Rob Dauster of Ballin is a Habit is the RTC correspondent for the Big East Conference.
We are just a week into Big East play, and it is already obvious how much fun this conference is going to be. UConn was supposed to be the best team in the country outside of UNC, but the Huskies lost their Big East opener to Georgetown. At home. And loss isn’t quite the right word. Embarrassed is better. Once everyone was firmly entrenched on the Hoyas jock, they went out and lost back-to-back games to Pitt and Notre Dame. Pitt is the new #1 team in the country, but the Irish were coming off a loss to … St. John’s?
No one is going to make it through this league unscathed. I’d be surprised if anyone finished the season with less than five Ls in league play. If you are one of the nine ranked teams (yes, nine Big East teams are currently ranked), then there are three things you will need to do if your plan on reaching the NCAA tourney:
1) Win your home games. With so many quality teams in the league, defending your home court will guarantee you at least a .500 record in the league. Regardless of your opponent, the top nine teams will almost universally be the favorite when playing at home which leads me to my second point.
2) Beat the teams you are supposed to beat. The top nine (and maybe ten if you include Cincy) are going to beat up on each other all season. I doubt the committee is going to want more than a quarter (8 of 31) of the at-large bids to go to one conference. So if all nine (or ten) want in, they need to take care of business against the South Floridas and DePauls and Rutgers.
3) Pray! Like I said, I doubt that the NCAA wants to have one conference send so many teams to the tourney. If nine Big East teams are going to make it, they will need to catch some breaks during the season. The top four in the ACC need to run through the league (UNC didn’t help on Sunday losing to BC – did anyone else notice that win sent BC from unranked to #17?). The top three in the Big XII need to roll. Likewise for the Pac Ten, Big Ten, and SEC (well, only Tennessee in the SEC). Teams like Davidson, Gonzaga/St. Mary’s, Butler, Xavier, and Memphis need to win their conference tournaments. Essentially, they need to hope that there are as few teams on the bubble as possible.
When it comes down to it, every Big East team is going to have an opportunity to knock off numerous top ten and top twenty teams during the conference play. If any of them finish league play below .500 and without a marquee win in conference, then frankly, they probably are not good enough to deserve a bid.
Tonight’s a special night at the East Coast RTC headquarters, as I will intently be watching a game on ESPN based on a little column I wrote a few days ago. The results of this game (more specifically how one player does) will lead to one of two options:
(1) He will go off and the site will be bombarded by hateful comments by people questioning my manhood and my intelligence.
(2) He will pull a 7-for-25 or something similar and the site will be silent. It’s not really right, but that’s just the way these things work. I guess I can be like a superstar walking out of an opposing stadium enjoying the sweet sound of silence. [Note: This doesn’t mean I would enjoy seeing Curry struggle. It would just add some validity to my theory.]
Anyways, onto the games. . .
7 PM
– Davidson at #2 Duke on ESPN and ESPN360.com: Even though Duke is the obvious favorite here and the Goliath to Davidson’s, uh, David, I think the Wildcats have more pressure on them going into this game. They have had 2 shots at the big boys (Oklahoma and Purdue) and came up short both times including a beat-down at the hands of the Boilermakers. Even with a win over West Virginia, the Wildcats non-conference resume is a little weak for a team that came into the season ranked 20th in the nation after their scintillating run last March. If they lose this one, they can forget even getting a 6 seed. This isn’t a death knell for the Wildcats season (see last year), but it would be disappointing for Bob McKillop’s crew after coming into the season with such high expectations. To get a win at Cameron, Stephen Curry will need to have a huge game (40+ points) and get some help from Andrew Lovedale, who will probably have his hands full with Kyle Singler. In addition, McKillop will have to hope that the Blue Devils have an off-night beyond the arc like they did in their only loss this year. As you know the Blue Devils have a much more balanced attack led by Singler with help from Jon Scheyer, Gerald Henderson, and Nolan Smith. One of the interesting things to watch for early in the game will be the mobility of Smith, who will be guarding Curry and is coming off a knee injury. If Smith isn’t up to the task, the task of guarding Curry will be left up to blogosphere whipping boy Greg Paulus. If that is the case, I will be taking back my earlier prediction for Curry for tomorrow night.
