Illini Have Big Game Tomorrow Against Gonzaga, Also Happy New Year

After spending 10 days on the island of Oahu, I'm back on the mainland and ready to devote my full attention to the world of sports. And by "sports" I mean Illini hoops, Padres baseball, Charger football and, if I feel up to it, Illini football.

If there is a nobler pursuit in this world, I cannot fathom what it is.

It all starts tomorrow with the annual Illini game at the United Center in Chicago. This year the Illini host Gonzaga, a team that has a run a gauntlet of a non-conference schedule, including Michigan St., Cincinnati, Wisconsin, Wake Forest, Duke and Oklahoma. No doubt they will be primed for an Illini team that has shown its weaknesses - lack of a power inside game, inexperienced guard play from freshmen Brandon Paul and D.J. Richardson - in losses to Mizzou, Bradley, Utah and Georgia.

For the Illini, they are coming off a big win over Northwestern in the Big Ten conference opener. I didn't see the game because I was en route from Oahu to New York on Continental's 10-hour direct flight, but from my perusal of the stats it looks like the Wildcats went cold from three-point land in the second half and the Illini capitalized by dishing the ball to Tisdale over and over again. The Zags won't fire as many threes tomorrow, but the Illini should continue to feed Tisdale on the post.

Oh by the way, I'll be in attendance at the United Center.

So choice.