Saturday, March 04, 2006

Illinois 75, Michigan State 68

• What a great win!  This team seems to have gotten it together at just the right time.
• And what the heck is wrong with MSU?  They returned 4 starters from a Final Four team and they go 8-8 in the Big Ten?  I don't get it.
• With this win, I think Illinois fans can hope for a 2-seed in the NCAA tournament.
• I don't like the idea of playing State again on Friday.
• In fact, I don't think I like the idea of the Big Ten tournament at all.  The NCAA tournament is the important thing here.  This event feels like a distraction.
• Get your affairs in order.  Pruitt made 4 free throws in a row on Saturday.  That's a clear sign that the end of the world is near.
• Dee was magnificent.  His two best scoring games this year came against the Spartans.
• Shannon Brown's 1-on-3 dunk was simply amazing.
• I don't like the way the refs handled the call on that shot just before the half.  They called it good on the floor.  Upon review, they confirmed that the shot was good.  Then they reviewed it again?  How many reviews do they get?  I admit that the call eventually ended up being the right one, but I the process just didn't feel right.
• Suddenly the Penn State loss stings even more.  People like to say the way you win the Big Ten is to win all your home games and split your road games, ending up with a 12-4 record.  At 11-5, we didn't quite make it, but we fell short in a way I never expected.  We split our road games 4-4, but we were 7-1 at home.
• Kudos to Chester and Jamar.  They stepped up and played very well in some important minutes.
• Excellent game.