SB Nation - Mike Tisdale

Western Michigan at Illinois Preview: inter-sport revenge game!

Joe Kutsunis — Sun, 13 Dec 2009 01:04:27 -0000

More photos » by Darrell Hoemann - AP

Sometimes when you are looking for a storyline for an otherwise unremarkable game you have to reach deep, in this case all the way back to last year's season/program killing loss to Western Michigan in Detroit. It was probably the game that eliminated any chances of the fighting football Ilini returning to a bowl.

Thus the fighting basketball Illini I am sure are filled with immense feelings of anger and revenge as they face the Western Michigan Football Broncos tomorrow.

But lets face it, this is not exactly a game the Illini are actually worried all that much about. As such, it is completely up to them whether or not the Illini will be victorious etc.

Last game against Vanderbilt, the Illini shot an astonishing 60% from the field, a percent they will not often achieve. When they do, of course, I would like to see a team that can beat them. The nerves for me and for others however, come from a few itchy problems that still haunt the Illini.

In what is the best/only real way I can see as quantifiable defense when adjusting for number of possessions, the Illini are still giving up a point per possession to opponents, which according to the Big Ten Geeks, is bad. We know why the defense is bad, because the only perimeter player with any experience at defense was the weakest perimeter player defensively last year.

Turnovers from the point guard, by which I mean Demetri McCamey. It seems to me too many of these TO's come when DMAC wants to push the ball down the court and makes what we would call an inadvisable pass. Not turnovers of carelessness but of "aggression" To his credit, that aggression has paid off many times in other areas. In general though, Demetri just needs to take a moment and not take any unnecessary chances.

Rebounds. Another problem that is basically just chronic to the system the Illini have had to run in recent years. Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale get their points from a few steps back from the rim, not underneath. As such, they aren't in the best position to get an offensive board. This isn't as big a deal when they can hit those 15 foot jumpers, which they both can. However, when you aren't hitting, the team has to play better defense to equalize matters, see point #1.

Last home game for about a month, so enjoy your Orange Krush once more before Christmas, tomorrow 1:30pm Central on the BTN.

Illini win over Vanderbilt 79-68, and look good doing it.

Joe Kutsunis — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 04:06:02 -0000

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Well, thats two top 25 opponents and two wins to show for it, it almost makes up for the two bad losses. Not quite yet perhaps, but it makes a statement to the national media that the Illini are still a factor in this conference.

The game started right for the Illini from the word go, as the Illini jumped out to a 9-0 lead, with the defense forcing Vandy to take bad shots and the offense making Vandy's zone look useless. Mike Tisdale being able to step out and shoot is a weapon that confuses and frustrates a lot of defenses, and it was key to the Illini's early scoring success.

On defense except for a few minor 3 minute lapses, the Illini have played one of their more solid games in that end. Ogilvy looked like he was the most effective player for the 'dores on the offensive end, but their shooters really never woke up like we had worried they would.

I would also like to highlight how damn good Jeff Jordan played tonight, making some very clutch shots, including a long 3 as the shot clock ran out. All the guards had a fine day against the Vandy defense, which seemed like as long as it wasn't Mike Davis taking the shot, they were willing to take their chances.

Mike Davis seemed to play the decoy all night, having very few points but a few assists and blocks to show for his minutes. If the other team wants to take Davis out of the game, clearly they can, but its going to leave Demetri McCamey, (23pts) D.J. Richardson (16 pts) and Tisdale (14 pts) all open to take their shots at will, that is fine by me.

The defense was much more I am sure to Bruce's liking tonight, running almost all man again (as always) and although it did worry me a bit when I saw Brandon Paul having to run off of a screen to pick his an back up. The freshmen will get better in straight man to man D, but it will take time and practice. Exhibit A is Demetri McCamey who was pretty much a defensive liability his freshman year but has become one of the more reliable defensive players on the team.

Speaking of Demetri he once again had one or two too many turnovers (6) but still is clearly the best option at running the offense because he is calmer cooler and more collected than any of the other options. And as our good friend the Donut King has pointed out, many of tonight's turnovers were TO's of aggression, which is in a sense a good thing, but are still in the end turnovers. That aggression of course comes along with his 23 points, so I will take it as an overall push.

