So it's been awhile, but boredom has caught up to me. That and the paltry two games that the Fighting Illini football team has played so far. I'll be honest, though, I don't really remember much of the first game and haven't even watched the second game. I just have what I do remember and what the papers have told me to base these opinions on. With that said, let the bitching begin!
Missouri 37 - Illinois 9
It's funny, when I first tried typing in the Illini's score I accidentally hit the zero key. If that happened to be their final score, I probably would've been equally as upset. The offense was pretty non-existent, just like the defense. Coming into the season, everyone knew that the defensive side of the ball was a huge liability. And to steal a Madden-ism "the offense was going to have to score more than the other team in order to win." This is a team with a 4 year starter behind center, three 4-star recruits playing wide receiver, a tight end who could sneak into the first two rounds of the draft, and a slew of running backs who each brought their own unique style of play. None of that mattered.
-On the opening drive for the Illini, junior Arrelious Benn left with an ankle injury.
-A few drives later, after a lucky roughing the kicker penalty and on a crucial 4th & 1 , Ron Zook correctly decided to go for it...only to see Illini Lineman Randall Hunt trip up Juice Williams during his pass blocking.
-Receiver Fred Sykes (not quite sure) had a ball go thru his hands and into those of a Tiger DB.
-Another promising drive ended with a Jeff Cumberland fumble
-On the lone touchdown of the day for the Illini, kicker Matt Eller missed the PAT.
Those were simply the physical mistakes. Mental mistakes like blown coverages and bad play calling by both coordinators (or should I say all three coordinators because there's 2 on defense...neither one very good) were visible throughout the game. This was a coaching staff that had months to prepare for this game, yet the game plan was so conservative that if Rush Limbaugh had a life outside of the buffet line and politics, he would've became a liberal. I, for one, still don't understand the defensive alignment. Sure, a base 4-3 is good. I'm just confused with the DB's playing 10 yards off a receiver in short yardage situations. Chase Daniel wannabe Blaine Gabbert, starting his first game as a sophomore, simply took what the Illini defense gave them. He ended up with 300+ yards, 3 TD's, and 1 rushing TD. All of this left the Illinois half of the Dome in utter silence and calling for the Zooker's head. I left halfway through the final quarter to try my luck at the Lumiere Place (I left breaking even).
Illinois 45 - Illinois State 17
This game was literally a no-win situation for this team. Any type of win, blow-out or close, and the jury's still out there....they were supposed to win. A loss, just would've been bad. Luckily, the offense played like it's supposed to. Juice goes down on the first drive and in steps Eddie McGee. Any team just wants their back-up to manage the game. Limit mistakes. Eddie did just that. Being part of a rushing attack that nearly gained 400 yards meant that McGee didn't have to throw much. More good news included the defense holding the Redbirds to under 50 yards rushing. As with any Illini game these past few years the bad news may have meant more than the good.
-Illini defense gave up 354 passing yards; to a FBS school; starting a true freshman QB; a the home opener that was a night game. This kid should've been vomiting because of nerves.
-Illinois had 13 penalties for 115 yards. No excuses for that.
-I already mentioned Juice leaving the game. Zook said he could've played, but didn't want to risk anything more with the bye week ahead. Benn and Martez Wilson missed the game as well, basically for the same reason. Further tests showed that Wilson had a herniated disk in his neck requiring surgery that will sideline him for the season.
With the bye week past, the team sitting at 1-1, and the states (Ohio, Penn, & Michigan) looming in the next 3 weeks, things really aren't looking good for the Illini. But that will be up for discussion in the coming days.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
Thursday, March 19, 2009
And the Madness Begins Part III
Let me start by saying that I started this with 13:13 left in the game.
Wow, what a great first half of basketball played....if you're a Hilltopper. Big Red came out knowing they were going to win this game. And I think the Illini thought the same thing. Nothing so far has gone right for the Illini. Calvin Brock is the only bright spot, even though I think he is taking too many shots. I guess if he wants to shoot, go ahead, because no one else is willing to at least miss. Mike Tisdale is too slow for this game. He hasn't gotten beat by the pick-n-roll this bad in a long time. Exxon-Mendez-Valdez...hasn't his green card expired? Sgt Slaughter...great call on having D-Mac guard him. Demetri is probably the Illini's worst defender when it comes to starters and he's letting this guy have a field day. That's saying a lot because Trent Meacham plays pretty good matador defense. Was the scouting report one page long with only the following and in bold: LET THEM SHOOT, THEY HAVE TO MISS AT SOME POINT. because that's what it looks like so far. The best part about this game at the 10:28 mark is the ILL-INI chant going through the crowd. I guess I'd rather lose this game than get d-effin-stroyed by the Zags on Saturday. Alex Legion...there's a name who was supposed to have helped this year. Talk about all hype. He makes Pepsi Clear look like an idea that lasted longer than 2 months. I can't believe that Chester Frazier actually meant this much to this team. If you told me that only 5 months ago, I would've laughed, tarred, and feathered your ass. Seriously. The guy averaged 7pts...you're not supposed to miss him. But as the pundits on CBS/ESPN/Big10 say ''You can't coach heart." How fucking true. Bruce should just put him in. OK, theres 7:20 left and Dominique Keller just fouled out. He logged maybe 10 minutes. Whatever. What made me laugh was the dumbass color-guy saying "Losing Keller may hurt more because he's a scoring option." How does this guy have a job?! Does he define scoring option as one who has scored points in the season? If that's the case then Bubba is a scoring option because he averages .3 pts/game. There's 4:03 left and this team is down by 15. The last time the Illini won a game like this was 2005. This team can't do what that team did. I would've like to get a good nights sleep but when you lose by 20 to a team not even considered a mid-major, all you can hope is that the alcohol works fast and knocks your ass out before the final buzzer sounds. If, and I stress IF, there is any good to come from this game it is in the fact that the seniors played their asses off. Calvin, in all his shots, always plays hard. Trent, played above average defense and started making some shots in the second half. Chester, I wish he broke something other than a hand. Granted he could still play defense, but his offense would be worse than if I were out there. I just hope that those who are left on the team learn from this and take the proper steps in the off-season to get that much better. It sucks to lose.
Wow, what a great first half of basketball played....if you're a Hilltopper. Big Red came out knowing they were going to win this game. And I think the Illini thought the same thing. Nothing so far has gone right for the Illini. Calvin Brock is the only bright spot, even though I think he is taking too many shots. I guess if he wants to shoot, go ahead, because no one else is willing to at least miss. Mike Tisdale is too slow for this game. He hasn't gotten beat by the pick-n-roll this bad in a long time. Exxon-Mendez-Valdez...hasn't his green card expired? Sgt Slaughter...great call on having D-Mac guard him. Demetri is probably the Illini's worst defender when it comes to starters and he's letting this guy have a field day. That's saying a lot because Trent Meacham plays pretty good matador defense. Was the scouting report one page long with only the following and in bold: LET THEM SHOOT, THEY HAVE TO MISS AT SOME POINT. because that's what it looks like so far. The best part about this game at the 10:28 mark is the ILL-INI chant going through the crowd. I guess I'd rather lose this game than get d-effin-stroyed by the Zags on Saturday. Alex Legion...there's a name who was supposed to have helped this year. Talk about all hype. He makes Pepsi Clear look like an idea that lasted longer than 2 months. I can't believe that Chester Frazier actually meant this much to this team. If you told me that only 5 months ago, I would've laughed, tarred, and feathered your ass. Seriously. The guy averaged 7pts...you're not supposed to miss him. But as the pundits on CBS/ESPN/Big10 say ''You can't coach heart." How fucking true. Bruce should just put him in. OK, theres 7:20 left and Dominique Keller just fouled out. He logged maybe 10 minutes. Whatever. What made me laugh was the dumbass color-guy saying "Losing Keller may hurt more because he's a scoring option." How does this guy have a job?! Does he define scoring option as one who has scored points in the season? If that's the case then Bubba is a scoring option because he averages .3 pts/game. There's 4:03 left and this team is down by 15. The last time the Illini won a game like this was 2005. This team can't do what that team did. I would've like to get a good nights sleep but when you lose by 20 to a team not even considered a mid-major, all you can hope is that the alcohol works fast and knocks your ass out before the final buzzer sounds. If, and I stress IF, there is any good to come from this game it is in the fact that the seniors played their asses off. Calvin, in all his shots, always plays hard. Trent, played above average defense and started making some shots in the second half. Chester, I wish he broke something other than a hand. Granted he could still play defense, but his offense would be worse than if I were out there. I just hope that those who are left on the team learn from this and take the proper steps in the off-season to get that much better. It sucks to lose.
