It might not have been the prettiest game of the season, but Illinois was able to get it together enough to pull out a ten-point win at Stony Brook.  I don’t understand why the whole team decided to lazily pass the ball around, especially Davis, but in the end they won a game a number of us were worried about.  On a good note, Brandon Paul had a nice game, racking up nine points and six rebounds, and D.J. Richardson had his nice shooting return on his way to 16 points.  Even Tyler Griffey in a short amount of time came in and had some nice rebounds.  Just like I was hoping for, the freshmen were able to take advantage of some extra playing time in a somewhat hostile environment.  Unlike Richmond, Notre Dame and Vanderbilt, Illinois is still playing!

It’s time to update the prediction standings.  Illinois had a 76-66 win at Stony Brook (man, I almost nailed it!), so the Illini were +10 in the real score difference.

NAME                                                            W                    L                      RSDT*

Tom Young (ILL 75-65)                              19                    6                        188

Reillini (ILL 85-72)                                     16                    9                       210

Jshaw (SB 65-58)                                        15                    9                        225

dave1956 (ILL 80-67)                                 14                    8                        191

jweeks (ILL 70-65)                                      10                    11                      207

PeterE (DNP)                                               5                      2                        51

illini82 (DNP)                                               0                      1                        11

Jam (ILL by 8)                                              1                      0                        2

Round 2 of the NIT

My Prediction

#1 ILLINOIS 73       #4 KENT STATE 60

Kent State had quite a battle with the Golden Hurricane of Tulsa, squeaking out a 75-74 win at home.  This game shouldn’t be as close for Kent State.  If Illinois plays the same way they did against Stony Brook, minus the silly passing turnovers, they will roll.  The question is, will they?  The last thing we expect is consistency.  We haven’t seen it all year, so why should we see it now.  For starters, we’re back home.  All other concerts, shows, and plays have to play somewhere else on Monday because the Illini will be occupying the Assembly Hall.  Secondly, I expect Illinois to be a bit crisper.  This doesn’t mean they will play flawless, but I expect them to more aware of what’s happening when on the court. 

What do you guys think?  Will Illinois move on to the poor man’s elite eight, or will they be blind-sided by a MAC-attack?  Just predict and comment below.  Let’s hope the Illinois will continue to win and use this time as a way to learn and coach this team towards 2010-11. 

I-L-L…