Next game is Saturday at noon as the Illini host Western Michigan, then its winter break and the Illini go on the road for their neutral site games.

Periscope: Vanderbilt @ Illinois

KingJamesIV — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 18:12:20 -0000

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Let me paint a picture for you. Thursday, November 20th, 2008. Illinois enters Memorial Gym. Vanderbilt leads by 5 with 10 minutes to play. Demetri McCamey and Trent Meachem combine for 9 threes. Illinois hands Vanderbilt it's first loss of the season.

The Illinois game serves as a pretty good nutshell of the Commodores 2009 season. In a year when Vandy had 5 freshmen average significant minutes (2 being starters), they couldn't handle adversity and often withered down the stretch.

What a difference a year makes. The 2010 Vanderbilt team seems to thrive when facing adversity. Though they still haven't put together a complete game offensively, they are winning in the trenches.

The Illini 2010 stats are fairly impressive, until you really start to look at their schedule. The toughest team they've played so far has been Clemson, a game they won in which Clemson shamefully gave away its 23 point lead. Clemson and Vandy are pretty similar in terms of offensive and defensive efficiencies. According to Ken Pomeroy, Clemson's offensive efficiency is 110.9. Vanderbilt's is 111.9. Clemson's defensive efficiency is 87.3. Vanderbilt's is 88.9. Clemson is the only team Illinois has faced thus far with an offensive efficiency above 110. Vandy has already faced St. Mary's (OffEff 117.1 - @ McKeon Pavilion no less) and Missouri (OffEff 114.6). The Illini's offensive efficiency is 110.9. In fact, excluding Chaminade (game doesn't count in these numbers) Vandy has yet to face a team with an offensive efficiency below 100. Illinois has faced three below 90.

Despite the weak offensive opponents, the Illini defensive efficiency is a mediocre 97.1. On the other hand, Vanderbilt's defensive efficiency is a stout 88.9, especially when you take into consideration the solid offensive teams Vanderbilt has faced.

Looking at the defenses each team has faced, half of Illinois' opponents have defensive efficiencies above 100 (not good - this is a measure of points scored per 100 possessions). Vanderbilt has only faced 1 team with a defensive efficiency over 100. Considering the stringent defenses, Vanderbilt's offense efficiency is all the more impressive.

Here is the breakdown of all these numbers (all taken from Ken Pomeroy):

TSN Preview

Strong defense has been key to Illinois' success thus far, as the team has been able to limit opponents to 65.6 ppg on 40.6 percent shooting from the field. The Illini are also outrebounding foes by nearly seven boards per contest, and they are racking up 79.2 ppg. Mike Davis is one of five double- digit scorers for Illinois, as he is generating 13.6 ppg and 10.1 rpg. Demetri McCamey provides 12.6 ppg, and Brandon Paul checks in with 12.3 ppg. Mike Tisdale (10.9 ppg) and D.J. Richardson (10.6 ppg) round out the balanced Illinois attack. In Saturday's triumph over Boise State, all five starters reached double figures in scoring, paced by McCamey's 23-point outburst. The Illini shot 59.3 percent from the floor in the second half to hold off the Broncos.

In what figures to be a close game from start to finish, give a narrow edge to the home team. The balance of the Illini at the offensive end will be the difference.

Statistical Breakdown:

Commodore Keys

Come to Play - Two weeks ago after Vandy was first ranked in the polls, they laid an egg against Cincinnati. For whatever reason, they didn't bring the effort and intensity that you need to win when you have a target on your back. As the team hopefully learned, you have to take advantage of the extra coverage and media attention that a Top 25 ranking affords.
Limit Turnovers - The team is clearly very good at scoring the ball when they don't turn it over. Although they may not be scoring "pretty", opposing teams are having lots of trouble stopping Vandy from putting the ball through the hoop. You don't win on the road in a hostile environment without taking care of the ball. It stands to reason that Coach Weber has probably been focusing on team defense in practices lately. The last thing the Commodores want is to help build the Illini's defensive confidence by giving up a bunch of early, careless turnovers.
Rebound Like You Want It - When this team puts forth a full effort on the boards, they've been absolutely dominating. They were a good rebounding team last season, so I'm hopeful that the poor numbers early in the season were a reflection of A.J. Ogilvy still working his way back from the concussion and from lack of focus. Limiting second chance points from offensive boards is particularly important. I want to see this team continue to win the offensive rebounding margin.

