses during the regular season, and this Baylor team will be no different.

But, just how exciting is everyone feeling about this upcoming bowl trip? This is not one of the marquee bowl games to begin with, and the fact that it is in Houston might make it more difficult for some fans to attend. One good thing going for the Illini is that the game is the only one being played on that day, so the whole country will be watching. That could be both good and bad.

Still, this is a positive note for the Illini to even be playing this late into December. According to Coach Ron Zook, it gives the team some extra practice time that they normally wouldn't be getting. Also, it gives the players some exposure and a chance to shine in playing an extra game. The Illini haven't been to a bowl game since the 2008 season, when they went to the Rose Bowl. But does this Illini team deserve the distinction of playing in a bowl game? After all, their season has been less than impressive, and at times the Illini have looked absolutely dreadful (see Minnesota). But, it is what it is, and the Illini contingent will descend on Houston after Christmas ready to play. The question is, will the fans follow?

The Fighting Illini men's basketball team ended a very successful week, defeating North Carolina at home and going on the road to defeat Gonzaga. After the defeat of the Zags, the Illini faced a sure trap game, when the Grizzlies of Oakland University came to the Hall. The game started out very bad for the Illini, as they fell behind by double figures early on. What was really strange about the whole game was what happened at the 12:38 mark of the first half. Apparently a women's ball got onto the rack of balls that were going to be used, and that one was in play for the first part of the game. Illini guard Demetri McCamey tried to point it out to the officials on several occasions before they actually discovered it, but to no avail. When they finally switched the balls out, the Illini began to take control, on the heels of McCamey, who scored 30 points. McCamey scored 23 of his points in the second half, including 11 straight to turn the entire momentum of the game. The Illini ended up winning 74-63 to run their record to 9-1 on the season. The Illini will take on the Bears of Northern Colorado on Sunday at the Assembly Hall (5:00 pm, CT - Big Ten Network). This will be the last tuneup game for the Illini of the fall semester. I think so far, this Illini team is playing the way I expected them to play, and the emergence of Jereme Richmond is not far off. The freshman has shown flashes of brilliance early on, and should crack the starting lineup before long. The next stretch of games will finish o

ff the non-conference portion of the season and then the Big Ten season, an entirely different animal altogether, will be on the horizon.

Saturday was a big day at the Assembly Hall for Illini fans as the 5th annual Shootout At The Hall took place, featuring several committed players for next season, as well as some other players that are being looked at by Bruce Weber and his staff. There were seven games on tap for the day, featuring some local teams, as well as some from a distance. The first game of the day had two area rivals going at it, the Unity Rockets and the St. Joseph-Ogden Spartans. Separated by just a few miles between borders, the kids in each district know each other, and in some cases, even date each other. It used to be a big rivalry when the teams were in the same conference, but now that they are no longer in the same league, the rivalry has taken a bit of a back seat. The Rockets used a strong fourth quarter to outscore the Spartans 13-0 to win going away 47-29.

The second game of the day saw two Cornbelt Conference teams go at it as Rantoul took on Pontiac. Rantoul, who has a player that is getting some Division looks named Travis B

ritt, played pretty well all through the game, and even though Pontiac took the game into overtime, the Eagles still ended up winning 58-54. There is no doubt that when those two teams meet on the court later in the season during the Cornbelt season, there will be revenge on the minds of the Indians.

Game three of the shootout saw Springfield Lanphier take on Peoria Manual. Lanphier, who has a freshman named Larry Austin Jr. that is on the Illini staff radar screen, had their way for most of the game with Manual, and defeated the Rams 65-58. Manual, long a player in the bigger schools in the past, has scaled down their enrollment significantly, but still have some guys that can play. From the school that produced the likes of Sergio McClain, Marcus Liberty, and Jerry Hester, all Illini standouts, they gave the Lions all they could handle. The Rams are coached by Derrick Booth, who pl

ayed at Manual and collegiately for DePaul, and will have his team ready to play after this game.