The Cameron Crazies will be out in full force
– #21 Louisville at South Florida on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com: The Cardinals will be riding high after their rollercoaster win over intrastate rival Kentucky on Sunday afternoon. They should be careful though going into the Sun Dome where the Bulls nearly beat then #11 Syracuse in a 59-54 game despite a horrendous night from Jesus Verdejo (3/17 FG including 0/10 from 3). Rick Pitino will be expecting a more consistent performance out of freshman sensation Samardo Samuels, who only had 4 points and 1 rebound in 11 minutes due to foul trouble. I’m sure Pitino will be praying for another solid performance from Edgar Sosa, who responded to Pitino’s interesting motivational techniques (reminiscent of my high school coach threatening to put all of us on JV before every game) with a season-high 18 points including a game-winning 3 with 2.8 seconds against Kentucky. Like usual, Louisville has the talent to run away with this game, but the question is whether they will continue to play down to the level of their competition.
7:30 PM
– #15 Marquette at Rutgers on ESPN Full Court and ESPN360.com: Honestly, this isn’t a particularly exciting game, but it should be fun to see if Rutgers finds the Golden Eagles below the level of their typical competition (last 3 games vs. last week’s #1 UNC, #2 UConn, and #3 Pittsburgh). The Golden Eagles are only considered the 15th best team in the country. You gotta love the Big East this year.
9 PM
– College of Charleston at #3 UNC on Fox Sports South: See if the Tar Heels, currently in last place in the ACC, can dig its way out the cellar. Don’t say we didn’t warn you about the Tar Heels.
– Gonzaga at #24 Tennessee on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com: That’s not a typo. The Bulldogs, who were once ranked 4th in the country, are no longer ranked. I’m not sure what to make of Gonzaga. After being the underdog for so many years, they suddenly became a favorite, but have continued to disappoint and frustrate the nation each March after repeated failures to live up to their NCAA tournament seed. This year, they rose to their 2nd highest ranking ever (spent 2 weeks at #3 at the end of the 2004 regular season) before going into a freefall losing their last 3 and 4 of their last 5 games. To be fair, those 4 losses have been by a combined 18 points and included 2 road games and an overtime loss to then #2 UConn. Despite that, there’s no reason that a national title contender should go through a stretch like that. The Volunteers will be looking to bounce back from a tough loss at Kansas. The key to this game will be on the inside with Tyler Smith and Wayne Chism battling against Josh Heytvelt and Austin Daye. If the Volunteers are able to control the paint, they will have a good shot at knocking off the Bulldogs, who will also need some help from their perimeter guys (Matt Bouldin, Steven Gray, and Jeremy Pargo).
Bradley 56, Illinois St. 52. ISU’s undefeated season came to an end in front of a packed house at Bradley behind a balanced attack that saw nine Braves score in this game. Bradley held ISU 24 points below its scoring average by defending their 3-pt attack (6-26, .231), holding the Redbirds well below its typical 40.5% average from long range. ISU made a small run in the second half to close a 14-pt lead down to six, but Bradley hit their FTs (11-13) and took care of the ball enough to secure the upset win.
Clemson 66, Alabama 59. For a while, it appeared that we would be left with only two undefeated teams after tonight, as Alabama was continuing to play well on the road against the unbeaten Tigers. A quick 15-0 run in the mid-second half put an end to that, however, as Bama’s Ronald Steele in particular was held scoreless in the second stanza. Bama appears to be playing much better than they were at the beginning of the season, but the real question we have is whether Clemson will be able to sustain its so-far great season once ACC play begins in earnest. We may not know for sure until a five-game stretch beginning 1/17 where Clemson plays Wake, UNC and Duke in the span of eighteen days.
Ray Floriani of College Chalktalk is the RTC correspondent for the MAAC and NEC Conferences. When he’s not writing, he serves as a basketball official in various New Jersey amateur leagues.
SOUTH ORANGE, NJ – In the course of my basketball life there is an officiating schedule. It is something I have done for two decades now and enjoy quite a bit. It also gives a different perspective on the game. For instance, before getting into officiating I never watched how a player set a screen while covering a college game. Now, it’s something watched closely courtside as it reveals how fundamentally sound a player may be.
At any rate, Monday night brought an assignment in the North New Jersey Suburban League, a sixth grade boys game between South Orange and West Orange. Entering the gym I noticed the West Orange coach was New Jersey Senator Richard Codey. He was acting governor of the state for a time and may be our next one down the road. Codey also has a passion for basketball and a close friendship with Bobby Gonzalez of Seton Hall. It is known that Codey has spoken to the Seton Hall University president on more than one occasion in support of Gonzalez. Likewise he has conversed with Gonzalez a good number of times.