Monday, March 16, 2009
And the Madness Begins Part II
It's been nearly a week since my last post, but I think I have a pretty valid reason: my sister got married. This leaves me with many things to comment on, as well as the NCAA brackets that were announced yesterday.
So, for the limited followers that I have, you may recall my list if events that make March mad.
1- Unofficial St. Patrick's Day
2- High School Basketball State Tournaments
3- NCAA Conference Basketball Tournaments
4- NCAA Tournament
5- St. Patrick's Day
6- Spring Training
7- Spring Break
Let me focus on numbers 2-4.
#2- I guess that with my background as an Illinois grad, one game of the Illinois tournament has stood out. Not because it was two top schools meeting earlier than they should or because it was actually a good game. It stood out because this game had two Illini recruits playing against each other. These two young men quite possibly will be the next two Illinois Mr. Basketball winners. The two gentlemen I'm speaking of are Brandon Paul (Warren Township, Class of 2009) and Jereme Richmond (Waukegan HS, Class of 2010). Now, this was actually a great game. Back and forth, everything you'd want in any game. It just happened to be between kids who will be attending Illinois in the future. To top it off, with less than 5 seconds left in the game and Warren up by a point, Richmond takes the inbounds pass, strolls up the court, and casually shoots a half-court shot, only to watch it go in. Pretty much like he wrote the script to the game and that was how it would end. Now, Waukegan is set to play Glenbrook North in the Super-Sectional game. And for those who didn't follow the Jon Scheyer recruiting stint...GBN is coached by Dave Weber, brother of one Bruce Weber.
#3- That was simply one game from the high school level. At the college circuit, crazy was around every corner this past week.
Syracuse-UConn: A game featuring 6 overtimes needs no further explanation. Add to that Syracuse playing another overtime the following night and making it to the Big East Championship game.
Cleveland State (Butler), Mississippi State (Tennessee), Northern Iowa (Creighton), and Southern Cal (UCLA) winning their conference tournaments essentially knocked out the following teams: Creighton, Penn State, Saint Mary's, and San Diego St. Creighton and Saint Mary's feel the blow the worst because they thought they had strong enough resumes regardless of win/lose their tournament...nope.
Purdue owns the most regular season Big10 titles with 21. It took them 12 years to win their first tournament title. Iowa somehow has 2 titles. If I'm a Purdue fan, that would make me sick. Luckily, I'm an Illini fan and they have 2 titles, the most wins (22), best winning % (.697), and most title game appearances (6). Another good tid-bit for the Illini is that they are the only school to be in the title game with a double-digit seed (#11 in 1999 and #10 in 2008). Those two years were also the only two in which the Illini missed the big dance.
#4- Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Dayton. By looking at their seeds and what the past has told us, those 5 teams were the last 5 to make it into the tournament. Arizona and Michigan were probably THE last two teams to enter. The selection committee told us they made it based on their 'whole body of work' and not what they've failed to do in the recent months.
Arizona won some nice games early in the season (San Diego State, Gonzaga, Kansas), but once Pac-10 play began, they were very mediocre. They lost in the first round of the conference tournament and ended the season with a record of 19-13. That's horrible. What happened to 20 wins being the benchmark to at least be considered for the NCAA Tournament? Oh, you know what happened? Mike Slive caved in to the pressure of not allowing Arizona to continue their 25 year streak of being in the tournament. Now, are they a good team? Sure. They have tons of talent and potential that never showed up on a consistent basis during the season. That's what makes them a dangerous team in the next few days. They could possibly put it all together and make a serious run, thus vindicating Slive's decision.
Michigan squeaked in with their early wins over UCLA, Duke, and Illinois. They were middle of the road in Big10 play...won the games they should have and were competitive in most that they lost. This team isn't as scary as Arizona, but could make some noise given the right match-ups.
That's it for tonight. I'd like to make a nice little post regarding the whole tournament and first round games before they happen, but I doubt I'll get to it. If Doug "Do you need a fake credit card?" Gottlieb can make picks on national TV, why can't I?
So, for the limited followers that I have, you may recall my list if events that make March mad.
1- Unofficial St. Patrick's Day
2- High School Basketball State Tournaments
3- NCAA Conference Basketball Tournaments
4- NCAA Tournament
5- St. Patrick's Day
6- Spring Training
7- Spring Break
Let me focus on numbers 2-4.
#2- I guess that with my background as an Illinois grad, one game of the Illinois tournament has stood out. Not because it was two top schools meeting earlier than they should or because it was actually a good game. It stood out because this game had two Illini recruits playing against each other. These two young men quite possibly will be the next two Illinois Mr. Basketball winners. The two gentlemen I'm speaking of are Brandon Paul (Warren Township, Class of 2009) and Jereme Richmond (Waukegan HS, Class of 2010). Now, this was actually a great game. Back and forth, everything you'd want in any game. It just happened to be between kids who will be attending Illinois in the future. To top it off, with less than 5 seconds left in the game and Warren up by a point, Richmond takes the inbounds pass, strolls up the court, and casually shoots a half-court shot, only to watch it go in. Pretty much like he wrote the script to the game and that was how it would end. Now, Waukegan is set to play Glenbrook North in the Super-Sectional game. And for those who didn't follow the Jon Scheyer recruiting stint...GBN is coached by Dave Weber, brother of one Bruce Weber.
#3- That was simply one game from the high school level. At the college circuit, crazy was around every corner this past week.
Syracuse-UConn: A game featuring 6 overtimes needs no further explanation. Add to that Syracuse playing another overtime the following night and making it to the Big East Championship game.
Cleveland State (Butler), Mississippi State (Tennessee), Northern Iowa (Creighton), and Southern Cal (UCLA) winning their conference tournaments essentially knocked out the following teams: Creighton, Penn State, Saint Mary's, and San Diego St. Creighton and Saint Mary's feel the blow the worst because they thought they had strong enough resumes regardless of win/lose their tournament...nope.
Purdue owns the most regular season Big10 titles with 21. It took them 12 years to win their first tournament title. Iowa somehow has 2 titles. If I'm a Purdue fan, that would make me sick. Luckily, I'm an Illini fan and they have 2 titles, the most wins (22), best winning % (.697), and most title game appearances (6). Another good tid-bit for the Illini is that they are the only school to be in the title game with a double-digit seed (#11 in 1999 and #10 in 2008). Those two years were also the only two in which the Illini missed the big dance.
#4- Arizona, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Michigan, and Dayton. By looking at their seeds and what the past has told us, those 5 teams were the last 5 to make it into the tournament. Arizona and Michigan were probably THE last two teams to enter. The selection committee told us they made it based on their 'whole body of work' and not what they've failed to do in the recent months.
Arizona won some nice games early in the season (San Diego State, Gonzaga, Kansas), but once Pac-10 play began, they were very mediocre. They lost in the first round of the conference tournament and ended the season with a record of 19-13. That's horrible. What happened to 20 wins being the benchmark to at least be considered for the NCAA Tournament? Oh, you know what happened? Mike Slive caved in to the pressure of not allowing Arizona to continue their 25 year streak of being in the tournament. Now, are they a good team? Sure. They have tons of talent and potential that never showed up on a consistent basis during the season. That's what makes them a dangerous team in the next few days. They could possibly put it all together and make a serious run, thus vindicating Slive's decision.