Jermaine Beal really had a poor game against DePaul on Saturday. Considering they Illini are relying pretty heavily on some freshman guards, it will be imperative for Jermaine to play his game. Foul trouble was the biggest problem for him on Saturday, so I don't see why he won't return to form against Illinois.

One other thing I would like to see tonight would be Jeffery Taylor sniping some lazy freshman passes between those guards, giving Vandy some easy transition dunks. He's going to draw the assignment on one of them, most likely Brandon Paul. Showcase yourself, Jeff.

John Jenkins Update:

Apparently John practiced yesterday prior to the team leaving for Illinois. Hopefully he will be able to play without much trouble from any lingering pain.

Gameday Links:

Vanderbilt's top scorer also talks good game | The Tennessean

"I grew up bilingual," Taylor said. "And usually if you live in Europe you learn the neighboring languages, so I know Danish and Norwegian. They're kind of similar. "Then I know a little Bosnian, Yugoslavian, Serbian … and bits and pieces of other languages I picked up along the way. I have a lot of Bosnian friends in Sweden that were refugees from the war down there." Taylor was even able to surprise Lipscomb junior Adnan Hodzic, a Bosnian native, with a conversion in his native language before their Nov. 16 game at Memorial Gym.

Ogilvy earns SEC weekly award with eye-opening performances | Nashville City Paper

Ogilvy had team-highs of 13 points and seven rebounds last season against Illinois, a game the Commodores lost 69-63. "They’re good, and they’re extremely well-coached," Stallings said of Illinois. "… They’ve got good players, and they have three guys we played a lot against last year with a couple freshmen who are outstanding players. "… We’ll have to be real solid and real tight if we want to get done there what we want to get done."

Coach Bruce Weber emphasizes Illinois needs to play better defense | chicagotribune.com

A man out of position here, a misguided steal attempt there and a team that still is trying to jell after losing its defensive leader from a year ago. Put it all together and you get a defensive output like the one Illinois had in its closer-than-it-should-have-been 84-77 victory Saturday night over Boise State.

VSL Gets You Ready: Vanderbilt Travels to Champaign | Vanderbilt Sports Line

Preview: Vanderbilt - Illinois | Dore Posts

Previewing Vanderbilt at Illinois | VandySports.com (Rivals - Premium)

Scouting Report: Illinois | VandyMania.com (Scout - Premium)

Check out Hail to the Orange for their take on this important Big Ten/SEC Matchup.

As always, post your predictions below and make sure to head over to Stat-King to vote on who you think will be the best performing Commodore against the Fighting Illini. Also, stop by our open game thread which opens an hour before tipoff.

Poll

Vanderbilt Commodores (+4) @ Illinois Fighting Illini -- Who wins?

Vanderbilt by 5 or more

4 votes

Vanderbilt by 4 or less

5 votes

Illinois by 4 or less

3 votes

Illinois by 5 or more

3 votes

15 votes | Poll has closed

Illini hold off Boise State 84-77, the quick post game

Joe Kutsunis — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 02:57:32 -0000

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As you no doubt just watched, the Illini survived the twin terrors of a Boise State team that can score quickly and a basketball game called by the most recognizable referee in College Basketball.

Some notes I would be remissed not to include in this first impressions post

Mike Davis was pretty effin' good tonight 12 rebounds (6 offensive) and 16 points record his fourth double-double of the season. Those points were also fairly crucial as he made several under some extreme contention and when the game was getting a little too close there at the end.
Demetri McCamey, although he had only 2 assists and 6 turnovers is still clearly the best suited player to run the offense right now. About 90% of the "oh god" moments came tonight when he was sitting on the bench. Besides that, he contributed 23 points to lead all scorers, you know thats all.
Brandon Paul has gotten most of the praise and press of the two starting freshmen so far this season, but I want to point out D.J. Richardson tonight. He has saved alot of possessions from the crapper with his 3 point shot, and tonight's 14 points were evidence of that.
Mike Tisdale's free throws, we must always be thankful when a big man makes the free throws.
Lord help Bill Cole, who really worked his ass off tonight spelling Mike Tisdale early, and fouling out for his efforts. He played much better than his stat sheet will tell you.

