For the Fans

The Illini looking better and better

Posted by: Tom Young

Monday, January 26, 2009 6:08 AM

Do well in the neutral site games…… check.

Protect the home court…… check

Get some road wins…… Time to step up

 

The Illini are looking good at 17-3 (5-2) after a couple of nice home wins against Ohio State and Wisconsin.  I love the way Demetri McCamey has stepped up.  Against the Badgers, he put together a complete game.  He has had a number of games where he has one good half and then disappears in the other half.  If McCamey can continue the type of play he had against Wisconsin, we are looking really good!

 

We now know the Illini can do it at home, but can we keep up this solid play away from the Assembly Hall?  We will find out on Thursday, when we travel to Minnesota.  The Golden Gophers got a scare yesterday from woeful Indiana, but the number 20 team in the country was able to sneak out a victory.  I just assume we play them coming off a win instead of a loss, so that worked out well.  I still don’t know what I think about this team.  Tubby Smith has done a good job, but it still isn’t a team that scares me too much.  After going 12-0 in the non-conference portion of their schedule, they have only managed a 5-3 conference record.  Their non-conference schedule looked pretty weak.  Teams like Concordia, Georgia St. North Dakota St., South Dakota St.and High Point visited The Barn this year.  Now that they’re in the tougher and much improved Big Ten, wins aren’t as easy to come by.

 

Regardless of what I or anyone else thinks about Minnesota, Illinois still has to show up.  This conference has shown a lot of depth this season, and not showing up to a game can resort in a loss you weren’t expecting (Northwestern over Michigan St., Penn St. over Michigan, Penn St. over Purdue).  Hopefully Trent Meacham can get back on track.  He has put together a nice season, but has hit a rough patch of late.  I’m hoping he’s one of those guys where he makes a shot early in the game and that will be all it takes for him to get going.  McCamey needs to continue the type of play he has shown in the Big Ten (13.0 ppg, 43 assists and only 11 turnovers).  Mike Tisdale needs to avoid early foul trouble.  This has been his only bugaboo during Big Ten play.  He has been playing at a high level when he is out there on the floor. 

 

Only three more wins before we reach 20, which believe it or not is how many I picked for this team when the year started.  I know I didn’t tell you that, so you don’t have to believe me if you don’t want to.  I predicted a 20-win season and a first round exit in the big dance.  Right now, things are looking better than that.  Speaking of looking good, let’s keep our eyes on the newest top 25 polls when they come out.  With a number of top 25 teams losing in the past week, the Illini could see a decent bump up in the rankings. 

 

I-L-L…

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