Michigan squeaked in with their early wins over UCLA, Duke, and Illinois. They were middle of the road in Big10 play...won the games they should have and were competitive in most that they lost. This team isn't as scary as Arizona, but could make some noise given the right match-ups.
That's it for tonight. I'd like to make a nice little post regarding the whole tournament and first round games before they happen, but I doubt I'll get to it. If Doug "Do you need a fake credit card?" Gottlieb can make picks on national TV, why can't I?
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
And the Madness Begins Part I
Somewhere, the term 'March Madness' got hitched with the NCAA Tournament. Not that it's a bad thing. However, as only Illinoisans will probably know, our state was the first to lay claim to this term. Now, I have no argument about who gets to use 'March Madness'. I simply believe that 'March Madness' is just the door that gives way to 'Spring Shenanigans'. Yes, I used the word shenanigans and here's why....
MARCH (madness):
1) Unofficial St. Patricks Day- not a real holiday, but one celebrated like New Years Eve to college students across the state of Illinois.
2) High School Basketball Tournaments- unlike the NCAA, every team in high school has a chance to win a state title without having to first win a conference tournament. In my opinion, Illinois has greatly diluted what a title means by creating 2 more classes.
3) Conference Basketball Tournaments of NCAA- this is really the opening act of the big dance. Bubbles burst and possible Cinderella's are born.
4) NCAA Tournament- see #3...and if you don't know the terms 'bubble' or 'Cinderella' what the hell are you doing reading my blog?!
5) St. Patricks Day- the real holiday, but celebrated like it's MLK Day (unless of course it happens on the weekend; that's a different story).
6) MLB Spring Training- this technically starts in February, but it's in full swing by the time March rolls around. Add to that the World Baseball Classic this year, and baseball has a bit more meaning this March.
7) College Spring Break- self explanatory
That's a pretty solid list if you ask me. But it opens up to the month of April. That's when all the important things happen...
APRIL (awesome):
1) NCAA Final Four- by April, the Madness has ended (unless you are 2006 George Mason, 1985 Villanova, or the Jim Valvano led NC State Wolfpack of 1983). The Cinderella's of the year are gone and the term 'March Madness' just morphs into 'Final Four'. It is in April that champions are crowned.
2) The Masters- 'A Tradition Unlike Any Other'. This is the single most important golf event of the year. It is the only major that isn't ''open'' to any simpleton. Pimento cheese sandwiches, a green jacket, and azalea's are unknown except during this week. The waiting list to simply acquire tickets to the opening round is nearly 10 years. I don't think I need to say more.
3) MLB Opening Day- When baseball season begins, there is no ivy on the walls of Wrigley Stadium...just 40,000+ fans inside the gates saying "Next Year is Here."
4) Easter- I don't think it needs any explanation either.
So, what I've ended with is that March has 7 pretty important events. To be fair to the general population, I'll take out Unofficial. This leaves the final 'score' at 6-4. However, April holds the crowning of two major champions in Men's Basketball and at The Masters. But, if you don't like Jim Nantz, this isn't your month since he does play-by-play for both.
All of that simply adds up to this:
March Madness + Awesome April = Spring Shenanigans...a time for all to enjoy.
MARCH (madness):
1) Unofficial St. Patricks Day- not a real holiday, but one celebrated like New Years Eve to college students across the state of Illinois.
2) High School Basketball Tournaments- unlike the NCAA, every team in high school has a chance to win a state title without having to first win a conference tournament. In my opinion, Illinois has greatly diluted what a title means by creating 2 more classes.
3) Conference Basketball Tournaments of NCAA- this is really the opening act of the big dance. Bubbles burst and possible Cinderella's are born.
4) NCAA Tournament- see #3...and if you don't know the terms 'bubble' or 'Cinderella' what the hell are you doing reading my blog?!
5) St. Patricks Day- the real holiday, but celebrated like it's MLK Day (unless of course it happens on the weekend; that's a different story).
6) MLB Spring Training- this technically starts in February, but it's in full swing by the time March rolls around. Add to that the World Baseball Classic this year, and baseball has a bit more meaning this March.
7) College Spring Break- self explanatory
That's a pretty solid list if you ask me. But it opens up to the month of April. That's when all the important things happen...
APRIL (awesome):
1) NCAA Final Four- by April, the Madness has ended (unless you are 2006 George Mason, 1985 Villanova, or the Jim Valvano led NC State Wolfpack of 1983). The Cinderella's of the year are gone and the term 'March Madness' just morphs into 'Final Four'. It is in April that champions are crowned.
2) The Masters- 'A Tradition Unlike Any Other'. This is the single most important golf event of the year. It is the only major that isn't ''open'' to any simpleton. Pimento cheese sandwiches, a green jacket, and azalea's are unknown except during this week. The waiting list to simply acquire tickets to the opening round is nearly 10 years. I don't think I need to say more.
3) MLB Opening Day- When baseball season begins, there is no ivy on the walls of Wrigley Stadium...just 40,000+ fans inside the gates saying "Next Year is Here."
4) Easter- I don't think it needs any explanation either.
So, what I've ended with is that March has 7 pretty important events. To be fair to the general population, I'll take out Unofficial. This leaves the final 'score' at 6-4. However, April holds the crowning of two major champions in Men's Basketball and at The Masters. But, if you don't like Jim Nantz, this isn't your month since he does play-by-play for both.
All of that simply adds up to this:
March Madness + Awesome April = Spring Shenanigans...a time for all to enjoy.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
@ Penn St
Let the meltdown begin....
Actually, I take that back. Since I got lazy and didn't post a single syllable after the last two games, I feel the need to at least mention them.
vs. MINNESOTA
Too long ago really. We won. Should've won. Good to get a win back from them. Now to start another 20 game streak against the Gophers.
vs. MICHIGAN ST.
Not too long ago, but long enough to where I don't care. It's a game that should've been won. Except we spotted Sparty a 7-0 lead at the start of the game, let them increase it to 11 at the start of the second half, battled back to take a lead, and then went on a 6 minute drought. Not to mention a horrible and uncharacteristic asst/to ratio (13/17). It's actually sad that the team was in the game with those numbers and a drought like that. It proves that the team needs a guard that can drive and finish. Bottom line: We weren't supposed to win this game (technically), so the loss didn't hurt other than the fact we were out of contention for the Big10 title.
Now for the good stuff.
I guess I'll start with the positives:
1- Chester Frazier played a tremendous first half. Defense was typical against a player like Battle...nothing super, but he held him in check. The best part was his 3-4 shooting to have 8pts going into halftime. Nothing like having nearly twice your season average by halftime.
2- Everyone was active. The motion had motion. Tisdale was getting touches. Open shots were being taken with the extra pass. Things that are supposed to happen for good teams, were happening.
3- We shot free throws
4- There are probably more positives, but I'm clouded by the negatives too much to continue.
And that brings me to the negatives:
1- We lost
2- Trent Meachum was absent the whole game. What I mean by that is that the Illini were playing 4 on 5 when he was in the game. His defense vs. Pringle = not there. His offense = makes me think I could've made one of those attempts he had. That's saying a lot because I'm terrible. Trent is obviously a defensive liability. His Achilles heel is that he's slow. It killed him tonight against a much faster Pringle. What typically makes up for his poor D is his offense. Well, tonight, that was as empty as the bottle of Jack sitting next to me now. I'm not saying he forced shots or took some that were of ill decision. He was just cold. If I wanted to, I'd link the Outkast song "Hey Ya" to the chorus. You know it, don't try to lie...you even have the NOW CD that it was on.
