Elevator, elevator

Illinois got the shaft in the game against the Shiteating Hoosiers on Saturday. That's not to say they didn't partially deserve to lose the game, but all things considered, I really thought that they played hard enough to win the game. We finally saw an Illini team that played nearly all game, but they played their worst down the stretch. However, like Billy Packer (he was the announcer, right) mentioned, I, yet again, have optimism for the team this season. It seems like everything is meshing at the right time heading into the tournament. If we can take a team that is supposedly so dominant at home (and a top-25 team no less) to the wire, we can escape the first round of the NCAA tournament. Anyways, here's what I noticed from Saturday's game. Also, I should note, I really wanted to post a recap of the game directly after the game, but I was so fucking angry. I was a giant ball of rage.

Kelvin Sampson and his coaching staff love cancer. Saturday was the day when the head coaches across America ignored dress codes and wore tennis shoes in support of the Coaches vs. Cancer foundation. At least, that was what Billy Packer explained; I'm not sure if he's to be believed. Regardless, it was for a good cause. But where were Sampson's sneakers? In hindsight, he probably could have approached the situation differently. Why was it his job to wear the sneakers? Why couldn't the sneakers call him? Asshole. (Note: I also saw Thad Matta without sneakers, while I think all of his staff had them on. So, if it's any surprise, Thad Matta loves cancer also. And what kind of a name is Thad? If he name is Thaddeus, he should shorten it to something else. I'd go with Deuce.)

Rich McBride continues to show up, which is really a relief to see, because not many other players do. Warren Carter had a big day, but Chester did nothing offensively, except for miss 3 free throws and have a lot of rebounds and assists, Jamar did little more than make a shot, and Pruitt was ineffective. So, it's good to see someone stepping up consistently. If only Rich could have turned into the Kevin Turner of this team as opposed to just a 3-point shooting off-guard.

Who would have expected to see Marcus Worthless Piece of Shit Arnold actually perform at a Division 1 level? I didn't, that's for sure. I heard IU is offering him a scholarship if he'll take a 5th year of eligibility after that performance. It was good to see him come in and do anything, especially since Pruitt was so ineffective.

And let's get back to Pruitt being ineffective for a second. The reason he did nothing in the first half was because he didn't play. He was called for two touch-fouls, in which he did nothing wrong. He was the victim of a fuck-job by the referees. The referees held a press-conference after the game.

Reporter: So, were you watching a different game on a mini-tv, and then making the calls based on what you were seeing on that tv? Because the calls you made had no relevance to the game you were actually refereeing.

Referee: Nope, no, I'm pretty sure we were watching the game on the floor today and making calls we thought were pertinent.

Reporter: Ok, well, then exactly what kind of excriment is your head filled with where your brain should be? Is it all human excriment, or is there dog excriment, or is it just a mixture?

Referee: No, I'm pretty sure my head isn't full of excriment. Good question though.

I don't understand how you could call two touch fouls on Pruitt, and then Carter leaves with two fouls around 10 minutes in the first half, and then Randle goes out with two around 5 minutes. And Illinois had the lead after the first half! I expected big things in the second half, but luckily the referees put the kabosh on that. Randle picks up his third quickly, then picks up his fourth. Pruitt remained ineffective despite not really getting into foul trouble (I don't think). Meanwhile, calls were not going both ways. I saw Warren get pushed on one play two different times that would have been called on the Illini, yet they weren't called. The refs called it closer down the stretch at least. Randle really fucked up where he fouled out holding that dude's jersey, but what about the push in the back that the dude offered him before Randle held his jersey? Nothing on that? Also, there were two or three times that I noticed Warren, when on offense, going to rebound a ball and he jumped on one side of the basket, but was pushed and landed on the other side of it. Obviously, the referees thought he wasn't pushed, which makes sense, because everybody knows if you jump on the side the ball goes to, you want to end up on the side it doesn't go to. Seriously, the referees were retarded.

But, all that aside, Illinois still should have won this game. At the end, we got fucked over on fouls a little bit, but the main thing was that our offense turned to shit. The problem I see with Chester Frazier is that he can't get into the offense. He'll spend 12 seconds dribbling before he makes a pass. By that point, we've got about 4 seconds to get into the offense or he gets the ball back to isolate for a shot, which he usually misses.

I also have a problem with our inbounds plays. Indiana was running plays and getting shots, but when does Illinois ever score off an inbounds play. There was the play that Carter dunked on on Saturday. Rarely have I seen that against any other team though. And then to take two timeouts at the end of the game Saturday and on one possession you don't get a shot, and on the other the best shot you can get is Rich shooting kind of a pull-up three? In the final three minutes of the game, I think Illinois only attempted something like three or four shots. Actually, it was closer to three if it was that many. That's going to kill you. Especially on the road. The one game we get to the free throw line and actually make them, we end up making turnovers at the end.

One more thing. Pruitt needs to learn to pass out of a double-team. I know it was easier for him early in the season because double teams, when they would come, would come late. But now teams are planning for him. He gets the ball and he's immediately double-teamed. He needs to learn to recognize double teams and if he can't split them (and usually he can't) he needs to kick the ball back out.

So we lost the game, fuck the Hoosiers. But I think there's definitely reason for optimism. First, Jamar's shot finally seems to be coming back around. Second, Brian Randle played a lot of the game, and he played pretty well. He still makes dumb fouls, but his defense is so aggressive. Third, the team finally played an entire game. We know that our defense can carry us against lesser opponents. Now we just need to work on closing out close games, which is something we really haven't had to do. And, we're at 18 wins. We should close the season with at least 22 wins, and our RPI is good enough that it should put us in the tournament. We've defended the home floor, and if we can finish with a win at Iowa, I think that makes us a pretty solid bet for the NCAA tournament. Maybe we can even make a run at the Big Ten tournament.