Missed Opportunity against Badgers

Immediate thoughts about that one before I look at the final box score. That was tough to watch down the stretch, a game we could have won, but our mistakes caught up with us:

1. Too many missed free throws, not sure if this team will ever learn how to shoot free throws.

2. Too many missed defensive rebounds, particularly when Illini played small against a big Wisconsin lineup.

3. We tried so hard to double Tucker, we left Stiemsma open all day and I don't remember him missing once. He could have had a career high, will have to check.

4. Jamar was lost out there, not sure if his problems are physical or mental, but he does the team no good with that type of play.

5. We still do not create shots well from our offensive set, with too many desperation shots with the clock running out.

On the positive side, McBride and Pruitt had great games, and Carter played well in the first half before disappearing in the second half.

Overall, a better effort, but the above mistakes make it difficult to beat a solid team like the Badgers. And the call at the end on the offensive foul (allowing the shot to count for Badgers) was unbelievably bad. Almost seemed like a fix was on.

Wisconsin Game Preview

This is a huge game for the Illini, period. There are no bigger games left this regular season for Illinois, so let's hope Weber has them ready. ESPN will televise the game nationally at 1pm Central time. Dave O'Brien and Rick Majerus will do the game for ESPN. Wisconsin is ranked number 2 in the country, so Assembly Hall should be loud and Orange.

But what's this latest news item? This is worse than more injuries to the starting five players. Can you believe this story--Chief Illiniwek, the Illini mascot might have to perform naked (ok, no feathers at least) at halftime, assuming he returns his feathers to the original rightful owners (full story). But let's not get distracted.........

Wisconsin plays a rotation of 9+ players that get 10 minutes or more per game. The big scorers are Alando Tucker their 6'6" forward, Kammron Taylor, a 6'2" guard, and Brian Butch, a 6'11" center. Other starters are Michael Flowers and Joe Krabbenhoff. Coming off the bench are Landry, Chappell, Bohannon, Stiemsma and others. Basically they have depth and size with three centers who rotate for minutes.

Looking at their 18-1 record, the only weakness I see is they have only had to play four road games thus far, beating Marquette, Georgia, Northwestern and losing to Missouri State. So the visit to the House of Paign should be their toughest road venue thus far in the year. They have some tougher games ahead, as well.

For the Illini, they need to be healthy, and could use some production from guards Frazier and Smith, who played limited minutes against Minnesota this week. Brian Randle is expected to guard Alando Tucker, and McBride or Frazier will likely guard Taylor. Brian Butch can score big, and will likely be guarded by Shaun Pruitt.