Illinois did some nice things on defense last night.  The held Penn State to 28 points in the first half and 25 points in the second half.  Unfortunately, the offense was unable to get any consistency going.  It’s pretty amazing for this team to win the game despite going the final 8:17 of the first half without a field goal.  They were able to get it done because the defense kept it close, and they held the Nittany Lions scoreless for the final 3:14 during a 5-0 run to close it out.

Thank goodness for McCamey and Tisdale.  Without these two, Illinois might have scored less than their 33-point output a year ago.  Coach Weber would be the first to admit that benching a player could have a metal effect on how they play, but fortunately Demetri McCamey handled it the way we wanted him to.  Instead of feeling sorry for himself, he stepped up and has carried Illinois to victories over Indiana and Penn State.  Maybe it’s time to try this approach with another Junior on the team.

Let’s take Mike Davis out of the starting lineup.

Davis forgot how to score points and set up shots and last night, he also forgot how to rebound.  He was as much of a non-factor as you and I were in that game.  Maybe being sent to the bench at the start of the game will help him reassess his role on the team, and help him become the double-double machine that he’s capable of being. 

Despite going through another bottle of Tylenol (now I got to purchase another one Jshaw), Illinois won and find themselves at 4-0 in the Big Ten.  Granted, they haven’t played any of the top teams yet, but in order to finish near the top, you got to take care of business against the lesser opponents.  The combined record of Illinois’ opponents in Big Ten play so far is 2-12, so it’s definitely a positive that Illinois got off to the 4-0 start, even if it was a bit scary at times. 

Time now to update the prediction standings.  Illinois beat Penn State 54-53, so Illinois was +1 in the real score difference.  Unfortunately, dave1956 thought Illinois was on the road.  If that were the case, I bet his score prediction would have been correct. 

NAME                                                 W                    L                      RSDT*

Tom Young (ILL 73-53)                      6                     2                         70

Reillini (ILL 66-60)                               6                     2                         79

jweeks (ILL 70-65)                               6                     2                         87

Jshaw (ILL 68-62)                                5                     2                         71

dave1956 (PSU 64-57)                         4                     3                         73

PeterE (DNP)                                        0                     1                         16

* - Real Score Difference Total

Illinois @ Michigan State on Saturday afternoon

My Prediction

MICHIGAN STATE 80       ILLINOIS 62

Illinois has made a nice habit of coming back in the second half after falling behind in the first half.  In fact, Illinois was actually trailing by as much as eight in the second half against Penn State before they ended up winning the game.  This isn’t a bad habit to have.  However, if they fall behind big to Michigan State, they might as well warm up the bus.  I don’t think a Tom Izzo coached team would let a monster comeback happen, especially against a Big Ten team.  Illinois will fall behind early, and the inconsistency that this team has dealt with all year long will once again frustrate fans.

Michigan State alone as more Big Ten wins than Illinois’ previous four Big Ten opponents combined, and they’re ranked in the top 10 nationally.  Some “experts” even picked them to make it to the national championship game this year.  As you can see, this team is awesome.  Illinois will need to get career games from a number of people if they want to pull off a colossal upset.  We’ve heard about how Illinois needs to steal a couple of wins in an attempt to erase some of those bad losses.  This would definitely do the trick…but don’t count on it.

What do you predict for Saturday’s game?  Will the probable happen, or is there any hope for what looks like the impossible?  Also, do you think the idea of benching another starter would be a good idea for anyone?  If so, do you think it will have the same effect on that player like it had on McCamey?  Talk to you guys later.

I-L-L…