Fighting Illini Can’t Come Through

One may remember the team in 2005 that battled against North Carolina in the NCAA championship. Three years later, it seems as if Bruce Weber’s Fighting Illini do not even pose a threat.

Finishing the season with a horrific 16-19 record, Illinois has clearly struggled. What makes things even worse is the fact that Big Ten superstar Eric Gordon had all but signed with Illinois before deciding at the last minute to play for the rivaling Indiana Hoosiers. The Illinois club undoubtedly witnessed its struggles this year, as inconsistencies from seniors Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle left the team without true veteran leadership.

The Fighting Illini did manage to stir up the crowd a bit at the end of the season, winning four straight games and earning a spot in the Big Ten Conference Championship. Unfortunately, they were wiped out by the Wisconsin Badgers by a score of 61-48. The Badgers finished the season 29-4 overall and ranked #5 in the country. They will head to the NCAA tournament under the leadership of head coach Bo Ryan. The victory on Sunday gave the Badgers their 10th straight win.

If the Illini had secured the victory, they would have been one of two teams in the NCAA tournament to compile a losing record during the regular season. Unfortunately, Coppin State, finishing 16-20, will be the only club to enter March Madness with a record under .500. By not making it to the NCAA tournament, the Illini ended a streak of nine straight appearances. The Fighting Illini did seem to find some chemistry at the end of the season, and head coach Bruce Weber felt that his team was a lot better than the results showed on paper.

"It's disappointing," he said. "We finally figured it out at the end and got guys to buy in. We should have been waiting to see where we were going."

With just a 5-13 conference record, it is clear that the Illini need to improve significantly to become competitors next season. The Big 10 is not an easy conference, as four of the ten teams, including Wisconsin, Michigan State, Indiana, and Purdue, finished in the top 25 overall. As stated earlier, it was hard for Bruce Weber this season, watching Eric Gordon put up phenomenal numbers for the Indiana Hoosiers knowing that he was almost going to wear the orange and blue. In addition, the Illini heavily recruited Memphis superstar Derrick Rose, who averaged roughly 14 points per game this season.

What do the Illini have to look forward to in the upcoming years? Though they are losing two of their starters in Shaun Pruitt and Brian Randle, juniors Calvin Brock and Trent Meacham should emerge as exceptional leaders next season. In addition, freshman Demetri McCamey shocked Illini fans at the end of this season and even earned a spot in the starting lineup. Finally, there is no telling what is in store for young Jeff Jordan, who saw limited playing time but demonstrated much talent from the guard position. In summary, Bruce Weber will have a lot to work with next season, but he has much work cut out for him if he wants to improve his young ball club.

Coach Krzyzewski and the Blue Devils had a lot on their hands prior to the upcoming NCAA tournament, and based on their recent performances it appears that they just couldn’t handle the pressure.

Last weekend, the Blue Devils faced off against arch nemesis North Carolina. After defeating the Tar Heels in Chapel Hill earlier this season, Duke felt confident that they could earn the victory on their home floor. However, things just didn’t go according to plan.

Junior Danny Green lead North Carolina with 18 points to help the Tar Heels defeat the Blue Devils by a score of 76-68. Tar Heels’ superstar Tyler Hansbrough also added 16 points and 15 rebounds. Though the Blue Devils did manage to rally from a 14-point deficit, they ended up missing their final 11 shots.

"I still thought we were doing really good things. We just couldn't get that thing in the hole there," Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski said. "We were still making winning plays -- plays that could win. Obviously, they didn't turn out to be winning plays."

The Blue Devils were looking to do whatever they could to prepare for the ACC tournament, but obviously things did not pan out as they had hoped. Coach Krzyzewski and his team did manage to secure a victory over Georgia Tech on Friday in their first game of the ACC tournament, but the victory was not enough to give the team the boost that they needed to capture the title. On Saturday, the Clemson Tigers upset the Blue Devils in the quarterfinals by a score of 78-74. Trevor Booker and Cliff Hammonds had 18 and 17 points respectively to help in bringing Clemson to their first title game appearance in 46 years.

The Blue Devils had won the previous 22 meetings with the Tigers, which only adds to the recent trend of disappointment that the team has been witnessing. The Tigers will get a shot at North Carolina on Sunday. Clemson has never won an ACC title, and the team is hoping to make its first NCAA tournament appearance in 10 years.

Duke managed to cut the lead to two with just 48 seconds left after a key three pointer by Greg Paulus, but it was not enough to give the Blue Devils the edge. Paulus finished with 17 points, DeMarcus Nelson added 14, and Jon Scheyer contributed 13. Coach Krzyzewski did all he could to get the crowd fired up, as was evident by the timeout he called late in the first half to stir up the fans. Unfortunately, the results were not what he had desired. Selection Sunday should provide for some very interesting surprises given the recent upsets that have occurred in the final week of the regular season.

