Great win tonight! Brandon Paul!!!! If they can figure out how to get the ball to Leonard on the blocks more often this team will be something to be reckoned with. Sullinger absolutely couldn't handle him on the rare occasions when the Illini got it into the post.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Great win for the Illini. Hopefully its the start of something. But they can't count on 43 from Paul every night.

I am so proud of Paul as he graduated from the same high school as me. Nice performance
and while I didn't see the game this was a nice win by the Illini and could be enough to push
them into the NCAA's if they stumble later in the Big Ten schedule. Glad they could pull it off
on a night they honored Lou Henson.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

+1....Sorry I missed this one,too.

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favrefan said:"Chris Coghlan isn't gonna pay your rent, Jimmy."

Sullinger may have cost himself a lot of money by returning to school. He doesn't seem nearly as dominant out there.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

He had a very quiet 21/5 night. I was surprised that Leonard was able to get position on him as often as he did.

There were times that Leonard was pushed out 20 feet from the hole and he settled for a few 15 foot jumpers but it was noticeable how much more focus and effort Leonard was putting into that game last night.

Even so, it still took an unconscious shooting night from Paul to win the game. Also, Bertrand has emerged into the exact piece that this team needed - a slashing scorer that can create a shot. He's pretty lethal on that 12-15 foot floater. This team has a few pieces. Let's see if they can put it all together.

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You know me like that.

It seemed like Leonard spent the whole game trying to put game film together for draft purposes. I think that's why he was so frustrated at times even with Illinois still doing well.

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You do not talk to me like that! I work too hard to deal with this stuff! I work too hard! I'm an important member of the CSFMB! I drive a Dodge Stratus!

He played good, physical defense and avoided the silly slap fouls.

If he plays like that every night, they'll win a lot of games.

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You know me like that.

The Illini return tonight for an 8pm CST tip with Penn State out east in Happy Valley. I am not
sure having that much time off will benefit these guys. I wouldn't be surprised to see them come
out flat after the biggest win of the season. Would have much rather seen them play again. I
hope I am wrong but I fear a big letdown now that they have snuck back into the Top 25 rankings.
Also word is Maniscalco will be available if needed. Not sure if this is televised or not. Doesn't appear
to be on BTN.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I think the layoff was needed. Richardson and Maniscalco both needed the time to heal.

Now that they are back to essentially full-strength again, I expect them to be pretty sharp tonight, actually.

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You know me like that.

I hope you are right. They usually play down to Penn St, especially on the road. As we learned this weekend, no one
can be taken lightly in the Big Ten, especially on the road. I agree that they needed to get healthy I just worry about
this team having 8 days off.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Checking on the guide, looks like ESPN 2 has the game.

Here's why officiating by instant replay is dumb. They use it to check if the guy who was fouled should be shooting two or three, but when you look at the replay, it appears the guy went up and down twice. Shouldn't they be able to call the travel if that's what the replay shows? Maybe not, but then make the call on the shots without the replay too.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Guess Indiana is not the only Big 10 team to struggle on the road against lesser teams.

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"He is a loathsome, offensive brute
--yet I can't look away."

That one was hard to watch. Illinois has been in a bunch of close games and I never really felt like they were head and shoulders better than those teams on the nights the played them, even though they ended up winning the games. But tonight it was obvious the Illini were the far superior team. There were some bad calls that went Penn State's way, a clean steal by Paul called a foul, Richardson getting fouled on a rebound, no call, lost the ball, and then an Illinois foul. And finally, the best shot they could get out of the time out at the end, was Maniscalco charging wildly toward the hoop.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

Yeah, I guess I missed the mark on that one.

Some ridiculous calls but you have to play through those on the road.

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You know me like that.

Weber is toast. What is his record against PSU? Has to be pathetic. Another Illinois embarrassment.

Last night the announcer saw a Rebecca Black picture in the crowd and said the singer was dating Illini center Meyers Leonard. I think she's like 14.


http://yfrog.com/1fvumz

This shit just keeps getting worse.

I know you really dislike Weber, but they're probably going to end up among the top four teams in the Big Ten and win about 22 or 23 regular season games, and I'm not sure anyone expected that. I really doubt they axe him after this season.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don

I agree. Barring a collapse and sub-500 Big Ten record, I don't see it happening.

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You know me like that.

I actually love Weber as a coach and don't want him fired, but how many times in the last 5 years has last night happened? If you cannot consistently beat the worst teams in the Big Ten, then why would you get to keep your job? Unless mediocrity is accepted.

So many over-reactions....This week Illinois and Indiana both lost on the road as 3 point favorites. 3 point dogs win 44% of the time in college hoops. illinois and Indiana each had a 56% probability of winning. So losing with those odds should hardly be considered a surprise or something that would get somebody fired.I understand fans being disappointed, but a bit more realistic understanding of the probabilities of winning and losing might help temper the over-reactions? Playing on the road...these teams are not as far apart as some seem to think.

When does Bruce get launched?

Turrible loss.

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soon.

One of the most maddening Illinois basketball teams I've seen in years. I supported Bruce at nearly every turn, but I agree it's time for a new coach.

And the call a timeout with 7 seconds on the shot clock play needs to go. Bruce's in-bounds plays have been scouted and are now defended pretty well. I'd rather have Paul or Bertrand try to make a play and hope for the best.

That should have been a win up in Minneapolis. Caught the last quarter of the game and this team just
seems to love shooting itself in the foot multiple times. Don't know if I can put it all completely on Weber,
sometimes these guys are just basketball stupid. Was nice to see Paul finishing better when going to the
hoop though to try to take away something positive. Just have to get to 20 wins and win a couple in the
conference tournament to ensure a punched ticket to the NCAA. Playing in the best conference in the nation
helps their cred a little bit but another signature win would be nice.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

This is my other frustration with this team. Too many careless mistakes. Easily more than other Illinois basketball teams from years past.

No doubt about it.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Good win tonight. Had to have that one.

_________________
Anybody here seen my old friend Bobby?
Can you tell me where he's gone?
I thought I saw him walkin' up to The Hill
With Elon, Tulsi, and Don