College Basketball 2007-2008

[Guest]

Upset alert with the Clemson-UNC game. Clemson up 1 with 5.4 seconds left in OT.

[Guest]

Wow. Lawson got the ball to Ellington - ball was nearly stolen - and he hit an open 3 to give UNC a 90-88 lead with 0.4 on the clock.

[illiniguy]

Weber is now going to start McCamey. But not for Frazier. Unreal. Bruce can't sit his Neifi.

[illiniguy]

Wow. Lawson got the ball to Ellington - ball was nearly stolen - and he hit an open 3 to give UNC a 90-88 lead with 0.4 on the clock.

Ellington has been great tonight.

[hawkeyecub]

It's just amazing to me that Illinois can have such a poor backcourt. Coming off a national championship appearance with the area they have to recruit from, it's just baffling.

 

Missing on some of the top flight guys that went elsewhere is one thing. Tony Freeman is a better guard than Chester Frazier. He's from Chicago and was Illinois' if they offered but Bruce chose Frazier instead. He's not a savior, but I think he would be your best guard this year.

Nah McCamey is better than Freeman. I would still like to have the two of them playing together though. I also thought Freeman choose Iowa because of his dad being close with Alford.

 

Forgot about McCamey. He's a better talent, but Freeman would be in his 3rd year in the system and 2nd year starting.

 

The ties to Alford and the fact that Alford targeted him early is how we got him over Marquette and a few others. But he made it known that he loved Illinois. Looking back at his profile they didn't show any interest until late summer before his senior year. They were bringing him in for a visit in September but didn't have an offer on the table so he committed to Iowa the week before.

[illiniguy]

It's just amazing to me that Illinois can have such a poor backcourt. Coming off a national championship appearance with the area they have to recruit from, it's just baffling.

 

Missing on some of the top flight guys that went elsewhere is one thing. Tony Freeman is a better guard than Chester Frazier. He's from Chicago and was Illinois' if they offered but Bruce chose Frazier instead. He's not a savior, but I think he would be your best guard this year.

Nah McCamey is better than Freeman. I would still like to have the two of them playing together though. I also thought Freeman choose Iowa because of his dad being close with Alford.

 

Forgot about McCamey. He's a better talent, but Freeman would be in his 3rd year in the system and 2nd year starting.

 

The ties to Alford and the fact that Alford targeted him early is how we got him over Marquette and a few others. But he made it known that he loved Illinois. Looking back at his profile they didn't show any interest until late summer before his senior year. They were bringing him in for a visit in September but didn't have an offer on the table so he committed to Iowa the week before.

I didn't know that. I wish we would have gotten him. He would be a good ombo guard with McCamey. Althugh Bruce has to let his boyfriend, Chester Frazier, play pretty much every minute. With Freeman in the mix that would be very hard to do.

[Vanilla Ice]

Wow. Lawson got the ball to Ellington - ball was nearly stolen - and he hit an open 3 to give UNC a 90-88 lead with 0.4 on the clock.

Ellington has been great tonight.

 

that and the 13 missed free throws from Clemson's end.

[Derwood]

you guys are freaking out about losing to Penn State, but I'm guessing that the loss won't look as bad as it seems by season's end. PSU has won 7 straight and could be 3-0 in the Big 10 before having to face Indiana. Today was a game of programs passing each other, with PSU on an upswing and Illinois heading towards rock bottom

[Keener98]

you guys are freaking out about losing to Penn State, but I'm guessing that the loss won't look as bad as it seems by season's end. PSU has won 7 straight and could be 3-0 in the Big 10 before having to face Indiana. Today was a game of programs passing each other, with PSU on an upswing and Illinois heading towards rock bottom

 

lol ok

[Derwood]

you guys are freaking out about losing to Penn State, but I'm guessing that the loss won't look as bad as it seems by season's end. PSU has won 7 straight and could be 3-0 in the Big 10 before having to face Indiana. Today was a game of programs passing each other, with PSU on an upswing and Illinois heading towards rock bottom

 

lol ok

 

alright, we'll see who is standing at season's end. i'm glad you are so deep into your own team that you can't recognize what's going on around the league. oh, right, Indiana stole your prospects. i think i heard that somewhere

[SouthSideRyan]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying but you think Penn St. has passed Illinois as a basketball program? Yow.

 

I said before the season started Penn St. had an outside chance at being a tourney team. This is still a terrible loss, but this isn't some great revelation that Penn St. is having it's annual 1 year a decade where they don't suck at basketball.

[Derwood]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying but you think Penn St. has passed Illinois as a basketball program? Yow.