The fourth game of the day featured one of the 3 Illini commitments for next season in 6'8 forward Nnanna Egwu of Chicago St. Ignatius, who took on Peoria Notre Dame. Egwu, who will be asked to step in for Bill Cole or Mike Davis when they graduate after this season, spent a lot of the time on the bench in foul trouble, and that evidently hurt his team's chances, as they ended up losing the game 48-46. Notre Dame, who has a player that is being coveted by Illinois for preferred walk-on status, Max Bielfeldt, won the game on a very questionable call. With just three seconds remaining, an intentional foul was called on St. Ignatius, sending Bielfeldt to the free throw line. He drained both attempts, then Notre Dame stole the inbounds pass to seal the victory. I have to agree with the St. Ignatius coach that it was not a good time to call an intentional foul, but it i

s what it is, and that was the ball game.

Game 5 on the day featured Bowman Academy of Gary, Indiana versus Chicago Mt. Carmel, and Illini signee Tracy Abrams. Abrams is set to assume the point guard duties next season once Demetri McCamey graduates in May. Bowman Academy has a player that is on the Illini radar screen in DeJuan Marrero, who is a 6'5 junior. Abrams runs the floor pretty well and should be a good addition to the Illini next season. The Caravan have another player named Malcom Hill-Bey who is a good player, too, so they should be a team to watch come March. This one went down to the wire, as most of the games have today, with Mt. Carmel coming out on top 63-60.

The sixth game of the day featured another Illini signee, Mychael Henry of Chicago Orr, facing the shootout's furthest participant, Lee H.S. from Huntsville, Alabama. Lee played on Friday night in a tournament in Marion, Illinois, and made the trek up here to play in the Shootout At The Hall. Devin Langford, who is high on the Illini, plays for Lee, and rumor has it that it is just a matter of time before he makes his decision official to play for the Illini next season. O

rr beat Lee 67-58, as Henry scored 32 points, making an impression on those in attendance.

The final game of the night featured two more local teams, St. Thomas More and defending 1A champ Salt Fork. Due to my being there all day for the games, I didn't stick around for this game, but I was told that Salt Fork won the game 46-33. Quite a day of high school basketball!

The Fighting Illini women's volleyball team saw their season come to an end where they had already won a match earlier in the season. The Illini fell in 5 sets, ending their season at 24-9, making the third consecutive year that they have advanced to the Sweet 16.

Finally, on Monday, the Big Ten unveiled their new logo for the conference, as well as the names of the divisions for the teams once Nebraska joins the league in 2011. Personally, the powers that be that developed this logo could have done much better in the creativity department. It is a generic logo, that, according to commissioner Jim Delaney, is targeted to go back to th

e basics. The logo (at right), gets rid of the embedded 11 in the old logo, and goes back to the '10', with an open end of the G in Big, symbolizing an 0 that leaves the imagination open. The division names are an entirely different matter altogether, and whoever came up with them needs to seriously reconsider their choices. The Legends Division, comprising Iowa, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota, Nebraska and Northwestern, makes it sound like those schools are has-beens. The Leaders Division, featuring Illinois, Indiana, Purdue, Ohio State, Wisconsin and Penn State, give one the idea that these schools are in the driver's seat for conference supremacy. Why not just call them East and West? This is rather ridiculous in my opinion, and the Big Ten ought to be embarrassed about this. However, the conference also announced 18 new trophies to be handed out for post-season awards, some of which are pretty clever names. Those can be found at the conference's website www.bigten,org

That's all for this week.

Making Progress, so to speak.

I've covered a lot of Fighting Illini sporting events since becoming The Illini Guy, but nothing quite compares to this past Saturday, when I traveled to Wrigley Field in Chicago to watch Illinois and Northwestern do battle at the Friendly Confines. This game had historical implications to begin with, but the Big Ten Conference making changes to the way the game was to be played on Thursday made this even more bizarre. Even though the powers that be knew that the east endzone would be an issue with the rightfield wall being right there at the end of it, they decided that in order to promote safety for both teams, they would just move from east to west and bypass that side of the field altogether. Very strange was the consensus when this decision was announced, but in all actuality, it was kind of a neat phenomenon once the game actually started. Yes, it was rather strange watching both teams occupy one side of the field on offense, and say what you will, but it reminds me of the old backyard football games we played as children growing up, having one team walk to the other end when the other team scored. Wrigley Field hasn't hosted a college football games since 1938, and hasn't seen football within its boundaries since the Bears left in the early 7o's. The enhancements of Wrigley over the past few years led to the decision of having the field move east to west. Once the game began, it felt more like a regular college football game. You couldn't really tell that they were only going one direction by the television monitor in front of me. This is actually a cool atmosphere, especially as darkness descended on the field. As for the game itself, it was another track meet from start to finish, with some big plays sprinkled in by both teams. Mikel Leshoure pretty much had his way in the ballgame, setting an Illinois record for rushing yards with 330 on the ground, carrying the ball 33 times and scoring twice. You could tell it was going to be a good day for Leshoure as his first two runs from scrimmage went for 32 and 30 yards, respectively. The old record, 315 yards, set by Robert Holcombe, stood since 1996.

