Breaking Down the Box - Illinois

Illinois - 84
Minnesota - 60
BOX SCORE


Let me start by reminding Gopher fans that it could be WORSE! or HERE - 11 points in the first half?

When did Dan Monson take over the basketball program? That was the ugliest game of the Tubby Smith Era. A team that has controlled effort all season was out efforted 94-3 by my official count of effortness.

Defense? - awful
Rebounding? - bad
Hustle? - $%*$, S*#@, $*I%

Here are some key lowlites of the game...

• 37-11 run for Illinois to start the 2nd half
• 14:00 left, Illinois' three best players on the bench and we continue to get pounded
• The Illini are "not a good three point shooting team" 7/13 tonight
• Jimmy Jackson told us how disappointed the three Gopher seniors must feel. Well, I think they had a chance to do something about that but combined for 18 points and horrible defense.
• the streak extends to 18 losses vs. the Illini
  

Fortunately Gophersports.com is giving us the "lite" box score so I can't see how badly we were dominated in the paint, fast break points and points off turnovers. All will be ugly if we ever get to see them.

In all seriousness, if it isn't clear just how much our offense is keyed by our defense then you aren't paying attention. Defensively we were very casual (as Gene Keady and PJS point out), this led to the Illini shooting 58%. Turnovers were even, rebounds were essentially even but we shot a less than desirable 33.3%. We weren't able to get transition baskets and had to work for every shot we got.

Player of the Game - Trent Meacham

5/5 threes
19 points
3 assists
0 turnovers

The rest of the team shot 2/8 from behind the arc so his stretching of the gopher "defense" was crucial.

Tempo Free Zone



Up Next? - @ Wisconsin

Usually I would say this game can't come quick enough, but even with increased effort this game could be ugly.

Wisconsin just lost at home to Purdue and is facing a tough task at Indiana tomorrow. They'll have one less day to prepare, but not even this rube could pick the Gophers to win.

Super Quick Preview - Illinois @ Minnesota

Actually From the Barn said it best when he thought the Gophers might be the most predictable team in the country.

The Illini are a balanced team with a strong frontcourt.

Key Match Up?

Illini Frontcourt < Gopher Frontcourt

	Pts	Reb
Pruitt 6'10"	12.7	7.6
Randle 6'8"	10.2	5.8
	22.9	13.4

	Pts	Reb
Tollackson 6'9"	10.9	4.3
Coleman 6'8"	13.5	6.5
	24.4	10.8

The backcourt match ups are key as well and should be evenly matched, but the game will be won or lost in the frontcourt.

What we should have going for us...

** Illinois as a team is terrible at the free throw line and Pruitt is worse than even Tollackson so we have that going for us.

** eFG% we shoot a higher percentage, so we have that going for us.

** They are 0-10 against teams with RPI in the top 50 and we are only 0-6 so we have that going for us.

** There is an L in Illinois (two of them in fact), so we have that going for us.

Prediction

This one makes me nervous but if we control tempo we can win this one. McKenzie has a good game and carries us early which opens up some shots for the Hoff.

Minnesota - 69
Illinois - 62

Big Ten Basketball Preview - Illinois

Illini fans will lament that last season was difficult. The rest of the Big Ten did not take time to feel bad for them as they still finished 5th in conference and earned another trip the NCAA Tourney. This team will boast a very good frontcourt, but the questions will be asked about the guard play.

PG - Chester Frazier - junior PG who is the heart of the team.

SG - Demetri McCamey - freshman combo guard who could really provide this team with a spark.

SF - Calvin Brock - big guard who may start in the small forward position.

PF - Brian Randle - 6'8" senior who will combine with Pruitt to be one of (if not THE) best frontcourt in the league. When healthy Randle is one of the best in the country, but health has been his biggest concern.

C - Shaun Pruitt (pictured right)- All-Big Ten preseason selection and will be the key to Illinois' season.

Key Bench - Trent Meacham - stable guard who provides a serious outside shooting threat
Key Bench - Rodney Alexander - big man, JUCO transfer
Key Bench - Brian Carlwell - 6'11" big man who is recovering from a serious car accident mid-season last year.

Prediction - Not a lot stands out to me about this team. Bruce Weber has done a great job in his short tenure at Illinois but this team seems to be lacking dynamic players in the backcourt and overall depth. I like Randle and Pruitt in the paint but after that there isn't a ton to get excited about. I expect this team to be steady but my gut tells me they are not an NCAA tournament team.

I am saying 7-11 with an 8th place finish in conference. The Illini will be especially hindered by the fact that they play NU and Iowa only once in Big Ten Play. I see a certain 8 losses to the top 4 teams (Wis, Ind, OSU, MSU) then a solid but not flashy 7-4 vs. the rest of the league. A down year in Champaign and time for Coach Weber to show he can recruit to keep the the Illini at the top of the conference.