We get going and early on South Orange gets out to a lead. Codey shows a little of the mentor that works about a half mile down the road by debating a few calls or no calls. Still, he is working hard genuinely teaching and encouraging his kids. On one play I call a three seconds on his player. “His foot wasn’t in the lane,” Codey protests, “Coach it was,” I answer politely,”plus I gave him about five seconds.”
Ray Would Never "T" Up This Crew
During a time out, my partner comes over and tells me Codey wants a Technical on the South Orange cheerleaders. “Why,” I ask. “He said they are too loud and he can’t think” I suggest to my partner let’s just move on.
South Orange is too fast and athletic. The margin is in the thirties the second half. He might not agree with every call but overall Codey isn’t a problem to work with . He’s really in a teaching mode despite the score and at times gives a theatrical arms up in desperation on an unforced turnover. With 13 seconds to go South Orange is up 32 and calls time out to set a play. “Time out with 13 seconds left,” he says to me as if to say why? “Coach, I know what you’re saying,” I answer, “my partner and I commented on it. We agree it’s not right, let’s just get it finished.” The game plays out the final seconds with a home win in the books. Codey commends us but adds, “you really should have ‘T’d’ those cheerleaders.” Provided they do not intentionally interfere with play, curse, or taunt, there is no way to call a technical (which would be assessed to their team) on them. My reply is I’m certain they can’t be ‘T’d’ but (taking a political route) I promise to check the ruling with my association.
“See you tomorrow at the ‘Rock’ (Prudential Center for Seton Hall-Villanova),” I said. “I’ll be there,” he replied.
Josh & Mike of Big Ten Geeks are the RTC correspondents for the Big Ten Conference.
Looking Back
Conference play is underway, and it appears we’re going to be in for a wild one. There were very few blowouts, and two of them involved Minnesota (dishing it out against Ohio State, and taking their lumps against Michigan State). For the most part, the home teams held serve, but there were 3 road victories (2 of them belonging to the Spartans). Even Indiana gave Iowa a scare in Carver-Hawkeye Arena. It just isn’t safe to take a night off in this conference.
For our money, Michigan State looks like the early frontrunner. Twelve or thirteen wins might be enough to win this thing, which can be boiled down to the two-step formula of winning at home, and going .500 on the road. MSU stands at 2-0 with both wins being road wins. That means they would need 9 home wins and 4 road victories to seal this up, and assuming they don’t falter at Indiana, they’re very close to winning all the road games they need to.
John Stevens is a featured columnist for RTC. His columns will appear on Tuesdays throughout the season.
The college basketball world is still dumping the cooler on Boston College after the Eagles’ improbable victory over North Carolinaon Sunday night. So, things have changed, right? It looks like the Tar Heels have come back to the pack, yes? The season is a true competition again. Anyone can win. It’s a level playing field.
Sure it is.
You'd Think Losing to BC Would Tighten the Vegas Odds (photo credit: AP/Gerry Broome)
But wait…that win by B.C. meant a lot; it got the Eagles their first Top 25 ranking in about two years. It means that even if UNC wins out, they still can’t be considered for membership into the Greatest Teams Of All Time pantheon. They started their ACC campaign with a big fat ‘L.’ It showed every college basketball team in the nation that the Heels are indeed mortal, that the almost holy image they’d accrued was not valid. Everyone everywhere is talking about how much this Boston College victory was worth.
You know what it was worth in Las Vegas? 45 bucks.
In terms of winning the national championship, that is. If you’re “daring” enough to put your money on North Carolina now that they’ve suffered a loss, compared with those who put their money down before Sunday, you’d win exactly $45 more.
I’m not taking anything away from Boston College’s achievement. The Dean Dome — especially this year — has been considered a virtual venus fly-trap for any team presumptuous enough to actually show up for a game against UNC; Boston College knew that and still went in and got the job done. It’s true, they really did knock this imposing edition of the Tar Heels right out of the running for admission among the greatest college basketball teams of all time (a fact I’m sure UNC fans are tired of hearing about by now), a spectre that had indeed been following them around since Hansbrough, et al, told the NBA draft to stick it last year. B.C. deserves major props, make no mistake.