3- That awesome 5:10 at the end of the game where the Illini scored 3 points. In nearly all of the losses, droughts of that magnitude happen. I refuse the blame the opponents defense. This team lulls itself to sleep when it has a lead in the final minutes of a game. Too much perimeter passing, weaving above the 3-pt line, dribble/drive and turn right around. It's ugly, but we as fans have grown accustomed to it (I highly doubt anyone likes it, even Bruce).
That's all I have for now. As previously stated, I've got an empty bottle next to me and the game's only been over for nearly 45minutes. You know what that means. I do hope that future posts will be a total rant of whatever irks me. I had numerous topics in the past few days, but was simply too damn lazy to post on them.
Actually, I take that back. Since I got lazy and didn't post a single syllable after the last two games, I feel the need to at least mention them.
vs. MINNESOTA
Too long ago really. We won. Should've won. Good to get a win back from them. Now to start another 20 game streak against the Gophers.
vs. MICHIGAN ST.
Not too long ago, but long enough to where I don't care. It's a game that should've been won. Except we spotted Sparty a 7-0 lead at the start of the game, let them increase it to 11 at the start of the second half, battled back to take a lead, and then went on a 6 minute drought. Not to mention a horrible and uncharacteristic asst/to ratio (13/17). It's actually sad that the team was in the game with those numbers and a drought like that. It proves that the team needs a guard that can drive and finish. Bottom line: We weren't supposed to win this game (technically), so the loss didn't hurt other than the fact we were out of contention for the Big10 title.
Now for the good stuff.
I guess I'll start with the positives:
1- Chester Frazier played a tremendous first half. Defense was typical against a player like Battle...nothing super, but he held him in check. The best part was his 3-4 shooting to have 8pts going into halftime. Nothing like having nearly twice your season average by halftime.
2- Everyone was active. The motion had motion. Tisdale was getting touches. Open shots were being taken with the extra pass. Things that are supposed to happen for good teams, were happening.
3- We shot free throws
4- There are probably more positives, but I'm clouded by the negatives too much to continue.
And that brings me to the negatives:
1- We lost
2- Trent Meachum was absent the whole game. What I mean by that is that the Illini were playing 4 on 5 when he was in the game. His defense vs. Pringle = not there. His offense = makes me think I could've made one of those attempts he had. That's saying a lot because I'm terrible. Trent is obviously a defensive liability. His Achilles heel is that he's slow. It killed him tonight against a much faster Pringle. What typically makes up for his poor D is his offense. Well, tonight, that was as empty as the bottle of Jack sitting next to me now. I'm not saying he forced shots or took some that were of ill decision. He was just cold. If I wanted to, I'd link the Outkast song "Hey Ya" to the chorus. You know it, don't try to lie...you even have the NOW CD that it was on.
3- That awesome 5:10 at the end of the game where the Illini scored 3 points. In nearly all of the losses, droughts of that magnitude happen. I refuse the blame the opponents defense. This team lulls itself to sleep when it has a lead in the final minutes of a game. Too much perimeter passing, weaving above the 3-pt line, dribble/drive and turn right around. It's ugly, but we as fans have grown accustomed to it (I highly doubt anyone likes it, even Bruce).
That's all I have for now. As previously stated, I've got an empty bottle next to me and the game's only been over for nearly 45minutes. You know what that means. I do hope that future posts will be a total rant of whatever irks me. I had numerous topics in the past few days, but was simply too damn lazy to post on them.
Sunday, February 22, 2009
@ Thee Ohio State
For starters, when did OSU start saying putting extra emphasis on 'The' when saying the name of their school? Everyone knows what I'm talking about. They turn the word 'The' into that strung out 'Theeeee". That's probably a couple extra e's in there, but I don't care. It's simply one of those things to dislike because I can.
Also, ever since my Spring Break of 2007 spent in Panama City, I have come to dislike the song 'Hang On Sloopy." It's a nice classic that usually incites mass singing when played with drunks around. However, the Buckeye's made me dislike that song by adding their O-H-I-O cheer at the end of every chorus. And as a refresher, 2007 was when Ohio State was good with Greg Oden and Mike Conley, made the title game only to get owned by Florida. Needless to say, 'Hang On Sloopy' was played many a times at the hotel pool.
As for today's game, I can't really comment too much. I was driving home from Mardi Gras in St. Louis and just got to listen to Brian Barnhart. Other than the fact I missed watching the game, I was upset because I forgot Bill Raferty was the analyst. I can't wait for tournament time to see the crazy catch-phrase he comes up with. It'll be pretty hard to beat 'ONIONS!!' though.
Just by looking at the final score it was obvious that todays game was 100x better than the 6th grade girls shootout that took place Wednesday night.
Total Combined Points Wednesday- 71
Total Illini Points today- 70
Shooting % was up 28 points overall (58-30) and 34 points from beyond the arc (52-18).
Also, the Illini shot 9 more free throws. This typically isn't that crazy, but when you shoot ZERO on one night, 9 seems like a ton.
The team also kept up it's crazy % of Asst/FGM (23/28 for 82%; above their season average as well). For those (if anyone actually reads this stuff) who didn't hear the radio broadcast, Barnhart spouted off some crazy numbers for Chester Frazier. For the season, Chester has 146 points, 144 assists, and 130 rebounds. Thats consistent, but obviously low points for your starting point guard. All Illini fans know that when Chester scores, it's more of a bonus. I could name all the intangibles that he brings to the court, but thats just wasting everyone's time. (Did you know he wants to coach after school? Or that Mike Tisdale is on a 6,000 calorie diet/day?...yeah, everyone does because any announcer for ESPN/Big10 pounds that into the viewing audience).
The defense sounded pretty good too. If it takes Evan 'The Villian' Turner 35 minutes to get on a roll, then it has to be good defense. And yes, I took that nickname from Club Trillion. Unlike Mr. Titus, I can give props/advertise for other sites. Go to his blog, laugh your ass off, and thank me when you're finished.
Well, it looks like 1/2 this post was bashing Ohio State and their traditions. The other half was looking at the box score and putting those numbers into sentences instead of spreadsheet form. Eh, nobody's perfect. See ya Thursday night unless something sparks my interest.
Also, ever since my Spring Break of 2007 spent in Panama City, I have come to dislike the song 'Hang On Sloopy." It's a nice classic that usually incites mass singing when played with drunks around. However, the Buckeye's made me dislike that song by adding their O-H-I-O cheer at the end of every chorus. And as a refresher, 2007 was when Ohio State was good with Greg Oden and Mike Conley, made the title game only to get owned by Florida. Needless to say, 'Hang On Sloopy' was played many a times at the hotel pool.
As for today's game, I can't really comment too much. I was driving home from Mardi Gras in St. Louis and just got to listen to Brian Barnhart. Other than the fact I missed watching the game, I was upset because I forgot Bill Raferty was the analyst. I can't wait for tournament time to see the crazy catch-phrase he comes up with. It'll be pretty hard to beat 'ONIONS!!' though.
Just by looking at the final score it was obvious that todays game was 100x better than the 6th grade girls shootout that took place Wednesday night.
Total Combined Points Wednesday- 71
Total Illini Points today- 70
Shooting % was up 28 points overall (58-30) and 34 points from beyond the arc (52-18).
Also, the Illini shot 9 more free throws. This typically isn't that crazy, but when you shoot ZERO on one night, 9 seems like a ton.
The team also kept up it's crazy % of Asst/FGM (23/28 for 82%; above their season average as well). For those (if anyone actually reads this stuff) who didn't hear the radio broadcast, Barnhart spouted off some crazy numbers for Chester Frazier. For the season, Chester has 146 points, 144 assists, and 130 rebounds. Thats consistent, but obviously low points for your starting point guard. All Illini fans know that when Chester scores, it's more of a bonus. I could name all the intangibles that he brings to the court, but thats just wasting everyone's time. (Did you know he wants to coach after school? Or that Mike Tisdale is on a 6,000 calorie diet/day?...yeah, everyone does because any announcer for ESPN/Big10 pounds that into the viewing audience).
