Embarrassing….dave1956 summed it up perfectly.

I can’t think of another word to describe Saturday’s game against Minnesota.  I’m trying to think of something good to say about that meltdown, but I can’t.  I have no idea how you can go into that game flat.  You’re at home.  The place is packed.  You still need to solidify a spot in the Big Dance.  You’re playing against a team that hasn’t won on you’re home floor since 1996.  But for whatever reason, Illinois wasn’t ready to go.  Who’s to blame?  The coaches?  Maybe a little bit.  The players?  Definitely, since they’re the ones that are actually playing.  Was Minnesota’s offensive and defensive scheme so difficult to figure out?  I don’t think so.  Was the crowd too quiet?  They were, only after they realized their team was failing them right before their eyes.  The fans did pick it up during the comeback, but why does this team have to be in a comeback situation at home against Minnesota?

As if the game was disappointing enough, I hopped on IlliniHQ and started reading what people had to say.  There were plenty of questions left unanswered, and plenty of frustrated Illini fans.  That’s understandable.  I was one of them.  But there were also some comments on here that made me a little embarrassed to be an Illini fan.  Let’s just say women’s coach Jolette Law should hire a little security for the rest of the season, just to be safe.

Okay, back to Saturday’s game.  I want to compare it a minute to the Bulls game against the Pacers that happened later that night.  The Bulls are playing very good basketball right now, but like Illinois, lost a game they probably should have won.  In the Bulls case, their game at Indianapolis was the second game of a back-to-back, and it was on the heels of a hard fought overtime win versus a good Trail Blazers team at home.  It was also their seventh game in ten days.  When watching the game, I saw fatigue start to set in, especially in the second half.  Shots were coming up short and guys were being beat on defense.  It also didn’t help that Joakim Noah couldn’t play, since he has become of the Bulls high-energy guys.  Even though this wasn’t an awful loss, it was still a game this team should win, especially since they had already be the Pacers in their three prior meetings.

Illinois played the same way against the Gophers on Saturday.  The looked tired on offense (the defense was okay).  They couldn’t make open shots, just like in the Ohio State game, and when the outside shots weren’t falling, they just continued to shoot and miss them.  I have no idea why they didn’t start driving and trying to get some mismatches.  Instead it was a number of double and triple clutched outside jumpers that had zero chance of going in.  The difference between this game and the Bulls game?  Illinois had three days off before this game.  This is plenty of time to get the energy necessary to compete in a big home game like this.  Maybe the strength and conditioning coach should also get some blame since the team wasn’t ready to go in the first half, I don’t know.  In the end, it’s up to the players to be ready.  They know what they got to do better than anyone else.  This time around, they didn’t do a good job of it.

It’s time to update the prediction standings.  Everybody got this wrong.  So much for all of us having hope in a home game.  Minnesota won 62-60, so they were +2 in the real score difference.  Here are the updated standings.

NAME                                                            W                    L                      RSDT*

Tom Young (ILL 75-66)                                15                    5                        152

Reillini (ILL 76-74)                                       13                    7                        173

Jshaw (ILL 66-62)                                         12                    7                        179

dave1956 (ILL71-64)                                    11                    8                        182

jweeks (ILL 75-69)                                         9                      10                      202

PeterE (DNF)                                                 3                      2                        43

* - Real Score Difference Total

Looking ahead to tomorrow’s game in Columbus…

My Prediction

#9 OHIO STATE 75       ILLINOIS 67

Illinois has struggled to score points in their last two games.  Ohio State is playing some of the best basketball in the country and they look like a final four team.  It makes since for the Buckeyes to beat Illinois by 20 plus.  For some reason though, I don’t think that will happen.  Illinois’ inconsistent play has led to some disappointing outcomes, but it has also led to some incredible performances against teams they probably shouldn’t hang with.  As of right now, Illinois shouldn’t hang with Ohio State.  I expect Weber and company (not Webber and company (some of you might get that joke)) to once again figure out how to pump up this team for the final regular season road game.  I expect Illinois to hang, but there is no way in hell Ohio State will lose this game.  A loss here is going to put major importance on the Illini’s final home game against Wisconsin.  Also, assuming the Illini finish fifth, they might have to play Wisconsin for a third time to open the Big Ten tournament, or Purdue, or Michigan State, or Ohio State.  Point it, Illinois doesn’t have any more easy games, and in order to get to 20 wins, they got to win two of the next three.  Good luck…

What do you guys think will happen on Tuesday?  Will Ohio State buck Illinois out of Value City Arena, or does Illinois have a chance?  Let me know your thoughts below.  Hopefully, we will at least be treated to a much more spirited performance.  Talk to you guys soon.

I-L-L…