More importantly, the win over the Wildcats gave the Illini their elusive sixth win, making them bowl eligible for the first time since the 2007 season when they went to the Rose Bowl. This is quite an accomplishment for Zook and the Illini, since they weren't expected to do this well. Given the changes in all of the coaching positions in the offseason left a lot of uncertainty, the results have been better than expected. The Illini will get a chance to get their 7th win of the season on Friday night when they travel west to Fresno, California to battle Fresno State (9:15 pm, CT, ESPN2), a team that defeated them in overtime last season in Champaign. The Illini can put an exclamation point on what they claim a successful season with a win over the Bulldogs. Then the decision will be handed down on Sunday evening when the bowl pairings are announced. Most likely, the Illini are ticketed for the Texas Bowl in Houston, but anything is possible at this point. At least they are headed somewhere and will be practicing in December, something that all teams wish they could do.

Bruce Weber's Fighting Illini basketball team finished the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer with a split in New York City, losing to Texas on Thursday night 90-84 in overtime, then coming back to win Friday evening against Maryland80-76 to capture third place in the tournament. The Illini had chances to beat the Longhorns, but couldn't get the job done, suffering their first defeat of the season. The Illini have certainly been busy since they returned from the Big Apple, hosting a pair of games, and going on the road into a hostile environment. The Illini hosted Yale last Tuesday, and came away with a 73-47 victory in a game that never really was in doubt. Given the late start of the contest, it was still rather well attended. After the win over the Bulldogs, the Illini ventured to Kalamazoo, Michigan to face the Western Michigan Broncos. Why Kalamazoo, you ask? Well, this was part of the football deal with the school, and since the Illini played there in 2008 for football at Ford Field in Detroit and in basketball in Champaign last season, they needed to return the favor, playing up there. The Broncos will return the favor on the football field next season, coming to Champaign to battle the Illini. This was labeled a trap game for many reasons, given the fact that the Illini stumbled in Las Vegas last season against Utah and Bradley, losing both games. The result against Western Michigan was a favorable one, as the Illini defeated the Broncos 78-63 to set up the showdown with North Carolina in the ACC/Big 10 Challenge this past Tuesday night.

The Illini and North Carolina have quite a history over the past several years, dating back to the memorable national championship game in 2005, a game in which the Tar Heels won 75-70. The teams have met seven times before this game, with the Tar Heels holding a slight 4-3 advantage. On this night, the Illini would prevail 79-67, as they placed 5 players in double figures, led by Mike Davis with 20 points. Demetri McCamey scored 17, while Mike Tisdale added 14. Jereme Richmond and D. J. Richardson scored 12 and 11 points, respectively for the Illini, who improved their season record to 7-1 on the season. The Illini have another tough test awaiting them this coming weekend, when they travel west to Seattle, Washington to battle the Gonzaga Bulldogs at Key Arena (4:00 pm, CT, ESPN). The Illini have a score to settle with the Zags, as they defeated the Illini in the annual United Center game in Chicago last season. However, this one will be tougher, since it is on a neutral court and a long way from Champaign. But, there will more than likely be more Illini fans in Seattle for this game than there were Gonzaga fans in Chicago last season, given the fact that there are Illinois alums scattered all across the country, and a good contingent in the Upper Northwest.

Good news for the Big Ten for the second year in a row, as they won the ACC/Big Ten Challenge by the slimmest of margins, 6-5. Winners for the Big Ten included Illinois, Purdue, Ohio State, Michigan, Wisconsin and Northwestern. Given the fact that the ACC won the first 10 challenges between the two conferences, it was a good feeling to see the Big 10 come out on top, although they have some work to do in order of evening up the series.