The defense sounded pretty good too. If it takes Evan 'The Villian' Turner 35 minutes to get on a roll, then it has to be good defense. And yes, I took that nickname from Club Trillion. Unlike Mr. Titus, I can give props/advertise for other sites. Go to his blog, laugh your ass off, and thank me when you're finished.
Well, it looks like 1/2 this post was bashing Ohio State and their traditions. The other half was looking at the box score and putting those numbers into sentences instead of spreadsheet form. Eh, nobody's perfect. See ya Thursday night unless something sparks my interest.
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Vs. Pennsylvania State
WOW
Illini Nation thought that the loss @ Minnesota was bad. That loss looks like we got beat by Oklahoma compared to the atrocity that happened tonight. It's one thing to lose against Penn St in basketball...it's another to lose to them at home. Who do they think they are and where does this confidence come from?
Oh, that's right, it comes from that fateful February night in 2007. The one where the Illini were ranked. The one where Dee Brown and James Augustine were still on the team. The one where the Illini held a 15 point lead at half time. That lead disappeared in the final 20 minutes and gave way to the most embarrassing finish the Orange Krush has ever been a part of. For those that don't remember, or drank away that night like I did, let me give you the last few moments of that game.
- I covered the basics...Illini up only to lose lead and go back/forth the rest of the way from about the 3 minute mark
- Penn St scores with less than 5 seconds left, prompting an Illini timeout
- Coach Weber draws up a very nice play, leaving Rich McBride with a good attempt from behind the arc
- McBride pulls up, drains it...Krush storms the court (this is already embarassing enough. The Illini were ranked and Penn St wasn't. How many times do the fans of a ranked team rush the court after a win that was supposed to happen? Exactly...never. Any member of Krush who touched the floor following this shot should have their fan card revoked.) Sure, it was a very exciting moment. One that shouldn't have happened, but did.
- Upon further review, officials say that the shot was after time had run out. The correct call.
The Orange Krush, one of the most prestigous student groups in the country had already made fools of themselves. This night; a 15 point come from behind victory has led to the Nittany Lions rolling off 3 straight victories in Assembly Hall. Michigan St or Wisconsin can't even say that in the last decade.
As for tonights game, it was just ugly. If I'm a Penn St fan, I'm just happy we won. Both teams were horrible. This wasn't even a defensive battle. The Illini played their solid defense. Taylor Battle got his first shot during transition and with Mike Davis guarding him. He ended up with a mere 11pts on 3/11 shooting...4 of which from the free throw line in the final 20 seconds. Jamelle Cornley...only 5pts on 2/8 shooting. That's holding the top 2 scorers to 16 points! Granted it was nearly half of their scoring, but holding a teams scoring options to 16 points usually wins ball games.
The problem Illinois faced tonight was that their shots simply weren't falling. Coach Weber can't be too upset with the overall performance. The Illini got open shots, but couldn't hit on them. It was....I can't even think of a good word for it. It's hard to describe or figure out why an open shot doesn't go in.
In the first half the Illini were either having trouble getting the ball inside or just weren't wanting to. When they did, Mike Tisdale's hook wasn't going in. When the team had open looks beyond the arc, they got nothing. Alex Legion tried to find something, but couldn't. Trent Meacham tried, but nothing. Mike Davis made his first shot from the elbow, and then nothing consistent the rest of the way. I've simply run out of ways to show how this team couldn't hit water if it jumped out of a boat. Bad analogy, but the truth. Finally, this team shot zero free throws tonight. ZERO. The guards drive, hit the box, and turn around. They don't force contact or even attempt a shot. They've made up their mind the minute they get around their defender. Demetri McCamey had too many drives tonight where he would jump and have nowhere to go with the ball. His luck is starting to run out. The team relys on the jump shot too much, and tonight it really killed them. If there's any good that came out of the offensive version of the Illini tonight it's that the assisted on 10/15 made baskets! And I almost forgot...Jeff Jordan making his one shot attempt of the game. This is maybe his third straight game doing that? He'll be real good next year...maybe this year, who knows.
The only good was the team defense. Like I said, Battle and Cornley had 16 points. The team forced 13 turnovers. It took Cornley alot of time to start recognizing the double-team and passing out of it. Chester did a wonderful job once again on the defensive end. Honestly, unless him or Chris Kramer of Purdue do something special in the last 5 games, they need to share the Big10 Defensive Player Award. I loathe Kramer, but can't argue against the fact he's a great defender. I hope Chester can limit Evan Turner, or Sunday will be bad.
That's a wrap for tonight. I'm gonna do some minor drinking, but the majority of damage will be done this weekend. This loss just cemented the fact of me going to St. Louis for Mardi Gras. Last time I was there the Illini won. Hopefully my presence in that city leads to an Illini victory in Columbus on Sunday.
Illini Nation thought that the loss @ Minnesota was bad. That loss looks like we got beat by Oklahoma compared to the atrocity that happened tonight. It's one thing to lose against Penn St in basketball...it's another to lose to them at home. Who do they think they are and where does this confidence come from?
Oh, that's right, it comes from that fateful February night in 2007. The one where the Illini were ranked. The one where Dee Brown and James Augustine were still on the team. The one where the Illini held a 15 point lead at half time. That lead disappeared in the final 20 minutes and gave way to the most embarrassing finish the Orange Krush has ever been a part of. For those that don't remember, or drank away that night like I did, let me give you the last few moments of that game.
- I covered the basics...Illini up only to lose lead and go back/forth the rest of the way from about the 3 minute mark
- Penn St scores with less than 5 seconds left, prompting an Illini timeout
- Coach Weber draws up a very nice play, leaving Rich McBride with a good attempt from behind the arc
- McBride pulls up, drains it...Krush storms the court (this is already embarassing enough. The Illini were ranked and Penn St wasn't. How many times do the fans of a ranked team rush the court after a win that was supposed to happen? Exactly...never. Any member of Krush who touched the floor following this shot should have their fan card revoked.) Sure, it was a very exciting moment. One that shouldn't have happened, but did.
- Upon further review, officials say that the shot was after time had run out. The correct call.
The Orange Krush, one of the most prestigous student groups in the country had already made fools of themselves. This night; a 15 point come from behind victory has led to the Nittany Lions rolling off 3 straight victories in Assembly Hall. Michigan St or Wisconsin can't even say that in the last decade.
As for tonights game, it was just ugly. If I'm a Penn St fan, I'm just happy we won. Both teams were horrible. This wasn't even a defensive battle. The Illini played their solid defense. Taylor Battle got his first shot during transition and with Mike Davis guarding him. He ended up with a mere 11pts on 3/11 shooting...4 of which from the free throw line in the final 20 seconds. Jamelle Cornley...only 5pts on 2/8 shooting. That's holding the top 2 scorers to 16 points! Granted it was nearly half of their scoring, but holding a teams scoring options to 16 points usually wins ball games.
The problem Illinois faced tonight was that their shots simply weren't falling. Coach Weber can't be too upset with the overall performance. The Illini got open shots, but couldn't hit on them. It was....I can't even think of a good word for it. It's hard to describe or figure out why an open shot doesn't go in.
In the first half the Illini were either having trouble getting the ball inside or just weren't wanting to. When they did, Mike Tisdale's hook wasn't going in. When the team had open looks beyond the arc, they got nothing. Alex Legion tried to find something, but couldn't. Trent Meacham tried, but nothing. Mike Davis made his first shot from the elbow, and then nothing consistent the rest of the way. I've simply run out of ways to show how this team couldn't hit water if it jumped out of a boat. Bad analogy, but the truth. Finally, this team shot zero free throws tonight. ZERO. The guards drive, hit the box, and turn around. They don't force contact or even attempt a shot. They've made up their mind the minute they get around their defender. Demetri McCamey had too many drives tonight where he would jump and have nowhere to go with the ball. His luck is starting to run out. The team relys on the jump shot too much, and tonight it really killed them. If there's any good that came out of the offensive version of the Illini tonight it's that the assisted on 10/15 made baskets! And I almost forgot...Jeff Jordan making his one shot attempt of the game. This is maybe his third straight game doing that? He'll be real good next year...maybe this year, who knows.