But I’m looking at this through Vegas’ eyes. And from their viewpoint, this still isn’t even a race.
If we observe the latest odds (refer to the first edition of the odds watch if you forgot how the money line works; in short, the +(x) means you get back $(x + $100) on a $100 bet), we’ll see that even after this home loss, UNC is still at +220, a change of only $45 from the previous +175. The next contender? Connecticut at +1000, and Big East brother Pittsburgh at +1200. But look at the margins between UNC and the closest competitor before AND after the loss. Before the B.C. game, they were $625 ahead of the next team on the list. Now? After this supposedly devastating loss? $780 ahead of UConn. In other words, compared to before the Boston College game, they’re even farther ahead of the closest team(s) in their rearview mirror.
I began thinking about how this could possibly be the case, but it didn’t take much reflection to figure it out. As noted above, UNC has been given a steady diet of “one-of-the-best-of-all-time” talk for about six months now. I don’t know how the coaching staff has handled this — maybe they embraced it and wanted their players to be cocky, or maybe they tried to keep their players more focused on immediate (i.e. game-to-game) goals, who knows. Either way, the players have still been aware of it, no question. But now it’s gone. They’re not playing for immortality. They’re not playing for as big a piece of history as before, but playing for an ACC title, a Final Four, and a national championship is still playing for history. The 2008-09 Tar Heels are parallel to a pitcher who threw four perfect innings with a big lead but just had their perfect game/no-hitter broken up with two out in the fifth. You threw a good first half, but now just worry about getting the win. If you can keep from doing something stupid, you’ll probably get it. If I were a UNC basketball player, I’d be pissed that my team won’t go undefeated and that I probably won’t be on one of those “all-time” teams. But now I can concentrate on the real task at hand, and that’s winning a national title. All that other stuff’s gone. And before the comments pile up accusing me of being too pro-Heel, I’m not. I don’t come from there and I have nothing to do with that program. But I don’t see any other way to look at it. Sometimes a loss like this can bring some clarity. And I think the folks making the odds in Vegas agree.
I’ve got to point out some other values on the new list, though. I still think winning $1200 on a $100 bet is a pretty good deal for the current #1 team in the nation, Pittsburgh. Hell, Vegas will still basically triple your money if you bet on the Tar Heels and they win it. I’m pretty damn surprised that Duke (+1600) hasn’t pulled ahead of Tennessee, Gonzaga, and the freaking FIELD (+1400, +1500, and +1500, respectively). Wake Forest is still extremely attractive at +3300 (previously +5000), and about the farthest I’d go down on this list is Syracuse (+4000, previously +3000), but as I’ve said, I have a Syracuse affliction this year. I can’t put my finger on it, but every time I watch them, I get the feeling that they’re about three seconds away from reeling off about 20 straight wins. I’ll understand if others don’t get that, because I can’t explain it myself. I also wouldn’t be surprised if they got bounced in the first round. I’m still trying to figure that team out.
But the lesson here is at the top, my friends. Boston College (+6000) is to be applauded for going into such a vaunted place and defeating a team that was being groomed for legend. They deserve their shiny new ranking. And sure, they reminded us that anything can certainly happen in a single-elimination scenario. But through the eyes of the Vegas oddsmakers, there isn’t a whole lot of reason to get excited. This is still like Secretariat in the 1973 Belmont. They’re not just better than the competition — even despite a loss, they’re widening the lead.
Far be it from us to question Louisville head coach Rick Pitino’s motivational techniques with his players. After all, success is a choice, he leads to succeed and all that (not to be confused with his lesser-known tome, Cruise to Lose, favored by Boston-area readers). But even we were a little perplexed with the tactics Coach P employed last week with his emotionally fragile confounding PG, Edgar Sosa. And what makes it even more interesting is that Pitino decided to share the gory details of this alleged conversation with the entire world! From Kentucky.com:
U of L Coach Rick Pitino had a heart-to-heart with Sosa and suggested that the 6-foot-1 junior from New York transfer. Sosa had been playing the worst ball of his career coming into Sunday’s game. He was averaging just five points on 30 percent shooting from the field and 20 percent shooting behind the three-point line. Sosa also struggled on the defensive end to contain dribble penetration. “I basically told him that if I were you I’d transfer, and I wouldn’t wait,” Pitino said. “You could go somewhere and have a year to learn the system. The fans aren’t happy with you, you’re not happy with yourself, and you’re not having fun. We’ll look at some schools that don’t play any defense. There aren’t that many, but I know a few.“
Wow. What a tremendous display of passive-aggressive admonition from coach to player!