Something that remains a question is the play of Jolette Law's women's team. The Lady Illini just returned from a trip to Hawaii, where they went 1-2. The Illini started off last week with a rare 11:00 am game on Monday at home against Cal Poly, a game in which they won handily 104-63. The uniqueness of the unusual start was that a lot of students from area schools attended the game, which made the Assembly Hall seem more populated than it normally would at that time of the day. In Hawaii, the Illini defeated Long Beach State 69-48, but lost to North Carolina 87-58 and Ole Miss 70-61. Wednesday night was the womens' turn for the spotlight, as they hosted North Carolina State in the ACC/Big Ten Challenge. The game was on the Big Ten Network, and from the looks of it on television, there wasn't very many in attendance. It is almost embarrassing to see the Illini women on TV, and see a near-empty Assembly Hall, especially when other venues that host womens' games have much larger crowds attend. I guess that winning games will help the attendance, but for this crop of players, I just don't see that as an option at this time. The Illini head to Boulder, Colorado this weekend to battle the Buffaloes in the Big 10/Big 12 shootout.

Finally, despite losing 3 of their last 4 matches of the regular season, Kevin Hambly's Illini volleyball squad will host in the first and second rounds of the NCAA Tournament, which starts on Friday at Huff Hall. The Illini dropped matches on the road to Indiana and Purdue without their star Laura DeBruler, who was lost several weeks ago with a torn ACL. The Illini finished the regular season at 22-8, and will take on Austin Peay Friday evening at 7:00 pm. The winner of that match will face the winner of the Cincinnati-Western Kentucky match, which precedes it, for the right to move on to the next round.

Where do we go from here?

I really don't know where to begin here, so I'll start with the obvious; the Fighting Illini football team may have been pretenders all along. All this talk of a possible b*** has severely gotten into their heads, and as a result, dropped a game they had very much in the palm of their hand to lowly Minnesota. That's right, the 1-9 Golden Gophers. Well, make that the 2-9 Gophers now, since they beat Illinois 38-34 last Saturday at Memorial Stadium. The Illini had a 10 point lead in the fourth quarter, but couldn't seal the deal and let Minnesota score two touchdowns late to seal the victory. Taboo was talk of the b***, and even though the players were acting like they weren't thinking about it, they are kids and you know darn well they were. But, I have to think that a good portion of this loss must fall on Coach Ron Zook, who has about as good of clock management skills that I do, and that is not a compliment. It seems as if Zook has taken control of the offensive and defensive play calling in the last two weeks, because the Illini have fallen back into the same frame of mind that they had last season when they went 3-9. Now, they must win one game to qualify for that elusive b*** eligibility, and with Northwestern and Fresno State, both road games, looming on the schedule, that is a tall order.

The Illini head north to Chicago this weekend to face the Wildcats, but the venue will not be Ryan Field in Evanston (2:30 pm central time, ESPNU). Instead, the Illini and Northwestern are playing at historic Wrigley Field, who has not hosted a football game in over 70 years, and has not seen football of any kind since the Bears played there in the 70's. The unique atmosphere has its share of concerns though, as one of the endzones borders the outfield wall, a sure sign of disaster if someone runs a long route pattern and forgets where they are. Deemed the Wrigleyville Classic, the Friendly Confines has been transformed into Wildcat purple, including the historic marquee outside the stadium, which also took on a fresh coat of purple paint, one that would make Barney proud. ESPN Gameday will also be there broadcasting throughout the day, but the funny thing about that is the game is not on one of the major channels of the network, instead being slotted to "the U", only available to about half the regular subscribers. I wonder what will happen if Lee Corso picks Illinois to win the game, because he normally chooses a headpiece of the team that gets his vote. Doing a chief headdress would certainly fuel some debate, but we'll just have to wait and see. The Wildcats are 7-3 on the season and come into the game ranked #25 in the country, but lost their starting quarterback Dan Persa on the last play of scrimmage last weekend when they upset the Iowa Hawkeyes in Evanston. Evan Watkins gets the start this week, and he has only attempted 7 passes in his collegiate career. But, with the Illini secondary performing like they have over the past couple of games, does it really matter who the Wildcats throw under center? This would not be a good scenario to rely on the game in Fresno, California in 2 weeks as the last chance to gain b*** eligibility. Stay tuned on this one.