Fighting Illini & Boise State preview, no time for a step back now.

Joe Kutsunis — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:50:31 -0000

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Mike Davis was right when he said that the Illini would have to steal two games that they were not supposed to win, the game against a ranked Clemson at LittleJohn was just such a game. A stolen win against a Gonzaga or another highly respected opponent would make up completely for Vegas.

But, this also means the Illini cannot drop anymore games to less than stellar out of conference opponents. The Illini are still 5-2 with losses to not so great teams; losing tonight to a Boise State would put the Illini exactly back where they were on Tuesday night, with a very grim record heading into Conference play. We should also not forget that counting the first half of Clemson and the second half of utah, the Illini had a streak of 4 straight halves of absolutely awful basketball.

As amazing as it was when Demetri came back into the game on Wednesday, we saw just how terrible this team can be without him around to run the offense. Demetri is going to have to stay out of foul trouble for the rest of the year, because he has become absolutely indispensable to the success of this team.

It has taken some time but Tisdale has finally come out of his shell and his playing like the scoring threat that we knew from last year. He not only scored the key points against Clemson in the closing minute, but also came away with the biggest block of the season, shutting the door on Clemson's chances to take the Illini into overtime.

Mike Davis too showed up and in a big way in the second half of Clemson. His shot is about as automatic as I have ever seen right now, but he is going to be relied upon all year as the primary rebounder for this team, if he doesn't show up inside, there is no one really that can pick up the slack.

Lastly the freshmen, this team's unknown factor. D.J. and Brandon have shown the brightest when the team is running at full speed, and when they don't have to make decisions on offense. Brandon Paul has proven that when you get a Mr Basketball from the state of Illinois on your team, you have good things to look forward to. Both of these guys played unbelievably in the second half, but were frighteningly dangerous with their hands on the ball under a full court press. The team didn't break its funk until DMAC was able to provide some stability coming down the court. Richardson and Paul are the greatest beneficiaries of the well run motion offense, and if this team has the time and poise to set them up, these freshmen are going to continue to look very good.

Because that is the biggest problem it seems for the Illini, turning the ball over, credit some of it to youth of the freshmen but some to the inability of many of the upperclassmen to react to one of their team mates being in trouble with the ball. It was their undoing in all of their troubled periods this season thus far and will more than likely be their weakness all season. When taking care of the ball, this team will be scary good this season, when not, as we have already seen, they can lose to anyone.

Oh, and we are playing Boise tonight.

The greatest Illini comeback ever. Illini upset Clemson 76-74

Joe Kutsunis — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 05:49:15 -0000

More photos » by Brett Flashnick - AP

12 days ago: Illinois forward Mike Davis, back, the leading scorer, is congratulated by teammates Dominique Keller, left and Bill Cole, right, after Illinois' 76-74 victory over Clemson in an NCAA college basketball game, Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2009, at Littlejohn Colliseum, in Clemson, S.C. (AP Photo/Brett Flashnick)

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Oh what is there is there to be said about this game? Other than of course that this was the greatest comeback for an Illinois team ever, that it was as improbable of a comeback as there could be and that I have not had this much fun watching a basketball since Arizona in 2005.

I cannot stress enough just how bad the Illini looked in the first half. With Demetri sitting on the bench with fouls in the first half, the freshmen wilted under the pressure of Clemson. The Illini seemed to turn the ball over on their end every trip down the court, and give up a foul on every defensive stand. Bad passes, offense not getting set, and a lazy defense giving up long 3's.

Then it all switched around, the key being Demetri McCamey coming back into the game. Although the stat line only shows 7 assists, Demetri provided the leadership that carried the Illini back into this game. He had poise under the pressure and was able to break the Clemson defense down with his skillful passing.