The only good was the team defense. Like I said, Battle and Cornley had 16 points. The team forced 13 turnovers. It took Cornley alot of time to start recognizing the double-team and passing out of it. Chester did a wonderful job once again on the defensive end. Honestly, unless him or Chris Kramer of Purdue do something special in the last 5 games, they need to share the Big10 Defensive Player Award. I loathe Kramer, but can't argue against the fact he's a great defender. I hope Chester can limit Evan Turner, or Sunday will be bad.
That's a wrap for tonight. I'm gonna do some minor drinking, but the majority of damage will be done this weekend. This loss just cemented the fact of me going to St. Louis for Mardi Gras. Last time I was there the Illini won. Hopefully my presence in that city leads to an Illini victory in Columbus on Sunday.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Easiest Job Ever
From this day forward, you can call me Dr. Reid, Head of Bracketology for the Blogger universe. I have no Ph.D, haven't played basketball since my freshman year of high school, and haven't talked to a female in the past year. So, given those previous statements, I believe I am equally qualified as one Joe Lunardi to be called a Bracketologist. Of course that final part about talking to women is false. I talk to my mom all the time, much like Mr. Lunardi does.
This guy has the easiest fake job in the world. He makes Mel Kiper look like little Alby Einstein. Mel Kiper actually watches game film, talks to coaches/players, does his homework and makes his predictions far more advanced than filling out a bracket.
Lets look at the info:
1- There are 65 teams invited to the NCAA Tournament each year. There are 31 conferences with automatic bids via winning their tournament title. This leaves only 34 'guesses' for Lunardi.
2- Typically, the BCS Conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10, SEC) are good enough to get at least 3 teams into the tournament. Further math will show that this leaves 22 'guesses' at most.
3- Out of these 22 remaining slots, we'll say that 3 more teams from the BCS come in...this now gives 19 spots open.
So, Joe Lunardi is basically picking 19 teams. This is without saying that conference tournaments aren't always won by a team already included in the first 31 or that these tournaments whittle down the pool of prospective teams down even more. By the time the conference tournaments are at the semi-finals, most of those teams are already in the Dance.
The hard part about Lunardi's job is finished by Saturday night on Selection Weekend. Arguments can be made like looking at RPI's, Strength of Schedule, Record against RPI Top 25, or Record against Top 25. Sure, he does this. Every analyst does. But everyone thinks Lunardi is super because he averages 32 of 34 at large teams a year. It's made out to look harder than it really is. When it comes down to picking those last 4 teams, he has a pool of maybe 6-8 to pick from.
I've done all that without mentioning his brackets that he posts on ESPN. Those are just crazy. The NCAA has developed the 'pod system' for placing the top 16 teams in the tournament. Lunardi ignores this when filling out his bracket. He's stopped doing this, but he used to place 2 teams from the same conference in the same sub-regional, thus setting up a second round match-up.
Lastly, I feel the need to mention what just flashed across the ESPN ticker. There was the prediction of his 'Probable #1 Seeds' in which he listed UConn, Oklahoma, North Carolina, & Pitt. No shit...way to go out on a limb on that one Joe! That's saying that those 4 teams will win out the regular season and more than likely win their conference tournament. Just sack up one time and say that one of those teams will lose a game and will fall from the top. This prediction is just as bad as every fan in America claiming that their team would make the playoffs if they had started today. I'm guilty of it, but it's stupid. If that were the case then the St. Louis Cardinals would have won the 2005 World Series over the Chicago White Sox because they had one more regular season win.
I could easily finish off this post with my bitching about this weeks polls. However, I've given up on caring about the polls. The coaches poll is filled out by student managers. The AP is full of garbage beat writers that plug their local team too much. It's just not worth caring about. The only thing I worry about is the Illini playing well enough to secure at least a 4 seed and play relatively close to home in the first round.
Since it's Monday, 24 is on shortly. Time to see who Jack Bauer kills tonight.
This guy has the easiest fake job in the world. He makes Mel Kiper look like little Alby Einstein. Mel Kiper actually watches game film, talks to coaches/players, does his homework and makes his predictions far more advanced than filling out a bracket.
Lets look at the info:
1- There are 65 teams invited to the NCAA Tournament each year. There are 31 conferences with automatic bids via winning their tournament title. This leaves only 34 'guesses' for Lunardi.
2- Typically, the BCS Conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Big East, Pac 10, SEC) are good enough to get at least 3 teams into the tournament. Further math will show that this leaves 22 'guesses' at most.
3- Out of these 22 remaining slots, we'll say that 3 more teams from the BCS come in...this now gives 19 spots open.
So, Joe Lunardi is basically picking 19 teams. This is without saying that conference tournaments aren't always won by a team already included in the first 31 or that these tournaments whittle down the pool of prospective teams down even more. By the time the conference tournaments are at the semi-finals, most of those teams are already in the Dance.
The hard part about Lunardi's job is finished by Saturday night on Selection Weekend. Arguments can be made like looking at RPI's, Strength of Schedule, Record against RPI Top 25, or Record against Top 25. Sure, he does this. Every analyst does. But everyone thinks Lunardi is super because he averages 32 of 34 at large teams a year. It's made out to look harder than it really is. When it comes down to picking those last 4 teams, he has a pool of maybe 6-8 to pick from.
I've done all that without mentioning his brackets that he posts on ESPN. Those are just crazy. The NCAA has developed the 'pod system' for placing the top 16 teams in the tournament. Lunardi ignores this when filling out his bracket. He's stopped doing this, but he used to place 2 teams from the same conference in the same sub-regional, thus setting up a second round match-up.
Lastly, I feel the need to mention what just flashed across the ESPN ticker. There was the prediction of his 'Probable #1 Seeds' in which he listed UConn, Oklahoma, North Carolina, & Pitt. No shit...way to go out on a limb on that one Joe! That's saying that those 4 teams will win out the regular season and more than likely win their conference tournament. Just sack up one time and say that one of those teams will lose a game and will fall from the top. This prediction is just as bad as every fan in America claiming that their team would make the playoffs if they had started today. I'm guilty of it, but it's stupid. If that were the case then the St. Louis Cardinals would have won the 2005 World Series over the Chicago White Sox because they had one more regular season win.
I could easily finish off this post with my bitching about this weeks polls. However, I've given up on caring about the polls. The coaches poll is filled out by student managers. The AP is full of garbage beat writers that plug their local team too much. It's just not worth caring about. The only thing I worry about is the Illini playing well enough to secure at least a 4 seed and play relatively close to home in the first round.
Since it's Monday, 24 is on shortly. Time to see who Jack Bauer kills tonight.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
@ Indiana
The first half was a beautiful half of basketball for the Illini. There really isn't much to argue about. The team was taking high percentage shots and making alot of them, high assist/shots made, few turnovers, great defense. When's the last time an Illini team had 7 blocks in a game, let alone the first half? Matt Roth took his first shot with 2 minutes left in the half. Unfortunately, he made it, but limiting a shooter like that is pretty good. Another thing I'm just not a fan of is Tisdale's help defense. He would move too far outside, leaving Pritchard open near the hoop. The counter arguement is that the team got their 7 blocks out of this. I don't like that. Pritchard shouldn't have been open that many times. It's a good thing he's terrible at free throws too. What was he...2-6 in the first half? I know the Illini were up 17 at the break, and I'm nit-picking, but I'm trying to look for the negatives in the first 20 minutes.
As for the second half, I just don't know what happened. I guess the simplest answer is that the team got lazy. Very lazy. This is a Hoosier team that was beaten by 31 in the previous meeting and now they're up 17. The passes weren't sharp, cuts not crisp, boxing-out seemed to dissappear, the shot clock would get low without a good look at the basket, defense went obsolete. I went this whole post and the first one without even mentioning the poor free-throw shooting or lack of attempts from the stripe. Things that typically happen to this team on the road, were starting to happen again.