Now for some better news. Bruce Weber takes his #13 ranked Fighting Illini east to Madison Square Garden in New York City this weekend for the culmination of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. The Illini will take on the Texas Longhorns Thursday night (approx. 8:30 pm central time, ESPN2), then, pending the outcome of that game, will take on either Pittsburgh or Maryland on Friday night. This will be a good early season test for the Illini, and should give a good indication of how talented this team is. The Illini need a good showing in the Big Apple to keep those lofty expectations in tact. Games against North Carolina and Gonzaga loom further down on the schedule before the rigorous Big Ten season begins just prior to the new year. The Illini are 3-0 on the young season, and are coming off an 85-63 win over Weber's former school, the Salukis of Southern Illinois. Weber brought the Saluki program to prominence before moving north to Champaign, and below I-64 he is still considered a figure of authority. The Longhorns are 2-0 on the young season, and are ranked #22 in this week's poll.

Wrigley in November? Should be mighty cold on those rooftops! Should be interesting. That's all for this week. Happy Thanksgiving to everyone.

Coming down to the wire

If you are a sports fan like myself, then you have to love this time of year, as sports seasons begin to overlap. It seems that there is something going on every single day, which keeps people like me constantly on the go, making it happen and reporting it to everyone out in cyberspace. So, here goes for this week.

By now, you know that the Illini and Michigan hooked up on the football field last Saturday, and a track meet of epic proportions ensued, with the Wolverines ending up on top 67-65 in 3 overtimes. Yes, it more resembled a basketball score, but it was, in fact, football. I knew that the Michigan defense wasn't very good, and that their offense could put up points in bunches, but I did not expect to see triple digits in points, and over 1200 yards in total offense. The Illini defense, who has been very good for the most part this season, took the afternoon off, as they let Denard Robinson, and then, Tate Forcier, have their way with the secondary. Wolverine wideout Roy Roundtree caught 9 passes for an astonishing 246 yards and scored twice, including a 75 yard pass from Robinson on the game's first play. That should have been the first indicator that this was going to be a shootout. Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase keeps getting better and better each week, and his numbers in this game weren't bad at all. Scheelhaase completed 14 of 25 passes for 211 yards and 3 scores, two of them going to Mikel Leshoure. On the day, Leshoure had 5 touchdowns total, to go with 123 yards rushing and 52 yards receiving. Scheelhaase once again was honored as the freshman of the week in the Big Ten, his fifth so honor this season. Leshoure also was named the offensive player of the week in the conference for his efforts in the loss to the Wolverines. Believe it or not, this team is getting better, and still remain on the cusp of bowl eligibility, which they can take care of this Saturday when 1-9 Minnesota visits Memorial Stadium (11:00 am, Big Ten Network). This will be Senior Day for a host of Illini, including occasional quarterback Eddie McGee, who will be among the players taking the field at Memorial Stadium for the final time. Once bowl eligibility is achieved, then they can concentrate on the final two games of the season and improving the bowl that they will more than likely be going to.

Illini basketball is in full swing, and now that the exhibition games are over, it is time for them to count in the regular season standings. This is the earliest start in the history of the Illinois program, and they are currently in the middle of the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. Coach Bruce Weber is a strong advocate of the battle against cancer, so it is fitting that the Illini were asked to play in this year's classic. The Illini opened up at home against UC-Irvine on Monday night, and used a strong first half to defeat the Anteaters 79-65. Brandon Paul led the way for the Illini with 18 points, while Demetri McCamey and Mike Tisdale scored 13 and 12 points, respectively. This was the first game in the 2K Sports Classic, and on Wednesday night, the Illini played the second game against Toledo, which ended up being a slaughter. Toledo was pretty much gutted in the off-season, and a new coach and several new players spelled disaster from the get-go. The Illini jumped on the Rockets early and often, and built up a 25-5 lead before Toledo knew what hit them. Behind 13 points by McCamey, the Illini were able to rest their starters and get some other players some much needed minutes. That is, all but Crandall Head, who did not play because according to Weber, "he didn't take care of his business". We have come to know over the past few seasons that this means either he didn't attend a class or some other disciplinary measures. It was a landslide from the start, and it ended 84-45 in favor of the Illini. The Illini showed flashes of the talent that they have, but the road just gets tougher from this point forward. A game that Weber did not want to play will take place on Saturday night, when Southern Illinois comes to the Assembly Hall (7:00 pm, Big Ten Network). According to Weber, the game was agreed upon by assistants from both schools at last year's Final Four. Chris Lowery, who coaches the Salukis, was a former player of Weber's and a former assistant at Illinois under Weber. So, you can see why he doesn't get a thrill from playing this game. From there, the Illini will head to the Big Apple for the conclusion of the Coaches vs. Cancer event when they take on the Texas Longhorns next Thursday. This will be the first true test of what this team has, and we should get a good idea of how good they really are after these two games at Madison Square Garden.

