Hello everyone, and welcome to a fantastic day for Illinois sports! The Illinois football team tries to get bowl eligible against LOWLY Minnesota, and then Illinois basketball takes on, for the first time in the Bruce Weber era, in-state rival Southern Illinois (yes, Bruce’s old school…and they still haven’t forgiven him).
Quite a day indeed, and I’ll admit to being fired up! So take a look back here all day for ALL…ALL…of the highlights. And lowlights. But hopefully mostly highlights.
By Paul Schmidt
11:36 AM — And I’m here!! Finally at the stadium…and yes, I missed the first quarter. Unfortunate all around, but it really couldn’t have been helped…tough trip down that took over 3 and a half hours. Leaving a little late didn’t help.
But Illinois leads 7-0 after 1Q and hasn’t SOUNDED impressive.
11:42 AM — Trouble appearing to loom as Minnesota is quickly driving after a short short punt by Anthony Santella. The wind is VERY critical in this one, as it is absolutely HOWLING out of the south.
11:47 AM — First and goal Minnesota…if the Gophers tie this up (or worse yet, go on to win) it will irreparably damage my attitude the rest of the day…stay tuned. Snark may be forthcoming…
11:48 AM — And the Big Ten’s worst team — and perhaps one of the worst in the country — just punched in a touchdown on the legs of DeLeon Eskridge. 7-7 tie with 11:26 left in the first half. Well done, Illini. You’re quest to miss the bowl season is awe-inspiring.
11:54 AM — Scheel has looked really good today from what I’ve heard…the dulcet tones of Brian Barnhart and the quarterback…Kurt Kittner…kept me duly informed and he sounded pretty good early, making some nice reads.
11:55 AM — BIGBIGBIG pass from Scheel to a WIDE OPEN A. J. Jenkins who had enough time to stop, wait for the ball and STILL make the catch while he was open. The Gophers MAY want to consider covering him as this game goes on…
12:04 PM — OK, weird sequence there. Illinois got sort of screwed on a call, where a pitch was ruled an incomplete forward pass, when it was a pitch, which forced a fourth down.
Then the Illini challenged the play. As best everyone could figure, if the challenge was successful, the Illini would have actually lost them two yards.
The officials then decided that the play couldn’t be challenged. Which makes sense anyway, because the whistle blew the play dead anyway…
And that took like five minutes. I’m a little more dead inside. Also, Minnesota held on fourth down and now is inside the Illini 40 yard line. They are getting close to taking the lead.
12:09 PM — And Minnesota takes a 14-7 lead…the wheels are very quickly coming off of this day. Is there bourbon in the press box?
12:19 PM — Checking in to say that Minnesota’s clock management is just as bad if not worse than Illinois’…The just wasted roughly 25 seconds before calling a timeout, so now there is under 30 seconds left and Minny inside the Illini 30.
12:22 PM — Minny leads 17-7. File that under “Things I didn’t expect to type today.”
12:27 PM — Illinois losing a must-win game 17-7 to the lowly Minnesota Golden Gophers. I don’t even understand.
12:47 PM — Back from the half. Illinois received the kick. Which is good, but they again don’t have the wind for reasons I can’t relally explain…I’m honestly not sure why, when Minnesota won’t have the ball as much for certain in the third quarter, that that was the quarter they decided to take the wind…but…that’s why I’m not a head coach I guess…
Halftime was interesting…no Chief, but we had high kicking dads!
12:48 PM — FIRST AND TEN FOR THE ILLINI!!!
12:49 PM — This also seems like a good time to mention that Bruce Weber is in the house today, on the sidelines with his daughter, who is an Illini cheerleader.
12:51 PM — Illini driving…nice blend of run and pass on this drive…
12:53 PM — Fourth and one for the Illini from the Minny 33….
12:54 PM — BIG first down carry from Mike Leshoure, who then gets facemasked for 13 or so more yards!! HUGE play!
12:55 PM — TOUCHDOWN ILLINI!!! Thank God. Leshoure with a nifty run into the end zone…tip-toed through a hole and then juked the rest of the Minny defense. Well done to get that in, and it was JUST the long drive that the Illini needed. Also, it makes Minnesota taking the wind in the third quarter look REALLY dumb. 17-14…
1:00 PM — And the Illini have some swagger back! Minnesota was receiving the ensuing kickoff and it was just a high little floater…and for whatever reason they didn’t fair catch it and muffed it. Illinois recover, and already they are in the red zone…The Minnesota defense that did such a nice job against the Illinois rushing offense in the first half looks terrible now…
1:01 PM — Scheel to Spencer Harris, TOUCHDOWN ILLINI!!!! The extra point….not so much. Wow. That was something right there…20-17 Illini though…
1:06 PM — Ian Thomas just LAID OUT Duane Bennett as he came through the hole…and then a huge pass rush on Weber leaves him flat on his back and throwing an incompletion…third and long. Minny’s third play with the wind in the third.
1:07 PM — Lucky break on that third down conversion, as MarQueis Gray gets the catch and gets stripped shedding tackles…but fumbles the ball forward out of bounds for the Gophers to retain possession.