SuperSosa! (photo credit: Flickr.com)
What’s even better is how Pitino phrased Sosa’s “decision” after he had a great game against arch-rival Kentucky (18 pts incl. the game-winning three) on Sunday:
“He decided to stay, and I’m happy he made that choice,” Pitino said.
Success is indeed a choice, right? Nevermind that Pitino was the one strongly suggesting Sosa transfer (Sosa made it clear he didn’t want to leave the U of L program), not the other way around. So we’re wondering, which of Pitino’s SIAC rules does this fall under? From a quick perusal, it appears that #3, #5, and #7 are particularly appropriate here. Let’s take a quick glance.
SIAC, Indeed. (photo credit: Amazon.com)
#3. Build a Team Ego. Yep, nothing says building confidence like throwing a player who is struggling with confidence issues under the team bus by strongly suggesting that he to transfer to a school that doesn’t “play any defense.” He might as well have publicly called Sosa “the biggest disappointment of my career” and/or “someone I wouldn’t trust with your ____.”
#5. Act Decisively (cf. with #6. Be Adaptable). Acting decisively would have been to simply quit pussyfooting around and kicking Sosa off the team. Sure, he wasn’t necessarily breaking any team rules (other than sucking), but that hasn’t stopped Pitino before (see: Rodrick Rhodes, Kentucky, 1995). Of course, maybe Coach P was really following the corollary rule #6, and he was being adaptable, allowing Sosa another chance to suck the life out of his backcourt before finally getting booted. (note: of course we realize that Sosa broke out of his slump, but does anyone alive expect that to continue through March?).
# 9. Live for the Future, Not in the Past. Well, it certainly appears that Pitino was dwelling on the past, as in Sosa’s past performance, when he invited Sosa to transfer elsewhere. But we’ll give him the benefit of the doubt here, because surely Pitino foresaw that Sosa would have a great game against Kentucky and all of Louisville’s point guard problems would be solved forever more. Right? He’s Nostradomus like that.
Behind the Line: WVU is on fire and have covered their last 3 games while Uconn has failed to cover their last 2.
Ohio St. at Michigan St(12)
Behind the Line: The Buckeyes have dropped their last 3 against the spread while the Spartans have done the exact opposite.
Wednesday, January 7
Davidson at Duke(2)
Behind the Line: Similar to the first game, Davidson is not so hot while Duke is scorching. Davidson has dropped 4 straight against the spread and Duke has covered their last 3.
Gonzaga at Tennessee(25)
Behind the Line: Two teams that are not playing their best ball. The Zags have lost 3 straight and the Vols are coming off a loss at Kansas. Tennessee is undefeated at home while Gonzaga is just 1-2 on the road. Both of these teams score a lot of points. Combined, 6 out of their last 9 games have gone to the over.
Thursday, January 8
Wright St. at Butler(20)
Behind the Line: Wright State is 7-7 this season and are 1-5 on the road. However, they have covered their last 4 games against the spread albeit against lesser competition. Butler has covered 4 of their last 5 games. There is a possibility that the line could be friendly due to these occurrences.
With most conference schedules starting to get into full swing, I thought I would start doing Set Your Tivos daily with a weekend edition to cover the games on Saturday and Sunday.
7 PM
– #5 UConn at #22 West Virginia on ESPNU: Just another night in the Big East for the Huskies, who responded to last week’s loss to Georgetown with a 80-49 beatdown over an exhausted Rutgers team. Tonight, Jim Calhoun’s Huskies go to Morgantown, WV to face Bob Huggins and the Mountaineers. Joe Alexander is gone, but Alex Ruoff and Da’Sean Butler have stepped up to fill the void. The Mountaineers have been impressive this season with wins over Ohio State (on the road), Iowa, Ole Miss (on the road), and Cleveland State. However, their lack of a solid interior presence could mean a big game for Hasheem Thabeet IF (big if) the Huskies decide to use him. If A.J. Price and the Huskies utilize Thabeet, they should roll in this one.
Just give Hasheem the damn ball!
