UI Grade: C-
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Hilltoppers 76, Illini 72
PLAYER OF THE GAME: WKU’s Steffphon Pettigrew
Most thought the longer Illinois frontcourt players would keep the undersized WKU bunch in check, but the 6-foot-5 Pettigrew and his 17 points showed it’s about more than size.
BACKCOURT: WKU A, UI B-minus
Trent Meacham and Calvin Brock gave a heck of an effort in their final games. A.J. Slaughter and Orlando Mendez-Valdez showed why they form the best guard combo in the Sun Belt.
FRONTCOURT: WKU A, UI D-minus
Hard to win games when your 7-footer goes scoreless and grabs one rebound. What WKU lacked in size it made up for in will, taking it to the Illini bigs all night.
BENCH: WKU C-minus, UI C-minus
Outside of Dominique Keller’s eight points, the Illinois reserves didn’t step up like they needed to with Chester Frazier and his broken hand watching from the sideline.
OVERALL: WKU A, UI C-minus
Illinois learned it can’t enter an NCAA tournament game with a casual attitude. WKU has been on this stage before and showed that coming out with a sense of urgency.
Let's face it, the better team won the game. My question now is do our big men get better or do they accept their mediocrity and get dominated for the rest of their careers?
I was also dissapointed in the fact that I did not see what (as I read on Thursday) the game plan would be(going inside). There is no reason Tidale and Davis should be posting closer to the three point line than the lane as they did all night. Very frustrating.
Weber is still in over his head as Illinois coach. Like his mentor, his slow-down, clutch and grab defensive-oriented teams struggle in the postseason when the games are not reffed like the Big Ten. Weber has to be one of the worst coaches in the country at in-game adjustments.
If Guenther extends this guy, it's pretty clear he hasn't learned any lessons from the Ron Turner fiasco.
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