 

I said before the season started Penn St. had an outside chance at being a tourney team. This is still a terrible loss, but this isn't some great revelation that Penn St. is having it's annual 1 year a decade where they don't suck at basketball.

 

i don't mean to overstate things, just saying that Penn State is pretty decent this year and losing to them isn't as bad as losing to Michigan or Northwestern might be. have they passed Illinois as a program? no way. but i love how all you illini guys do is bitch and moan about your own program, but god forbid someone says something about it.

[snoodmonger]

UNC shouldn't be ranked #1. And I don't say that based on tonight, which was a good win on the road against a solid team. I just don't think they D up enough, and like all Roy teams, I think they're very susceptible to a teams that can control tempo.

[Butterscup1679666578]

UNC shouldn't be ranked #1. And I don't say that based on tonight, which was a good win on the road against a solid team. I just don't think they D up enough, and like all Roy teams, I think they're very susceptible to a teams that can control tempo.

 

Plz don't beat us by 50 points in two weeks.

[Guest]

I agree, snood. I think Memphis and KU are better (and UCLA too, but obviously we shouldn't be ranked ahead of undefeated teams).

 

Whether or not UCLA and Wazzou win on Thursday, we'll have a 4 vs 5 showdown at Pauley on Saturday. Hopefully both schools win on Thursday, though.

[snoodmonger]

I agree, snood. I think Memphis and KU are better (and UCLA too, but obviously we shouldn't be ranked ahead of undefeated teams).

 

Whether or not UCLA and Wazzou win on Thursday, we'll have a 4 vs 5 showdown at Pauley on Saturday. Hopefully both schools win on Thursday, though.

 

 

I'm biased, but I'd put us at #1. Hard to argue with Memphis, though.

 

Plz don't beat us by 50 points in two weeks.

 

Where is it? We never play well in Columbia. Either way, we have no business losing to you guys this year.

[Keener98]

you guys are freaking out about losing to Penn State, but I'm guessing that the loss won't look as bad as it seems by season's end. PSU has won 7 straight and could be 3-0 in the Big 10 before having to face Indiana. Today was a game of programs passing each other, with PSU on an upswing and Illinois heading towards rock bottom

 

lol ok

 

alright, we'll see who is standing at season's end. i'm glad you are so deep into your own team that you can't recognize what's going on around the league. oh, right, Indiana stole your prospects. i think i heard that somewhere

 

Are you kidding me? Myself and other Illini fans have been the first ones to say we suck this year. But you are out of your mind if you think Penn States "program" has passed Illinois. Penn State has won 7 straight games, against bad teams. Penn State has an RPI of 119 with a strength of schedule of 193! Now that is a terrible loss for the Illini, Penn States resume is horrible, and there is no reason at all the Illini should ever lose at home to a team with that kind of resume.

[Keener98]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying but you think Penn St. has passed Illinois as a basketball program? Yow.

 

I said before the season started Penn St. had an outside chance at being a tourney team. This is still a terrible loss, but this isn't some great revelation that Penn St. is having it's annual 1 year a decade where they don't suck at basketball.

 

i don't mean to overstate things, just saying that Penn State is pretty decent this year and losing to them isn't as bad as losing to Michigan or Northwestern might be. have they passed Illinois as a program? no way. but i love how all you illini guys do is bitch and moan about your own program, but god forbid someone says something about it.

 

 

Ok so which is it, has Penn State passed the Illini's program or not? I have no problem with somebody saying something about the Illini's program, when what is being said is true. But in this case your original comment was ridiculous. Penn State isnt a good team, and either are the Illini. Is this the worse loss the Illini have had? No way we just lost last week to Tenn St., but its definatley not a loss to be proud of right now, and it wont be a loss to be proud of at the end of the year. Penn State will be in the bottom 5 with Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan, and Iowa when the season is done.

[Derwood]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying but you think Penn St. has passed Illinois as a basketball program? Yow.

 

I said before the season started Penn St. had an outside chance at being a tourney team. This is still a terrible loss, but this isn't some great revelation that Penn St. is having it's annual 1 year a decade where they don't suck at basketball.

 

i don't mean to overstate things, just saying that Penn State is pretty decent this year and losing to them isn't as bad as losing to Michigan or Northwestern might be. have they passed Illinois as a program? no way. but i love how all you illini guys do is bitch and moan about your own program, but god forbid someone says something about it.

 

 

Ok so which is it, has Penn State passed the Illini's program or not? I have no problem with somebody saying something about the Illini's program, when what is being said is true. But in this case your original comment was ridiculous. Penn State isnt a good team, and either are the Illini. Is this the worse loss the Illini have had? No way we just lost last week to Tenn St., but its definatley not a loss to be proud of right now, and it wont be a loss to be proud of at the end of the year. Penn State will be in the bottom 5 with Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan, and Iowa when the season is done.

