April Is Football Weather At Wrigley Field

Game-time temperature of Padres-Cubs Game 1 yesterday at Wrigley: 42 degrees Fahrenheit.

Game-time temperature of Illinois-Northwestern football game last November at Wrigley: 43 degrees Fahrenheit.

The Padres won Game 2 to split the doubleheader. Ryan Ludwick went 5-8 with 2 doubles on the day. His batting average after 70 plate appearances is an even .200.

Another Illini Loss ... To Northwestern

Yesterday's game wasn't televised in New York. That's just as well because it sounds like it was an absolutely frustrating loss, characterized by an up-and-down performance by Demetri McCamey, another disappearing act by D.J. Richardson, and a melt down at the end of the first half that resulted in 6 unanswered points for Northwestern.

I don't have any solutions for the way Illinois loses these games. How do you train players to have the mental toughness to avoid meltdowns, hold second-half leads, and play hard on every play? Is that just about recruiting the right type of mentally tough player? Or can that mental toughness be coached up? I have no idea. And what scares me is that Bruce Weber has no idea either.

The Illini's Win Over Northwestern Was Impressive, Kind Of

The Illini crushed Northwestern last night 88-63, shooting a school record 70.5% from the field. As I've read in a few places today, if the Illini are shooting well they can play with, and beat, any team in the country. The Duck Blue Devils included.

What interests me more though is that the team increased its lead at the outset of the second half. Letting up on teams and coasting is the Achilles heel of this group of Illini seniors, and I'm encouraged to see them show a killer instinct.

Apparently it's something the team has been practicing, as Mark Tupper noted in his blog post today:

He [Weber] seemed most pleased by the fact that after opening a 23-point lead at halftime, Illinois still came out strong and won the first five minutes of the second half. It’s something the team has been working on.

“We have actually practiced it by putting up the score. With 14 minutes to go we’re up by nine and we have to increase the lead in the next three minutes. If we don’t, we run. I’m trying to get them to understand playing with the lead. You can’t be relaxed and casual.”

If the Illini can learn how to put a foot on opponent's necks when they have them down, they could be a special team.

Illini Lose To Northwestern, NCAA Tournament In Serious Jeopardy

The Illini lost to Northwestern 73-68 last night, another tough L in a winnable game. The Illini defense - which as Mark Tupper points out allowed Northwestern to score on each of its final 14 possessions - made John Schurna and Jeremy Nash look like Larry Bird and Magic Johnson.

Laughable if it wasn't so horribly true.

The Illini have dug themselves a major hole now having lost each one of a series of winnable games. Had they not lost to Utah and Bradley, had they not blown a lead to Georgia, had they completed their comeback against Gonzaga, had they held onto second half leads against Northwestern or Purdue, had they managed to win just one or two of those games, the Illini would still be in fair position to make the tourney.

Now it doesn't look so good.

The Illini are going to have some must win games in their future.

That future starts Wednesday at Penn St.

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.

They Call Him Mr. Meacham

I can't begin to describe how impressed I was by the Illini's comeback last night. So many great things happened in the last six minutes of the game - Wayne McClain drawing up that trapping press with 5:00 to play comes to mind - that I hesitate to single out one guy for honors.

That said, Trent Meacham really was a monster beast in those last minutes.

If you haven't seen the finish of the Illini's stirring 60-59 victory at Northwestern, please check this out. It's the best way I can imagine to spend 8:21 of your day.

If you can't spare the full 8 plus minutes, allow me to point you to Trent's artistry (these are times on the YouTube video, not the game clock):

1:06: the Illini come out of a time out in Coach McClain's trapping press and Trent steals a pass at the top of the key and lays it in to pull the Illini to 57-47 with 4:53 to play;

2:40: Demetri McCamey flies down the court on a fast break, puts the ball behind his back and then finds Meacham on the perimeter for a long two ... 57-50 with 3:38 to play;

4:25: Northwestern has just hit a bucket (their last of the game) to go up 59-50 with 2:15 to go ... Meacham takes the ball at the top of the key and splits two players to lay it in (after a suspensful bounce on the back of the rim) and pick up a foul ... he sinks the free throw to make the game 59-53 with 2:09 to play;

6:04: the Illini get the ball back on the possession arrow and McCamey dribbles up, spots Trent in the corner, and Meacham catches-and-releases in a split second, firing up a moon ball that drops through the hoop ... Illini down 59-56 with a minute to play;

(Incidentally, Stephen Bardo was calling the game for ESPN and as McCamey passes the ball to Meacham at this point, Bardo starts to say, "This finish for Northwestern has an eerie feeling ... [now Meacham's shot drops through the hoop and Bardo finishes raising his voice] ... like the Purdue game!" Classic.)

6:37: the Illini force another turnover and have the ball down three points ... Tisdale thinks about a three pointer but then gives it up and sets a monster pick for Meacham, who takes the ball at the perimeter and cuts through the defense for a leaning one-hand layup ... Illini down 59-58 with 42.6 seconds to play;

7:11: Meacham guards Northwestern's Michael Thompson as Thompson dribbles around the perimeter ... Thompson finally decides to drive to the basket and Meacham reaches out for a block just as Thompson starts to elevate for a layup ... the ball bounces out of bounds to the Illini;

and finally ...

7:30: with under ten seconds to play, McCamey passes the ball to Meacham who, seeing McCamey curve around him, dishes the ball back to McCamey for the game winning assist and bucket.

Just an incredible job down the stretch.