Michigan State Recap

This game was a repeat of the entire season, need I say more? Good energy in the first half, tied at halftime, scoring deteriorates in the second half and we lose the game in the last 5 minutes. Free throw shooting was awful at 47%. And we may have set a new season low with three point shooting accuracy at 13%. Box Score

I do think many fans have a point when they expect the Illini to be better next year, only because they can't get much worse. Nearly all polled on my site think the Illini will be better next season. And if we get Keller to commit this evening, maybe that helps us this fall.

I still don't understand the extreme optimism about next year by Illini fans. The team won't be much different than the team we have watched since Randle was injured, plus Jamar Smith. I don't expect us to make the NCAA's next season for the second year in a row. It will be interesting to see how Coach Weber can ride out the situation. And to be honest, Weber does need to be held accountable for his poor recruiting and underperformance on the court this season. You can't just blame the players for a season like this one.

Who would have guessed a couple years ago that we would lose to Michigan State in 2008 due to the play of Goran Suton and Drew Naymick? Seems impossible, but it just happened to the Illini tonight.