Illini Are Biding Their Time

The Illini have 11 games remaining before the start of the Big Ten Tournament in mid-March. Their conference record right now is 1-6. The last game I discussed, albeit briefly, was the Big Ten opener against Ohio St., a game the Illini lost 74-58 ... at home. Here is a recap of the games since that Big Ten opener:

Sun, Jan 6: Penn St. 68, Illini 64 - Watched this game at Firefly on Spring St. while on most of the other TVs in the bar the Giants were in the process of breaking down the Buccaneers. I was preoccupied with thoughts of the upcoming Bolts-Titans game and, I must admit, thought the Illini would take down the Nittany Lions. I was wrong.

Thu, Jan 10: Wisconsin 70, Illini 60 - The Illini hung tough but lost.

Sun, Jan 13: Indiana 62, Illini 58 - This game started on CBS right after the Bolts victory over the Colts and I was primed for the doubleheader and ready to ride the wave for the Bolt-Illini sweep. But Armon Bassett hit some big shots and Eric Gordon scored most of his points in the second half to help the Hoosiers come back and win. Is there anyone who doubts that it would be the Illini sitting 6-0 and atop the Big Ten standings if Gordon hadn't reneged on his commitment? That was just a huge huge decision.

Wed, Jan 16: Illini 75, Michigan 57 - I got stuck at the office and tried to follow the game on the computer but kept getting distracted by work. So be it. Word has it the Illini were at a tenuous point late in the game but pulled it together and pulled away. Michigan has a few years to go yet.

Sat, Jan 19: Purdue 74, Illini 67 - In Hawaii over the weekend to visit my fiance's family and attend a wedding, I started to watch this game when it aired at 9 a.m Honolulu time. Then I had to leave to go hiking to Makapu'u lighthouse with the future in-laws and, though the Illini led when I left the house, I was not shocked to see the final score when I returned. E'Twaun Moore is just another one of the many recruits who dissed Weber over the last two years for another program and will, it seems, haunt the Illini with regularity. Annoying.

Tue, Jan 22: Ohio St. 64, Illini 58 - These are the kind of losses which make me think, as the title of this post says, that the Illini are biding their time before going on a little streak and putting themselves in a position to be dangerous in the Big Ten Tournament. This team has some heart but they lack a killer instinct and are prone to mistakes. Not to mention at times they can't hit the broad side of a barn with their jump shots or free throws. If they can string together a few games where their shots are falling, and Randle can stay out of foul trouble, and Pruitt gets back in the game (why was he benched by the way?), then by golly they might be able to win the tourney.

Maybe.

But that leads to the following point: seeding will be important. Ideally the Illini can sneak past Minnesota, Penn St. and Iowa and into the six seed in the tournament. To do that may require as many as 3 wins out of the 4 road games at Minnesota, at Michigan, at Iowa and at Penn St., and taking care of business at home against Northwestern (Jan 27), Purdue (Feb 2) and Minnesota (Mar 8). Winning 1 of the 3 home games against Indiana, Michigan St. and Wisconsin would also help, not the least for the boost of confidence it would provide to an Illini team that seems to be sorely lacking in it.

Bottom line is that unless the Illini win out (could it happen? please?) they aren't getting to 20 wins and aren't getting an at-large nomination to the NCAA tourney. So they have to start playing with an eye to the Big Ten Tournament.