DMAC provided the grit and leadership, Brandon Paul and Mike Davis provided the fireworks, as each went over 20 points on the night. Davis always seemed to be on the money from inside the arc, and Paul, well he only made some of the most acrobatic and amazing drives to the basket I have seen from an Illini in some time.

D.J. Richardson and Mike Tisdale, once they had their feet back under them came to life in the second half, providing 14 and 12 points respectively. Tisdale even had what has to be the slowest ball fake and drive I have ever seen, the basket that would prove to be the game winner.

A last note. I am very impressed with the way that Bruce switched to a zone in the second half, something he is loathe to do, and even more impressed that the Illini took to it without thinking twice. Bruce does not run zone, ever. But tonight that tough zone may have been the key to the Illini pulling this one out, as they held the Tigers to 20 points less in the second half than the first.

Good game guys, and thank you for being the victory that would prove decisive in delivering the Big Ten their first Challenge title. Maybe now we can give the Midwest a little round ball cred?

Clemson is such a weird basketball program

SFBE.NF — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 03:37:15 -0000

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While it wasn't quite appropriate given the 23-point deficit, a point was made. With a few minutes remaining, ESPN briefly flashed a "Greatest Comebacks in NCAA History" graphic as Illinois had impressively cut Clemson's lead to single-digits, shifting the game's momentum. While I am too lazy to confirm, I believe the graphic noted a game from the 50s where a team blew a 31 point lead. Nonetheless, while Illinois's 76-74 win was eight points short of making history, the mere fact that a remote TV producer was calling for that stat is telling to the sort of chokejob we were able to witness.

The Tigers are such an enigma. Tonight's loss comes on the heels of a one-point victory over Butler, but is just one week removed from a loss to Texas A&M. Trevor Booker is one of the toughest players to guard in the country, but yet his teammates repeatedly look him off in the post but shoot 37 percent from the field.

For the Illini, it was the first true road game for this young team, who has an emerging star in Brandon Paul, supplementary blue chipper DJ Richardson, and a dose of leadership from Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale (who despite being a great piece for this team, we can't overlook the fact he is quite unfortunate looking).

Who knows how the Tigers will bounce back. But I do know that Oliver Purnell is sitting in an unenviable position tonight as he reluctantly watches game tape while the rest of the country sleeps.

Illini survive first half scare, lock down Wofford in second half 78-64

Joe Kutsunis — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 17:25:26 -0000

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I would like to take a moment to ask who ever does the ESPN.com college basketball highlights voice work, #32 on this team is Demetri McCamey, not McCarney or McCommie. Get it right, because he is having a pretty damn good season already, and last night's win over Wofford was his best game yet. DMAC had 21 points to lead all scorers and made a fantastic 3 as time expired in the first half to put the Illini up 3. He also had 4 boards and 4 assists (which is down from his usual average)

The Illini had trouble with Wofford in the first half, especially defense, as the Terrier screens opened up their perimeter shooters really well, and made the Illini pay for not keeping up, sinking 7 shots from behind the line in the first half. The Illini would fall behind by as much as 8 before they got a hold of themselves and brought it back to a tie in the closing minute of the first half, then of course the great shot by Demetri that put them up 3, 42-39

From there they really didn't look back, the defense played with much more intensity and discipline after halftime, and the scoring opened as the defense took Wofford out of their game, in the second half the Terriers would only score 25 points, and be held to only four 3's.

Its also worth noting that Tisdale made his first real scoring appearance last night with 12 points and 5 rebounds, still not the play we remember from last year, but much better than we have seen prior to this. Unfortunately Tis is still struggling to come down with boards more consistently, the bright side being that his defense is looking better.

Mike Davis recorded yet another double-double last night, with 16 points and 11 rebounds. This is getting to be so common place that I hardly even feel excited about this. I think we need to just come to a consensus that Mike Davis is really really good at basketball. Can we do that? Okay, good.

You can see that this game was the first real test of the year for the Illini just by looking at the box score, Bruce stuck with his starters much longer than he has had to in these other easy cupcake games, with only Brandon Paul not going over 30 minutes out of the starting 5. Paul was notably spelled by Jeff Jordan, possibly for his defense. Those 4 starters who played 30+ minutes combined for a total of 64 points, and the player with the most points off of the bench was Bill Cole with 4.

