Basketblog

Weber's newest motivation for Illini

Posted by: Paul Klee

Wednesday, December 31, 2008 3:12 PM

Bruce Weber broke out a new motivational ploy for the Illini prior to their win at Purdue on Tuesday: a math formula printed on a t-shirt. The shirts read "41 + 24 = 65."

Here's how it breaks down:

41: The Illini's magic number on the "Matto" chart, aka, the "Play Hard" chart. When Illinois reaches 40 on the Matto, they like their chances of winning, and they took it up one more point for emphasis. For example, they didn't shoot well against Eastern Michigan on Sunday, but they had a 42 on the Matto chart, which helped them to a win.

24: The number of wins that Weber believes can get them in the NCAA tournament. I'm sure he would take 25 or 26 - and perhaps 21 or 22 would do the trick - but that's the magic number he established.

65: The number of teams in the NCAA tournament. Hence, 41 (Matto) plus 24 (wins) equals 65 (a return to the NCAA tournament).

More on the Illini's motivation on the Live Report from Mackey Arena.

Good chat today. Thanks for the questions.

pklee@news-gazette.com

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