– Ohio State at #12 Michigan State on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com: The Spartans are finally starting to show the form that earned them an early-season #5 ranking. Honestly, outside of this being a league game, I don’t really expect this one to be close just based on the momentum these two teams have (along with the continued absence of David Lighty). Of course, since it’s a league game, I’ll probably be completely wrong. In either case, this game will be worth watching to see what kind of shape the Buckeyes are in. I don’t think they will be able to beat the Spartans in East Lansing if Raymar Morgan and Kalin Lucas are playing well, but it should be entertaining to watch.
9 PM
– #7 Texas at Arkansas on ESPN2 and ESPN360.com: A week ago I wouldn’t have even thought about watching this game and I think the Longhorns may have been just as disinterested. However, with the Razorbacks victory over Oklahoma on New Year’s Eve this game has suddenly become more interesting. I’m not quite sure what to make of the Razorbacks who lost to Missouri State back in November, but haven’t lost since before Thanksgiving. The key to the game will the play of Michael Washington, the Razorback center who played national POY favorite Blake Griffin to a virtual standstill on New Year’s Eve. It will be interesting to see the match-up at the 5 as Rick Barnes will likely counter with Connor Atchley, who has the outside game to take Washington away from the post. I’ll also be intrigued to see what Arkansas does to neutralize A.J. Abrams after Willie Warren went for 35 points against the Razorback guards.
– Alabama at #11 Clemson on Fox Sports South and ESPN Full Court: I’m interested in this game more to see if the Tigers are legit. It just seems like they always start the season off undefeated amassing a 15-0 record before falling apart and usually missing the NCAA tournament. However, this year they managed to win a few good out-of-conference games (Temple along with road wins at Illinois, Miami, and South Carolina). The Crimson Tide will need big games out of their backcourt of Alonzo Gee, Ronald Steele, and Senario Hillman if they want to pull off the upset. The Tigers will need to start winning games like this if they ever want to break into the ACC elite and compete with UNC, Duke, and Wake Forest for a league title.
– #14 Purdue at Penn State on The Big Ten Network: The Boilermakers will be looking to rebound after opening Big Ten playing with an OT loss to Illinois. Prior to that, the Boilermakers had been playing very well with a big win over Davidson. They will have to do it against the Nittany Lions who also are coming off a loss (at Wisconsin). The game will likely come down to how each team’s top 3 players play. The Boilermakers will be relying on E’Twaun Moore, Robbie Hummel, and JaJuan Johnson while the Nittany Lions will count on Talor Battle, Jamelle Cornley, and Stanley Pringle (possibly the only college basketball player in the nation who would be advised to stay out of the library).
Patrick Marshall of Bluejay Basketball is the RTC correspondent for the Missouri Valley and Big 12 Conferences.
Current Records and my standings (Conference Record)(Last Week Rank)
Illinois St. (14-0) (3-0)(2)
Evansville (10-3) (2-1) (3)
Creighton (12-3)(2-1) (1)
Bradley (9-5) (3-0) (5)
Drake (11-4) (2-1) (4)
Northern Iowa (8-6) (2-1)(6)
Missouri St. (7-7) (0-3) (7)
Wichita St. (6-8) (0-3) (8)
Southern Illinois (5-9) (0-3) (9)
Indiana St. (3-11) (1-2) (10)
The yearly battle in the Valley once again has shown some surprises. Is the Valley down this year? Hard to tell. Check out the teams this week and how they are doing.
GAME OF THE WEEK:
Bradley 60, Wichita St. 58—Bradley got the win on a follow up basket by Sam Singh with almost no time remaining to give Bradley the road win to push them to 2-0 at the time and Wichita St. to 0-2 at the time. Bradley had held around a 10 point lead the whole game but Wichita St. hung around like they have all season with teams and tied the game with 26 seconds left. Sam Maniscalco just missed the layup and Singh was there with the rebound and put back to win the game. As Singh said, “It took a good bounce and I got lucky.”
PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Osiris Eldridge, Illinois St—Osiris was just dominant this week in Illinois St’s blowout wins against Evansville and Creighton averaging 21 points and 7 rebounds per game. Illinois St. is still one of 6 undefeated teams in the nation and it has been his stellar play that has helped them dominate games and look almost unbeatable in league play so far. Maybe they will get that “Undefeated Season” they are talking about…well highly unlikely, but it is nice that they are willing to talk the talk.