Wednesday was National Letter of Intent signing day, and in what is becoming a trend with Weber lately, has been getting some good, quality recruits to come to Illinois. This year is no exception, as 4 four-star athletes signed on the dotted line to play for Weber. What is more remarkable about this is that they are all from the Chicago area, and with the last 2 classes beginning to make an impact, the idea of stacking classes gives fans in Illini Nation reason to have hope. Tracy Abrams, a guard from Chicago Mt. Carmel, headlines the class, followed by Nnanna Egwu from St. Ignatius Prep. 6'6 wing Mychael Henry hails from Orr High School, and was a later bloomer that attracted Weber's attention last season, and the last recruit to make it official was Michael Shaw, who is from DeLasalle Institute. All of these players should add to the current squad quite nicely, and will attempt to fill the void when the Illini lose McCamey, Tisdale, Davis and Bill Cole next season. Does the question still rage that Bruce Weber cannot recruit? I'll let you be the judge of that one.

Illini women's coach Jolette Law also signed a good recruiting class, headlined by Ivory Crawford of Proviso East High School. Two more players from the state of Illinois will play next season for Law, those being Kierra Morris of Morgan Park Academy and Taylor Tuck of Bolingbrook HS. Law also snagged two players from the state of New York in Nia Oden (Christ the King HS, Brooklyn) and Alexis Smith (St. John the Baptist HS, West Islip). This class, combined with what is currently at Illinois, should give them some added depth. As has been the case over the past several years with the women's program, there are some issues with one of the players. Adrienne GodBold has been suspended 6 games for a violation of team rules, while Kersten Magrum will miss some time as well due to an injury. Those absences didn't seem to stop the Illini in their lone exhibition win, a 100-37 triumph over Division II foe Kentucky Wesleyan on Tuesday night at the Assembly Hall. Karisma Penn led 7 Illini players in double figures with 18 points, and recorded a double-double with 11 rebounds. Junior Lana Rukavina also had a double-double, scoring 17 points and carroming 10 boards. The Illini open the regular season on Friday evening when they host the Illinois State Redbirds at the Assembly Hall.

Finally, Illini women's volleyball is still very much in the driver's seat for the Big Ten title, and this weekend's matches at Ohio State and Penn State could go a long way in making that claim a reality. Coach Kevin Hambly also signed some good recruits for next season, inking four new players. They are as follows: Jocelynn Birks (Lyons Township HS), outside hitter Morgan Criswell (Decatur LSA), 6'6 blocker/right side hitter Liz McMahon (West Liberty Twp, Lakota West HS in Ohio), and Ali Stark (Mt. Vernon, Iowa). These four recruits, in addition to what Hambly already has, should keep the Illini in contention for the forseeable future.

See, not too much going on, is there? That's it for this week.

Get Your Bowling Shoes On?

They say defense wins championships. They may be on to something.

The Fighting Illini football team inched one step closer to becoming bowl eligible by defeating Purdue rather handily last Saturday at Memorial Stadium 44-10, but the most intriguing part of the whole game was the attendance. Where in the world was everybody? Granted, the Illini have not had the level of success that, say, Michigan or Ohio State have had over the past decade, but to give Ron Zook and his team the benefit of the doubt, this is a team that is now 5-3 on the season and knocking on the door of bowl eligibility. They have made significant strides during the season, and that can be attributed in large part to the work of the defense under new coordinator Vic Koenning. I have heaped praise for Koenning before in this blog, and I will continue to do so until he gives me reason not to. The Illini defense has risen to the occasion more often than not in 2010, and while the offense has sputtered in several games, it has been the defense that has sustained much of the momentum and spurred the Illini on to victory in those games. In the win against the Boilermakers, the offense finally showed signs of life, as quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase completed 16 of 20 passes for 195 yards and threw 4 touchdown passes, all to different receivers. Among the recipients of the touchdown grabs were freshman Darius Millines, who caught his first collegiate touchdown, and A. J. Jenkins, who caught his fourth of the season. Mikel Leshoure, who was held to just 23 yards rushing on 15 carries, did manage to get in the endzone 3 times, twice via the run and once on a pass from Scheelhaase. But, before I get too far off on the tangent of my rant, back to the crowd.