The ACC is always a top contender

The best approach in answering this question is probably looking at the top teams in each conference and then breaking down their starting players. A lot of college basketball fans would probably jump the gun and say that the Atlantic Coast Conference is the most challenging since Duke and North Carolina are at the top of the rankings every year.

However, when assessing conferences, it is absolutely necessary to consider all teams involved. After the Blue Devils and Tar Heels, the next best team is Clemson, and they are currently 20-7 overall. The Tar Heels do have one of the game’s most elite players in Tyler Hansbrough, who is averaging over 23 points and 10 rebounds each game. Duke, on the other hand, probably has more depth, getting significant contributions from Greg Paulus, DeMarcus Nelson, Gerald Henderon, Jon Scheyer, and Kyle Singler.

Personally, I would say that over the long run, the ACC is the most exciting conference, but as far as this year is concerned, it is not the toughest.

In my opinion, the Big 10 contains some of the strongest teams in the NCAA.

Wisconsin, Purdue, Indiana, Michigan State, and even Ohio State are all contending teams that are looking forward to the upcoming tournament. Bear in mind that Indiana has an exceptional emerging superstar in Eric Gordon, who currently leads the Big 10 in scoring. Sources do indicate that Gordon plans on entering the NBA draft after this season, which will be a big hit to the Hoosiers.

Unlike Indiana, the other teams in the Big 10 are not centered on one premiere player. For instance, the Wisconsin Badgers combine experience and youth with players such as Brian Butch, Trevon Hughes, Marcus Landry, and Michael Flowers. What’s also interesting is the fact that there are three teams in the Big 10 that have just two conference losses.

From my viewpoint, the Pacific 10 and Big 12 are evenly matched. Texas holds the lead in the Big 12, while UCLA is at the top of the rankings in the Pac 10. For the most part, the top three teams in each conference are the only real contenders, while the rest are sitting at the edge of their seats hoping for a tournament spot. Throughout this whole season, I have found it fascinating that Texas has been successful after losing superstar Kevin Durant. Guards A.J. Abrams and D.J. Augustin have picked up the slack and have provided the much-needed spark that the Longhorns needed.

With the NCAA tournament on the horizon, it will be exciting to see which teams prevail and which teams fail. Given that there have been a handful of surprises already this season; there is no telling who will emerge victorious. We will just have to wait and see who is crowned champion this April.

Coach K Joins the 800 Club

Earlier this year former Texas Tech Coach Bobby Knight secured his 900th career victory. Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski is not far behind.

On Saturday, “Coach K” witnessed his 800th career victory, as the Blue Devils defeated the North Carolina State Wolfpack by a score of 87-86. Despite the win, it was clear that Duke was panicking throughout, as the team did not want to experience another road loss.

"For a couple of late timeouts, I let anyone who would actually want to talk -- and say something that somebody would listen to -- run the huddle," Krzyzewski said. "Teams become really good when they talk to each other. What happens is, they take ownership. We never took ownership of this game until late in the second half."

The Blue Devils were lead by senior DeMarcus Nelson, who took charge when the team was down. With just one minute remaining, Nelson hit two key free throws and had 19 total points. Sophomore teammate Jon Scheyer also played a vital role, scoring 19 points as well. Surprisingly, the Blue Devils were coming off of a two-game losing streak on the road. It was clear that they desperately needed the victory to gain some momentum going into the NCAA tournament.

"N.C. State really outplayed us the whole game except for the last 8 minutes," said DeMarcus Nelson. "Everything was going for them, but the thing about it is, we pulled together as a team. ... It just clicked for us -- in the last 8 minutes, we started making the plays that we needed to win."

Junior guard Greg Paulus also made contributions, scoring 15 and hitting two huge 3 pointers during the 14-5 run that the Blue Devils put up at the end of the second half. Kyle Singler and Gerald Henderson each added 12 points as well. Though Duke did struggle, they were fortunate enough to get input from everyone on the floor.

"It is hard to put it in perspective because ... you're coaching this team, and it's more important what this team is doing than what you've done with other teams," Krzyzewski said.

Coach Krzyzewski became just the sixth NCAA Division 1 coach ever to reach 800 career victories. In his 33 seasons, he has compiled an 800-264 record, a remarkable statistic. In his 28-year tenure with Duke, Coach Krzyzewski has leaded the Blue Devils to 3 NCAA Championships, 10 Final Four appearances, and 10 ACC Championships. He is also second among active coaches behind Eddie Sutton after securing his 800th win. Starting at Duke in 1980, it is amazing what Coach K has done to the program. In total, he has won 12 National Coach of the Year awards. No doubt a future Hall of Famer, Coach Krzyzewski has much more to look forward to, as many believe that he will eventually pass Bobby Knight on the all-time career wins list.