Clearly Bruce felt that he needed that play from his starters, and respected the talent of Wofford, who as we have admitted before took several good teams down to the wire. This Wofford team is better than I was willing to give them credit for, and they will score a huge upset sooner or later this season. Thankfully the Illini were not that team.

Final - 11.24.2009	1	2	Total
Wofford Terriers	39	25	64
Illinois Fighting Illini	42	36	78

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The TDG Big Ten Basketball Preview

GopherNation — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 16:45:15 -0000

I have intentionally held off with a Big Ten basketball preview, waiting until we could see a few games and get a feeling for how teams are adjusting to the key gains and losses from a year ago. Gopher Nation has plenty to look forward to this season. As we all know everything is returning with some key additions added. An NCAA tournament bid and likely a win or two is expected. But what about the road before the NCAA Tournament. The long and difficult Big Ten season comes first and this team has a chance to really be a factor in the B10 title race. Let's take a brief look at each team in my expected order of finish.

1 - Purdue (NCAA) - Were it not for Purdue having injury issues a year ago they could very likely be defending a Big Ten title this year. Robbie Hummel was last year's preseason B10 POY and he should not be fully healthy to lead the rest of a very talented roster. The bulk of the talent lies in the junior class for the Boilermakers and this team is athletic and deep. Injuries and other uncontrollables aside, what may be the difference between a Big Ten title and a top 2 finish could come down to coaching. Matt Painter is an excellent coach but who knows if he'll be capable of steering his team accurately to win a Big Ten regular season title. Guys like Tom Izzo, Bo Ryan, Bruce Weber and Tubby Smith have the resume of winning multiple titles. I think after this year Matt Painter adds a Big Ten regular season title to his resume.

Likely Starting lineup
PG - E'Twaun Moore
SG - Chris Kramer
SF - Keaton Grant
PF - Robbie Hummel
C - JJ Dawson

2 - Michigan State (NCAA) - I know that Michigan State is the consensus title team and for very good reason. Tom Izzo is a great coach, his team is coming off a national runner-up season and he returns the vast majority of his roster. But my gut tells me they have a great season but one that ends the regular season looking up one spot in the B10 standings. It is really hard not to like Michigan State. They too are deep, very athletic, play great defense and as I mentioned they are very well coached. But I think the one key loss will be the loss that makes the difference. Goran Suton meant a lot to the Spartans a year ago and while this team still has very talented players like Kalin Lucas, Chris Allen and Durrell Summers (with guys like Raymar Morgan and Delvin Roe off the bench); Suton will be missed. Freshman Garrick Sherman may be very good but he's not the same thing. From year to year team's take on different personalities and even the loss of just one player can change the dynamic of a team. Michigan State will be great, they'll be extremely dangerous in the NCAA Tournament but I think they fall a game or two short of Purdue this year.

Likely Starting lineup
PG - Kalin Lucas
G - Chris Allen
G - Durrel Summers
PF - Draymond Green
C - Garrick Sherman

3 - Ohio State (NCAA) - In this early season the Buckeyes have looked fairly strong. And leading their early season charge is the outstanding play of Evan Turner, who looks like the early favorite for Big Ten POY (very early, I know). Turner has notched a double-double in all four games averaging 21.7 ppg and 14.7 rpg. OSU has a lot of very nice pieces outside of Turner, which isn't surprising considering the recent string of very highly ranked recruiting classes in the Thad Matta era. OSU has some offensive weapons but they are lacking in a couple key areas. First of all they are not an overly deep team. Jon Diebler is a lights out shooter and Turner might be the best player in the conference but they can only carry them so far. Matta has been going with an eight man rotation so far this year with heavy minutes for the starting five. Secondly this team is not overly strong in the paint. Their perimeter is as good as anybody's in the conference but Kyle Madsen and Dallas Lauderdale will not strike fear into the hearts of the conference's coaches.

