Once again Illinois takes care of business against an inferior team, winning by eight against the Hawkeyes. That gives the Illini a three game winning streak heading into the final stretch of the Big Ten season. Sitting at 15-8, you would think that getting five wins with the strength of schedule remaining would be enough to get them into the big dance. There’s a chance that even a 4-4 record plus one Big Ten tourney win could do it. It’s Illinois’ job to take this one game at a time, but it’s mine to look deep into the future. going 4-4 in the final eight will give them an 11-7 record and I would guess that puts them in the top five of the Big Ten. A top five finish in a major conference usually is enough to get in, but who knows.

Looking ahead to Michigan State, I guess Kalin Lucas is still unknown for Saturday. He’s listed as day-to-day. X-Rays were negative and he’s going to get some treatment on that ankle. ESPN is saying we could possibly find out about his availability today. I’m sure it’ll remain a mystery all the way up until game time. The longer we don’t know about his status, Illinois has to prepare as if he is going to be in there. Either way, it will be a tough game.

You don’t become #5 in the country because of one guy. You got to have a solid team of players. Michigan State indeed has that, and it was proven a bit last week when Durrell Summers earned the Big Ten Player of the Week. Even though Lucas leads the team in scoring, four players are averaging double figures. That usually means that any one of those guys has the ability to step up when the team needs it. Can Illinois get someone to do this on Saturday? Even if McCamey does his thing, it isn’t going to be enough. Maybe Richardson has a big game, or maybe Griffey once again impresses the coaches. Whoever it is, someone has to play above the level they’ve been playing at all year.

Time to look at the prediction standings. Everyone predicted an Illini victory last night, so there wasn’t a whole lot that changed. Illinois won 57-49, so Illinois was +8 on the real score difference.

NAME                                   W             L             RSTD*

Tom Young (ILL 73-64)         12             2               98

Reillini (ILL 64-60)                 11             3              106

jweeks (ILL 78-68)                 9              5              133

dave1956 (ILL74-66)             9              4              108

Jshaw (ILL 82-68)                  9              4              120

PeterE (DNP)                         2              2               39

* - Real Score Difference Total

My Prediction

ILLINOIS 72       #5 MICHIGAN ST. 69

I have no idea what I’m thinking here. Illinois hasn’t quite looked the way we all thought they’d look this year, and Michigan State is playing very well all in all. Sure, they lost at the Kohl Center, but everyone does nowadays, so that’s irrelevant. There are a lot of reasons for Illinois to be fired up for this game. 1) Michigan State is coming to town…duh. 2) ESPN Gameday is in town. 3) The Illini need a win like this to help improve their case for a NCAA tournament bid. 4) It’s a home game, in front of the Orange Krush and in front of the loyal fans. And 5) Michigan State is coming to town…duh.

If Illinois were to lose this game, it wouldn't bother me a ton. I just want to see this team come out and play from start to finish. They can't afford to have those 5-6 minute droughts that they have had the last few games. They had one of these scoring droughts against MSU the first time they played, and Sparty took advantage of it. Let's hope they can keep the pressure on all game.

Time for you to now predict this one. Does Illinois take control of the home court, or do we fall flat on our face? Let me know what you guys think below.

I-L-L...