Basketball regular season is finally here, and Weber's dozen or so basketball players have Northeastern in Champaign for their first real game. For those of you who don't follow the Colonial Athletic Conference closely, here's some information on Northeastern:
-Northeastern is picked #8 out of 12 teams in the CAA this season, per Sporting News. While this might seem low, keep in mind the CAA has some excellent basketball programs, including VCU, George Mason, Hofstra, Old Dominion and Drexel.
-Northeastern finished strong last season, winning six of their last eight games, and had a record of 13-19 overall.
-Northeastern has two transfers that are eligible this season, forward Chris Alvarez from Dayton (must have played with Trent Meacham for a season) and center Nkem Ojougboh from Texas-San Antonio. Northeastern has the CAA rookie of the year from last season, Matt Janning, who averaged 11.6 ppg. So the Illini front line might be tested this game.
From the Illini standpoint, it will be interesting to see the rotation of players and how deep in the bench Weber can reach. First, we have lots of guys who can play this year. Second, the early games will hint at who might by red-shirted, if anyone.
Finally, look for indications on the starting line-up, improvement from Shaun Pruitt and Chet Frazier, and the health of Brian Randle. Weber's recent comments make it clear that Cole will be in the rotation, and Meacham will be starting.
Coverage of the game is sketchy at best. I think if you have the right broadband provider (I don't), you can watch it on the web at ESPN360.
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