Likely Starting lineup
PG - William Buford
SG - Jon Diebler
SF - Evan Turner
PF - David Lighty
C - Kyle Madsen

4 - Minnesota (NCAA) - There was a time when my maroon goggles would have had me rank the Gophers one spot higher. The potential (probable?) losses of Royce White and Trevor Mbakwe greatly lessened my optimism. But then the impressive play of Rodney Williams to start the year has me thinking big things again, just not as grand as before. As we all know the Gophers are deep and defend very well. I think the improvement of the sophomores and the athleticism that Williams brings to the table makes this team dangerous. Over the course of a long season I don't think we have what it takes to finish in the top 2 but this team is good enough to beat anybody on their schedule.

Likely Starting lineup
PG - Al Nolen
SG - Lawrence Westbrook
SF - Rodney Williams
PF - Damian Johnson
C - Ralph Sampson III

5 - Illinois (NCAA) - this might be the team I know the least about but I do know enough to know that this team is well balanced and has the roster make-up that is well suited for Bruce Weber. Demitri McCarney, Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale are known quantities around the Big Ten. These guys averaged a combined 33 points, 14.7 rebounds and 7.2 assists per game last year. They compliment each other well and this year they add a couple dynamic freshmen to the backcourt in DJ Richardson and Brandon Paul. In the early goings these kids have 11.3 and 16.7 respectively, although they have yet to play any team of substance. Overall this will be a very good team that will only get better as the season goes along.

Likely Starting lineup
G - Brandon Paul
G - DJ Richardson
G - Demitri McCamey
PF - Mike Davis
C - Mike Tisdale

6 - Michigan (NCAA) - Manny Harris is such a great player who can win a game on his own and probably has the best pro potential in the conference. A lot of people would put the Wolverines as high as third on their prediction list based mostly on the talent of Harris and DeShawn Sims. But I'm not 100% sold on the rest of the team. John Beilein is a great coach and in year three he should really have his guys and his system working well. But once again I'm not sold on the rest of the roster and in this year's Big Ten a guy like Manny Harris will win you a few but on the nights when teams slow him down Michigan will be rather vulnerable. Decent depth, great scoring and not great interior size. A sixth place finish may seem very low but the difference between the 4th through 7th place teams could really only be a couple games.

Likely Starting lineup
PG - Darius Morris
G - Manny Harris
G - Laval Lucas-Perry
F - Zack Novak
F - DeShawn Sims

7 - Wisconsin (NCAA) - Rule #1 in Big Ten basketball, never underestimate Bo Ryan and the Badgers. This isn't a great Badger team but there is some talent here with Trevon Hughes, Jason Bohannon and even Jon Leuer is having a pretty good season thus far. It may be easy for Gopher fans to overlook Wisconsin since we did sweep them last year (that was fun to write), but this team is capable of not only beating the Gophers but finishing at least a few spots higher than this. Maybe this is wishful thinking or maybe I'm not sold that the talent is there, not even for Bo Ryan.

Likely Starting lineup
PG - Trevon Hughes
SG - Jason Bohannon
SF - Tim Jarmusz
PF - Jon Leuer
C - Keaton Nankivil

8 - Penn State (NIT) - The Talor Battle show will be a lot of fun to watch in Happy Valley. Penn State is perfectly demonstrates why I wanted to wait a couple weeks before I started my B10 preview. I once would have put PSU a spot or two higher, but after losses to UNC-Wilmington, Tulane and a 2-pnt win over Davidson (Steph Curry is no longer there folks) I am thinking that 7th might be too high. This team will go as far as Taylor Battle will lead them but the development of freshman Tim Frazier at PG and how well their interior rebounds is what could be the difference between another NIT run and the NCAA Tournament. Their Big Dance resume is already in bad shape, they'll will have to finish a lot higher in the conference standings to avoid the NIT again.

Likely Starting lineup
PG - Tim Frazier
SG - Talor Battle
SF - David Jackson
PF - Jeff Brooks
C - Andrew Jones

9 - Indiana (NIT) - Great recruiting class and I am a huge Tom Crean fan, but this year will be tough for a young Hoosier squad to make much noise in the Big Ten. The conference is the deepest and most talented that it has been in a very long time. Other years a hot, young team like Indiana could make a run into the top 5, but not this year. This will be the sheik team next year and this year you'll likely seen them stun a few top 4 teams along the way. But learning to play at the Big Ten level is not an easy adjustment no matter how talented you are. I wouldn't be completely shocked to see them finish higher, but not likely this year.