Another thing that's easy to harp on is the Big10 officiating. This was also a night/day thing today. The first half, the fouls happened. No doubt about it. Trent was pretty dumb on his 2 that got him into trouble; simple hand checks, but everyone does it (Purdue to the extreme). It's just a matter of the officials calling them and calling them consistently throughout the game. When the second half started, it appeared like the refs had to make up for their low first half performance. This is typical. What bothered me was the inconsistency. This game was much more competitive in the second half, but I strongly believe that what made it closer was the technical foul called on Calvin Brock. That was terrible. Greg Anthony couldn't have said it better; "I don't think that was a good call at all. We have the benefit of replay, but Calvin Brock is an emotional player. I don't think he did anything deserving of a T there. He was simply jacked up about a dunk, yelled towards his bench, and happened to bump into Taber along the way."
With all that said, the first half cushion put up by the Illini was just too much for the Hoosiers to overcome. I was very worried during the two sets of one-in-ones missed by the team in the final 3 minutes. I had some deja vu there from last year. Luckily, the team defense came back, rebounding came back, and Legion made his free throws. It will be interesting to see this Hoosier team next year, or even if we play them in the Big10 Tournament. As we proved against Purdue last year, it's tough to beat a team three times in a year.
For the rest of the year, the schedule has become pretty favorable for us. The competion is there being as the games are played against teams working for a NCAA berth. But also, all the games are televised nationally with the Thursday (ESPN)/Sunday (CBS) tv schedule. There's only two games this team can really afford to lose the rest of the way and that's the home game vs. Michigan State and the game at Penn State.
This is a very busy Sunday in the world of sports...in my eyes anyway. The Illini win and I get a breather until the Daytona 500 starts. I've attended the race 5 times. Being witness to Davey Allison, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, and Michael Waltrip winning the most prestigious race in NASCAR. I miss going there, but I'll be back. The tailgating for the race is great with 170,000+ people in the area. That must be what it's like at an SEC football game. It's really pretty hard to describe for those who've never made the trip. My prediction, and a bold one if I may think so, is that this years winner will be Clint Bowyer.
That's all I've got for today. Spring Training has started, so there may be some baseball news coming shortly. So until Penn State, goodnight.
As for the second half, I just don't know what happened. I guess the simplest answer is that the team got lazy. Very lazy. This is a Hoosier team that was beaten by 31 in the previous meeting and now they're up 17. The passes weren't sharp, cuts not crisp, boxing-out seemed to dissappear, the shot clock would get low without a good look at the basket, defense went obsolete. I went this whole post and the first one without even mentioning the poor free-throw shooting or lack of attempts from the stripe. Things that typically happen to this team on the road, were starting to happen again.
Another thing that's easy to harp on is the Big10 officiating. This was also a night/day thing today. The first half, the fouls happened. No doubt about it. Trent was pretty dumb on his 2 that got him into trouble; simple hand checks, but everyone does it (Purdue to the extreme). It's just a matter of the officials calling them and calling them consistently throughout the game. When the second half started, it appeared like the refs had to make up for their low first half performance. This is typical. What bothered me was the inconsistency. This game was much more competitive in the second half, but I strongly believe that what made it closer was the technical foul called on Calvin Brock. That was terrible. Greg Anthony couldn't have said it better; "I don't think that was a good call at all. We have the benefit of replay, but Calvin Brock is an emotional player. I don't think he did anything deserving of a T there. He was simply jacked up about a dunk, yelled towards his bench, and happened to bump into Taber along the way."
With all that said, the first half cushion put up by the Illini was just too much for the Hoosiers to overcome. I was very worried during the two sets of one-in-ones missed by the team in the final 3 minutes. I had some deja vu there from last year. Luckily, the team defense came back, rebounding came back, and Legion made his free throws. It will be interesting to see this Hoosier team next year, or even if we play them in the Big10 Tournament. As we proved against Purdue last year, it's tough to beat a team three times in a year.
For the rest of the year, the schedule has become pretty favorable for us. The competion is there being as the games are played against teams working for a NCAA berth. But also, all the games are televised nationally with the Thursday (ESPN)/Sunday (CBS) tv schedule. There's only two games this team can really afford to lose the rest of the way and that's the home game vs. Michigan State and the game at Penn State.
This is a very busy Sunday in the world of sports...in my eyes anyway. The Illini win and I get a breather until the Daytona 500 starts. I've attended the race 5 times. Being witness to Davey Allison, Sterling Marlin, Dale Jarrett, Dale Earnhardt, and Michael Waltrip winning the most prestigious race in NASCAR. I miss going there, but I'll be back. The tailgating for the race is great with 170,000+ people in the area. That must be what it's like at an SEC football game. It's really pretty hard to describe for those who've never made the trip. My prediction, and a bold one if I may think so, is that this years winner will be Clint Bowyer.
That's all I've got for today. Spring Training has started, so there may be some baseball news coming shortly. So until Penn State, goodnight.
Thursday, February 12, 2009
@ Northwestern
For starters, let me introduce myself. My name is Reid, and I'm your typical over-obsessive, think I know it all, wanna-be baller, fill in any other cliche here, type of fan. If the Illini lose, I'm miserable for 24 hours. If the Illini win, I'm great until they lose again. It's a vicious circle that I entered upon being granted admission to the University of Illinois. The truth hurts.
Anyway, every serious Illini fan knows that this team is doing 100x better than anyone thought. Sure, people will throw out the cliche's like "Well, this team is over-achieving." or "They have the talent, it was just a matter of it coming together." And for the most part, there's a bit of truth to both of those statements. The fact remains that this Illini team is now 8-4 in conference, with a NCAA berth 1 win away, and a shot at the Big10 regular season title.
I had started this blog out of anger. Anger that this team just lost another road game. Anger that this team does everything poor on the road. Anger that the offense becomes stagnant on the road. Anger for every single aspect that is involved in a road game. This anger is still there. It's just buried under excitement for now because everything I previously listed was present in tonights game.
Let me finish the intro by saying that I will cover anything sports related that tickles me. Except soccer. A-Rod, Phelps, & Duke/UNC already have X-million articles, so unless something new comes up, I'm ignoring those topics tonight. Tonight, the focus is on Illini vs. Northwestern.
This game always scares me. Northwestern has literally been the kitty litter in the cat box called the Big10 (pun intended). Iowa beats them, Indiana beats them, hell, Northeastern beats them...wait, that's Indiana this year. You get where I'm going though. The Illini always fall into what I call the "Princeton Offense Trap". It's documented, but doesn't have a name. For you who don't know the Princeton offense is based on using the whole shot clock, being patient, and using back-door cuts. Plain and simple: It's boring as hell. By running it, they limit their opponents possesions and typically keep scores under 60. The Illini run the motion offense which is more up-tempo, but has a part of patience to it. When these two schools meet, talent typically wins out. IE- Northwestern plays slow, hangs around, but eventually gets too tired and the Illini pull away.