Folks, this is a pretty decent football team that comes out week to week, but you wouldn't know it by the size of the crowd at most home games. Maybe fans are still reluctant to come out and spend money to see this team in action, or it could be other factors as well. With high school football entrenched in their playoffs now, that probably kept some people away that might normally would have attended. But, the student section in the north end zone wasn't even full, which tells me one of two things: either the students don't want to support their peers, or they would just as soon watch from a local watering hole, apartment or dorm. The bottom line here is there is just one home game left, and by that time, the Illini could be either looking at becoming bowl eligible, or already there, primed to improving their bowl game options. The next step in the process is a tall order, as the Illini head to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take on the Michigan Wolverines at the "Big House". (11:00 AM Central Time, ESPN). Michigan Stadium seats 113,000, and you can bet it will be a full house waiting to greet the Illini. Michigan themselves have fallen on some hard times in recent years, but at 5-3 overall and 1-3 in the Big Ten, they will have a packed house. I just wish I could say the same for the fans here at Illinois. But, I digress. Winning on a consistent basis will ultimately bring the fans back, so until that occurs, I guess we should expect near capacity crowds cheering this team on to victory.

Bruce Weber and his Fighting Illini basketball team began their season this past week with two exhibition games, marking the earliest that an Illini team has hit the court to begin a season. The opponents, both Division II foes, and from the Great Lakes Valley Conference, no less, proved to be more of a challenge for the Illini than they ever dreamed possible. The first game, against Lewis University, was tight the entire contest, and a late surge by the Illini finally allowed them to prevail 75-65. A lot can be said for these exhibition games, because as I stated last week, it means more to the team coming in to play Illinois than it does for the Illini themselves. As Weber said, "they have designed plays to work against us, and we are just concerned about getting bodies in and out". The same held true for the second opponent, Southern Indiana, as they came in an stayed close with the Illini for the majority of the game, before falling 76-67. Screaming Eagles coach Rodney Watson, who was an assistant under Weber when he was at Southern Illinois, knows Weber's style pretty well, and even ran some plays that Weber developed while in Carbondale. There is some cause for concern, given the high expectations of this team before the season, but they are just that, expectations. You have to realize that this is a team that missed the NCAA Tournament last season, and are ranked #13 in the pre-season poll without even playing a game that counts. Senior Demetri McCamey was virtually non-existent against Southern Indiana, going 0-6 from the field and only scoring 3 points on the night. Weber says that things are not going the way they intended them to right now, but the next couple of weeks will determine how far this team has come. They take the court 3 times next week, beginning play in the 2K Sports Classic benefitting Coaches vs. Cancer. The first two games of this classic will be at the Assembly Hall, with the Illini taking on UC Irvine on Monday, followed by Toledo on Wednesday. The Illini welcome Weber's former school, Southern Illinois next Saturday evening, then will head towards the Big Apple the following weekend to play Texas, then either Pittsburgh or Maryland. Hopefully the Illini can get their act together before then.

The Fighting Illini volleyball team continues to roll right along through the season, as they went 3-0 this past week and maintained their stranglehold on the top spot in the conference. Wins over Michigan, Michigan State and Wisconsin have propelled the Illini to a 20-3 overall record and 12-1 in league play. Even though they have a 2 match lead in the conference standings, they must go on the road for 5 of their last 7 matches and will do so without the services of their leader, Laura DeBruler, who is lost for the season with an ACL injury. However, other players such as Johannah Bangert, Jennifer Bonilla and Michelle Bartsch have filled in nicely during DeBruler's absence, and will do everything they possibly can to keep the Illini in the top spot. The Illini travel to Northwestern on Friday evening for their only contest of the weekend.

That's all I got for this week. Stay warm!