Likely Starting lineup
PG - Verdell Jones III
G - Jeremiah Rivers
G - Maurice Creek
PF - Tom Pritchard
C - Christian Watford

10 - Northwestern - This may have been the year for the Wildcats to make the tournament, but the loss of Kevin Coble effectively ended that dream. This is a surprisingly talented NU roster and with the way they defend and execute their precision offense they should never be taken lightly. But with Coble out for the season they'll rely on Michael Thompson and John Shurna. There are a couple intriguing freshmen to go along with Thompson and Shurna

Likely Starting lineup
PG - Michael Thompson
SG - Jeremy Nash
SF - Drew Crawford
PF - John Shurna
C - Luka Mirkovic

11 - Iowa - The outlook for the Hawkeye season is so bleak that they cannot help but surpass expectations this year. Scoring has been the problem this year for Iowa. There will be games when they are hot from behind the arc and maybe they'll get a few conference wins. But for the most part you can expect a lot of losses for Iowa (that too was fun to type).

Likely Starting lineup
PG - Cully Payne
SG - Anthony Tucker
SF - Matt Gatens
PF - Jarryd Cole
C - Brennan Cougill

I know that people hate preseason polls and predictions but at the conference level this is a lot of fun. Everyone has much hope and optimism for the season, except Iowa fans. There are eight teams capable of making a run to the NCAA Tournament (although Penn State is already on life support). The Big Ten should be a blast to watch this year.

Since I'm taking a wild stab at the standings here is my best guess at some post season individual awards.

All Big Ten First Team

PG - Kalin Lucas
SG - Manny Harris
SF - Evan Turner
PF - Robbie Hummel
F - DeShawn Sims

All Big Ten Second Team

G - Taylor Battle
G - Demetri McCamey
F - Jon Diebler
F - Damian johnson
C - JJ Dawson

Big Ten All Freshman Team

G - Brandon Paul - Ill
G - D.J. Richardson - Ill
F - Rodney Williams - Minn
F - Christian Watford - Ind
F - Garrick Sherman - MSU

Presbyterian at Illini Preview: where I only pay attention to the Illini.

Joe Kutsunis — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:26:46 -0000

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I know that most game previews usually feature at least an attempt at lip service towards the opponent. But frankly today, I do not know one thing about Presbyterian, nor do I wish to spend the time looking up who the skilled players are on their team, or what offense or defense they run. If this were say Syracuse, I would do that, but I am being honest here when I say that I don't imagine it would matter one bit what offense the Blue Hose run, I do not think they will win this game. But that's the way these games go. There is still plenty to say about the Illini however.

One thing I am very interested in is going to be how the return of eligibility for Jeff Jordan is going to affect the guard rotation. When he is in the game I assume he is going to be the primary ball handler, and will be used mostly to spell Demetri. I assume this means the instances where D.J. Richardson is in charge on the floor. Bruce has mentioned that DJ has lost some his confidence in ball handling, so I wonder if Bruce is going to have him play through it or take the pressure off by moving the duties to Jeff.

Another question for me would be whether or not Mike Tisdale breaks out this game like we assumed he would before now. He needs to get the ball down low, and when he does he needs to make the most of it, and more than anything get some more rebounds. With Davis seemingly already in mid season form, we need Tis to get caught up, especially before next week's Las Vegas Invitational.

And lastly, can Brandon Paul keep this up? Two straight 20 point games are nice, but we saw in the second half against NIU that he can go cold too. I am of the opinion, that if he can keep this up, the Illini will be scary this year. With a scoring threat like Paul, the team will have a chance against just about anyone. If the team can play the tough team defense that we did last year, and combine it with the scoring with this year, watch out. Even in the tough Big Ten we can be a real force.

Doesn't it feel good to be talking about basketball again? Game time is 7pm on Saturday and can be seen on the Big Ten Network