As far as the game went, it played out pretty much as I explained above...minus NU getting tired in my opinion. The Wildcats seemed to shoot 60% in the first half and 45% in the second half. Obviously, they never gave up. They seemed to be getting every roll/bounce in the first 35 minutes though, and when you're rooting for the other side, that seems like every possession. For Illini road games, it seems like their opponents cut sharper, run closer off of screens, make everything, and grab every loose ball...things the Illini should be doing, but don't. Honestly, it makes sense, but it sucks. Chester is a pretty good on the ball defender, but how many times did he get caught on a screen? Is it just me, or does the team help too much on defense, thus leaving a good shooter wide open for 3? Do the Illini run the offense looking lost when on the road? Do they rebound 10x worse? Basically, do they look like an 8th grade girls team? I think the answer is yes. It's happened everywhere but Purdue (that was an average game; some good some bad) and Michigan St. (where they dominated 33 minutes of the game, then turned into crap). I don't get it, Coach Weber doesn't get it, the players don't get it, no one gets it. As a wise man once said 'Thats life in the Big 10." I'd like to say tonight wasn't that, but it was, until the last 5 minutes. Seriously, a 17-2 run to finish a game?! The last time they did something like that was against Arizona in 2005. Some may remember that game. Tonight, this team decided to play defense when they needed too, decided to make the extra pass, decided to grab a rebound with two hands. Little things that weren't being done earlier in the game. The Illini pulled this thing out and I'm happier because of it. If they had lost, this post would be similar, but with a much more negative tone. I'm not one of those people who hope that the team reads this and finds motivation from my ranting/raving. I'm realistic. The only people who will read this are my friends and they will either agree with me, or same I'm a F-ing moron. Like I stated at the start, I'm simply a nobody who hasn't played organized basketball since my freshman year of high school. I admit to that. But since Al Gore invented the Internet, everyone with an opinion can write whatever they want for anyone to see. That pretty much sums up what the Illini do/fail to do when playing on the road. If you want to dig up stats, you can, to futher show the difference between home/away games. I'm not gonna do it. What matters in the end is a win, and thats what the team came out with tonight.
So, after that rant, I'll just brush on the other teams that influence me.
Bulls- trade talk with Stoudamire is a good thing. Just get it done. The current roster isn't doing anything other than playing their asses off in order to not get traded. That's pro sports for you. Do well, you stay. Do poor, you go....unless you're involved in trade talk. Then you step up your game.
Blackhawks- if only they would get more credit. The changes Tallon has made in the last 1.5 years aren't something to win a Nobel Prize (televise games, spend money on free agents, acknowledge old legends). Every fan knew this. This team has the feel of the Bulls in the late 80's...as in '"We're getting better, we just have to learn to get past Detroit and the sky is the limit." Look what happened in 1991.
White Sox- another offseason where nothing special has happened. Sign another young Dominican, sign pitching stud Bartolo Colon (wait, he was a stud in 2003), and still have holes to fill at 3B, 2B, CF, and 5th starter. Seems like last year except they had Crede. I'll take a division title again...just stretch the post-season out longer.
Cubs- they don't matter to me, I'm a Sox fan.
Bears- lets just wait and watch Angelo draft someone for defense when the main concern is offense. More to come on this topic at a later date, probably when something significant happens.
That's all for tonight. Hopefully the next time I post, there will be a step-up in production value. Probably not. Check back after the Illini take on the lowly Hoosiers. I could've dealt with losing to the Wildcats tonight, but not IU this year. THEY LOST TO NORTHEASTERN....AND LIPSCOMB!!!
Anyway, every serious Illini fan knows that this team is doing 100x better than anyone thought. Sure, people will throw out the cliche's like "Well, this team is over-achieving." or "They have the talent, it was just a matter of it coming together." And for the most part, there's a bit of truth to both of those statements. The fact remains that this Illini team is now 8-4 in conference, with a NCAA berth 1 win away, and a shot at the Big10 regular season title.
I had started this blog out of anger. Anger that this team just lost another road game. Anger that this team does everything poor on the road. Anger that the offense becomes stagnant on the road. Anger for every single aspect that is involved in a road game. This anger is still there. It's just buried under excitement for now because everything I previously listed was present in tonights game.
Let me finish the intro by saying that I will cover anything sports related that tickles me. Except soccer. A-Rod, Phelps, & Duke/UNC already have X-million articles, so unless something new comes up, I'm ignoring those topics tonight. Tonight, the focus is on Illini vs. Northwestern.
This game always scares me. Northwestern has literally been the kitty litter in the cat box called the Big10 (pun intended). Iowa beats them, Indiana beats them, hell, Northeastern beats them...wait, that's Indiana this year. You get where I'm going though. The Illini always fall into what I call the "Princeton Offense Trap". It's documented, but doesn't have a name. For you who don't know the Princeton offense is based on using the whole shot clock, being patient, and using back-door cuts. Plain and simple: It's boring as hell. By running it, they limit their opponents possesions and typically keep scores under 60. The Illini run the motion offense which is more up-tempo, but has a part of patience to it. When these two schools meet, talent typically wins out. IE- Northwestern plays slow, hangs around, but eventually gets too tired and the Illini pull away.
As far as the game went, it played out pretty much as I explained above...minus NU getting tired in my opinion. The Wildcats seemed to shoot 60% in the first half and 45% in the second half. Obviously, they never gave up. They seemed to be getting every roll/bounce in the first 35 minutes though, and when you're rooting for the other side, that seems like every possession. For Illini road games, it seems like their opponents cut sharper, run closer off of screens, make everything, and grab every loose ball...things the Illini should be doing, but don't. Honestly, it makes sense, but it sucks. Chester is a pretty good on the ball defender, but how many times did he get caught on a screen? Is it just me, or does the team help too much on defense, thus leaving a good shooter wide open for 3? Do the Illini run the offense looking lost when on the road? Do they rebound 10x worse? Basically, do they look like an 8th grade girls team? I think the answer is yes. It's happened everywhere but Purdue (that was an average game; some good some bad) and Michigan St. (where they dominated 33 minutes of the game, then turned into crap). I don't get it, Coach Weber doesn't get it, the players don't get it, no one gets it. As a wise man once said 'Thats life in the Big 10." I'd like to say tonight wasn't that, but it was, until the last 5 minutes. Seriously, a 17-2 run to finish a game?! The last time they did something like that was against Arizona in 2005. Some may remember that game. Tonight, this team decided to play defense when they needed too, decided to make the extra pass, decided to grab a rebound with two hands. Little things that weren't being done earlier in the game. The Illini pulled this thing out and I'm happier because of it. If they had lost, this post would be similar, but with a much more negative tone. I'm not one of those people who hope that the team reads this and finds motivation from my ranting/raving. I'm realistic. The only people who will read this are my friends and they will either agree with me, or same I'm a F-ing moron. Like I stated at the start, I'm simply a nobody who hasn't played organized basketball since my freshman year of high school. I admit to that. But since Al Gore invented the Internet, everyone with an opinion can write whatever they want for anyone to see. That pretty much sums up what the Illini do/fail to do when playing on the road. If you want to dig up stats, you can, to futher show the difference between home/away games. I'm not gonna do it. What matters in the end is a win, and thats what the team came out with tonight.
So, after that rant, I'll just brush on the other teams that influence me.
Bulls- trade talk with Stoudamire is a good thing. Just get it done. The current roster isn't doing anything other than playing their asses off in order to not get traded. That's pro sports for you. Do well, you stay. Do poor, you go....unless you're involved in trade talk. Then you step up your game.
Blackhawks- if only they would get more credit. The changes Tallon has made in the last 1.5 years aren't something to win a Nobel Prize (televise games, spend money on free agents, acknowledge old legends). Every fan knew this. This team has the feel of the Bulls in the late 80's...as in '"We're getting better, we just have to learn to get past Detroit and the sky is the limit." Look what happened in 1991.
White Sox- another offseason where nothing special has happened. Sign another young Dominican, sign pitching stud Bartolo Colon (wait, he was a stud in 2003), and still have holes to fill at 3B, 2B, CF, and 5th starter. Seems like last year except they had Crede. I'll take a division title again...just stretch the post-season out longer.
Cubs- they don't matter to me, I'm a Sox fan.
Bears- lets just wait and watch Angelo draft someone for defense when the main concern is offense. More to come on this topic at a later date, probably when something significant happens.
That's all for tonight. Hopefully the next time I post, there will be a step-up in production value. Probably not. Check back after the Illini take on the lowly Hoosiers. I could've dealt with losing to the Wildcats tonight, but not IU this year. THEY LOST TO NORTHEASTERN....AND LIPSCOMB!!!
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