 

which is it? I think i clearly retracted my first statement. i'm not going to predict where Penn State will finish in the conference, but even if they finish "bottom five", that could mean seventh, which is higher than most predicted going in. Yes, their SOS is bad, but as they saying goes, you play the teams on your schedule. They won their ACC/Big 10 Shootout game, are undefeated at home, and 2-0 (both on the road) in conference so far.

 

Penn State has a long way to go, but don't hold such a high and mighty attitude about your precious Illini. Yes, your program is better, but it's certainly trending downwards right now. your recruiting power should allow you to rebound quickly, while Penn State has to prove it can be at all consistent (which it has failed to do year to year). Should be interesting

 

ETA: Nice of you to mention PSU's 119 RPI while leaving out the fact that Illinois is 128 (with a SOS of 54)

[illiniguy]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying but you think Penn St. has passed Illinois as a basketball program? Yow.

 

I said before the season started Penn St. had an outside chance at being a tourney team. This is still a terrible loss, but this isn't some great revelation that Penn St. is having it's annual 1 year a decade where they don't suck at basketball.

 

i don't mean to overstate things, just saying that Penn State is pretty decent this year and losing to them isn't as bad as losing to Michigan or Northwestern might be. have they passed Illinois as a program? no way. but i love how all you illini guys do is bitch and moan about your own program, but god forbid someone says something about it.

 

 

Ok so which is it, has Penn State passed the Illini's program or not? I have no problem with somebody saying something about the Illini's program, when what is being said is true. But in this case your original comment was ridiculous. Penn State isnt a good team, and either are the Illini. Is this the worse loss the Illini have had? No way we just lost last week to Tenn St., but its definatley not a loss to be proud of right now, and it wont be a loss to be proud of at the end of the year. Penn State will be in the bottom 5 with Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan, and Iowa when the season is done.

 

which is it? I think i clearly retracted my first statement. i'm not going to predict where Penn State will finish in the conference, but even if they finish "bottom five", that could mean seventh, which is higher than most predicted going in. Yes, their SOS is bad, but as they saying goes, you play the teams on your schedule. They won their ACC/Big 10 Shootout game, are undefeated at home, and 2-0 (both on the road) in conference so far.

 

Penn State has a long way to go, but don't hold such a high and mighty attitude about your precious Illini. Yes, your program is better, but it's certainly trending downwards right now. your recruiting power should allow you to rebound quickly, while Penn State has to prove it can be at all consistent (which it has failed to do year to year). Should be interesting

 

ETA: Nice of you to mention PSU's 119 RPI while leaving out the fact that Illinois is 128 (with a SOS of 54)

In the next two years we have top 10 classes coming in. You don't. Although you are better than us this year, I doubt that remains the same. I guess you would argue when we beat you in football this year it was two programs heading in the other direction?

[SouthSideRyan]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying but you think Penn St. has passed Illinois as a basketball program? Yow.

 

I said before the season started Penn St. had an outside chance at being a tourney team. This is still a terrible loss, but this isn't some great revelation that Penn St. is having it's annual 1 year a decade where they don't suck at basketball.

 

i don't mean to overstate things, just saying that Penn State is pretty decent this year and losing to them isn't as bad as losing to Michigan or Northwestern might be. have they passed Illinois as a program? no way. but i love how all you illini guys do is bitch and moan about your own program, but god forbid someone says something about it.

 

 

Ok so which is it, has Penn State passed the Illini's program or not? I have no problem with somebody saying something about the Illini's program, when what is being said is true. But in this case your original comment was ridiculous. Penn State isnt a good team, and either are the Illini. Is this the worse loss the Illini have had? No way we just lost last week to Tenn St., but its definatley not a loss to be proud of right now, and it wont be a loss to be proud of at the end of the year. Penn State will be in the bottom 5 with Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan, and Iowa when the season is done.

 

I think Penn St.'s got a decent chance of finishing ahead of Minnesota and Purdue. Probably unlikely they finish 5th, but if I had to guess I'd probably put em there. The Illini have been trending downward since the national title game, but they really aren't anymore. To say they're trending downward implies that in the coming seasons they'll be worse, and they won't, they're likely to improve each season more than the previous for the next 3 years.

[MPrior]

UNC shouldn't be ranked #1. And I don't say that based on tonight, which was a good win on the road against a solid team. I just don't think they D up enough, and like all Roy teams, I think they're very susceptible to a teams that can control tempo.

