Whither The Illini?

After back-to-back home losses to Ohio St. and Minnesota, a competitive road loss to Purdue, and an ugly road victory against lowly Michigan, the Illini may well find themselves in a similar position to the girl in the above photo, which is to say on the outside looking in at the NCAA Tournament.

So what happened in that four-game stretch the Illini played from February 14-27?

To wit,

February 14 - hosting the Buckeyes: a pure beatdown by the red-hot Buckeyes from start to finish;

February 20 - at the Boilermakers: a good, competitive game, the Illini just couldn't hit the big shots down the stretch;

February 23 - at the Wolverines: an ugly-fest in which Michigan just played worse than the Illini; and

February 27 - hosting the Golden Gophers: an inspired second-half led by Peoria Richwoods-grad Bill Cole couldn't make up for absolute ice-cold shooting and lack of defensive intensity in the first half.

And now the Illini stand at 18-11, 10-6, good for 5th place in the Big Ten. Joe Lunardi has the Illini as a #10 seed in his latest Bracketology, but most pundits believe the Illini need to win at least one more game (at Ohio St., home against Wisconsin, or a first-round Big Ten tourney game against, most likely, Wisconsin) to secure an NCAA Tournament bid.

It's time for McCamey, Cole and the boys to gather up their britches and bring a little Illini pain to Columbus tomorrow night.

Let's get this dun, Illini!