 

Usually I get fed up with everybody's criticisms of UNC's defense - everybody always says they're terrible defensively, when frequently, they're very good. I think last year they were in the top three or four teams in the nation in defensive efficiency.

 

However, this year, their defense is legitimately mediocre. Brandan Wright was a huge defensive presence, and we're missing him much more defensively than we are offensively. Deon Thompson and Alex Stepheson need to play their size, and Hansbrough, while I love him, isn't the greatest defender either. Plus, Bobby Frasor, one of our better defensive guards, went down for the season.

 

As for the rankings, I like being #1, but I'm probably in agreement that they're not the best out there. Then again, the rankings are pretty meaningless at this point, and there's no clear #1 anyway.

 

Also, I hate to say it, but Duke may be, yet again, one of the best teams in the country. By offensive and defensive efficiency alone, they're the best team out there by a wide margin. Obviously, that's overly simplistic, but I'd watch out for them to be better than people expect, despite the loss to Pitt.

[Derwood]

Maybe I'm misinterpreting what you're saying but you think Penn St. has passed Illinois as a basketball program? Yow.

 

I said before the season started Penn St. had an outside chance at being a tourney team. This is still a terrible loss, but this isn't some great revelation that Penn St. is having it's annual 1 year a decade where they don't suck at basketball.

 

i don't mean to overstate things, just saying that Penn State is pretty decent this year and losing to them isn't as bad as losing to Michigan or Northwestern might be. have they passed Illinois as a program? no way. but i love how all you illini guys do is bitch and moan about your own program, but god forbid someone says something about it.

 

 

Ok so which is it, has Penn State passed the Illini's program or not? I have no problem with somebody saying something about the Illini's program, when what is being said is true. But in this case your original comment was ridiculous. Penn State isnt a good team, and either are the Illini. Is this the worse loss the Illini have had? No way we just lost last week to Tenn St., but its definatley not a loss to be proud of right now, and it wont be a loss to be proud of at the end of the year. Penn State will be in the bottom 5 with Illinois, Northwestern, Michigan, and Iowa when the season is done.

 

which is it? I think i clearly retracted my first statement. i'm not going to predict where Penn State will finish in the conference, but even if they finish "bottom five", that could mean seventh, which is higher than most predicted going in. Yes, their SOS is bad, but as they saying goes, you play the teams on your schedule. They won their ACC/Big 10 Shootout game, are undefeated at home, and 2-0 (both on the road) in conference so far.

 

Penn State has a long way to go, but don't hold such a high and mighty attitude about your precious Illini. Yes, your program is better, but it's certainly trending downwards right now. your recruiting power should allow you to rebound quickly, while Penn State has to prove it can be at all consistent (which it has failed to do year to year). Should be interesting

 

ETA: Nice of you to mention PSU's 119 RPI while leaving out the fact that Illinois is 128 (with a SOS of 54)

In the next two years we have top 10 classes coming in. You don't. Although you are better than us this year, I doubt that remains the same. I guess you would argue when we beat you in football this year it was two programs heading in the other direction?

 

as far as football, i'd say Penn State is stuck in a perpetual 8-4 rut while Illinois is improving. In basketball, it will be a long time (if ever) before Penn State will be at the same level as Illinois. But as for this season, Penn State may end up with a better record. I'll take what I can get out of them

[Exile on Waveland]

I agree, snood. I think Memphis and KU are better (and UCLA too, but obviously we shouldn't be ranked ahead of undefeated teams).

 

Whether or not UCLA and Wazzou win on Thursday, we'll have a 4 vs 5 showdown at Pauley on Saturday. Hopefully both schools win on Thursday, though.

 

 

I'm biased, but I'd put us at #1. Hard to argue with Memphis, though.

 

Plz don't beat us by 50 points in two weeks.

 

Where is it? We never play well in Columbia. Either way, we have no business losing to you guys this year.

 

I'd probably vote Kansas #1 right now. Still think UCLA is the best team though.

[rawaction]

I agree, snood. I think Memphis and KU are better (and UCLA too, but obviously we shouldn't be ranked ahead of undefeated teams).

 

Whether or not UCLA and Wazzou win on Thursday, we'll have a 4 vs 5 showdown at Pauley on Saturday. Hopefully both schools win on Thursday, though.

 

 

I'm biased, but I'd put us at #1. Hard to argue with Memphis, though.

 

Plz don't beat us by 50 points in two weeks.

 

Where is it? We never play well in Columbia. Either way, we have no business losing to you guys this year.

 

I'd probably vote Kansas #1 right now. Still think UCLA is the best team though.

 

 

Right now, Memphis #1. Kansas a close #2. UNC #3, and they are actually better than I thought they were. And I agree, UCLA has the best team.