1:10 PM — ANOTHER third down conversion by the Gophers. Ick.
1:11 PM — Not so fast my friends…Minny with the touchdown, and now the Gophers lead 24-20. This could be another barn burner.
1:21 PM — BIG fumbled snap on first down could stall a Minny drive…19 yards to go. They were near mid-field prior to the bad snap. The Illinois offensive momentum has gone away…the Illini need to get this stop. To the fourth quarter we go, Illini trail 24-20…
1:27 PM — Huge sack for the Illini to force the Gophers to punt.
1:32 PM — 7 plays, 65 yards, 2:59…Illinois regain the lead on a great 4 yard run by Jason Ford, who looked like he actually gave a crap on that carry. 27-24 Illini, 10:44 left in the game. Another defenseive stop would be huge for the Illini.
1:35 PM — 10:44 left in the game, Minny with the ball…most important possession of the game.
3:16 PM — Just got back from the post game pressers…..completely unbelievable. Post coming…but for now I’m looking for the bourbon again…
3:32 PM — Nope. Not feeling better yet. Three and a half hours til basketball. This isn’t gonna be a fun wait. They better beat Southern by 60.
4:36 PM — Still in the press box. To quote Louis Black, “It’s dark in here…and we may die….” It was a bleak press conference, the players and coaches were all depressed, and everyone is in a crappy mood. Oy. Fun day in Champaign.
6:09 PM — Things are definitely looking up, that’s for sure…It’s a good vibe in the Assembly Hall media room, with Kent Brown hanging with everyone watching Auburn and Georgia. UGA was just on the screen and everyone said, “UGA!”
7:03 PM — OH YES. Illinois basketball. My first game of the year. Let’s wash away the stink of this earlier game. Interesting note for any Pinckneyville folk reading this entry…There is a Korn on the SIU staff…is it the world-reknowned Coach Korn?
7:04 PM — TIPOFF!!! God bless Illinois basketball, and God bless the United States. I’m just saying. If you don’t like the Illini, you must love the terrorists. Oh, and hello Orange Krush! Good to see you fired up tonight!
7:07 PM — Things I won’t be saying for the last time this year….DJ RICHARDSON! FOR! THREEEEEEEE!!!!
7:09 PM — WOW…heat check for the Salukis…They aren’t missing early. Some dude named Fay has six. Davis looks good early, and Cames already has his first foul…just like 2009 all over again!
7:11 PM —Still no “SIDEWINDER! SIDEWINDER!!” from Bruce….I feel cheated. And his voice sounds wayyyyy too good. 15-10 Illini early, approaching the 16 minute time out.
7:14 PM — Interesting, Tis gets called for his first foul for a swim move, totally legit, and was trying to ask the ref what he got called for, and when the ref stopped to turn around, he and Tis ran into each other…it looked like he was going to T-up Tis, seriously…
7:16 PM — Coming out of the 16 minute time out…My first Myers Leonard sighting of the year. I’m giddy with anticipation!
7:18 PM — Mike Davis is really assertive, and looking for his shot. This is good for the Illini. 15-12 lead, early on still.
7:20 PM — See, I was right: DJ!!! RICHARDSON!!! FOR!!! THREEEEEE!!!!
7:22 PM — Tyler Griffey hits two free throws…makes me wonder if my friends Souc is watching…
7:22 PM — Jereme Richmond hits a jumper and is talking trash already….Jerrance and Bruce both put the smack down on that hard. I love this kid. I really do. I’ve seen him score once and I already think he might be one of the most athletic players in Illinois history…
7:30 PM — Bizarre sequence there where each team turned it over to the other like three times. Cames then settles everyone down, and drives to the hoop for the and one. This Illinois team has that option open every time down the court — they are SIGNIFICANTLY faster than Southern. 25-20 Illinois…
7:32 PM — DJ Richardson’s defense appears, at first blush, to have really improved.
7:33 PM — The big man!! Myers Leonard with the assist! 27-20 Illini.
7:37 PM — I like this Fay kid for the Doggies. He plays hard and can hit the three…11 points now. 27-25 Illinois…
7:38 PM — Wait for it….ready? DJ!!! RICHARDSON!!! FOR!!! THREEEEEEEEEE!!!!!
7:40 PM — Nice sequence there where the Illini went in transition and DJ threw a great outlet up to Cames for the easy layup. Following that is a backcourt violation by the Doggies, and suddenly Illinois could open up their biggest lead of the game…
7:41 PM — DJ !!!! RICHARDSON!!! FOR!!!!! THREEEEEEEEEE!!!! 35-25 Illini!
7:44 PM — As we head into the 4-minute time out — with our first Bon Jovi of the evening, no less — the Illini hold a 37-28 lead over the Doggies. The Illini have genuinely looked good so far, and are rotating well on defense but the Salukis were hitting EVERYTHING early on. They have since cooled down some, but still are shooting well from three point range…Is the perimeter defense still a bugaboo for the Illini this season? Or are the Doggies just feeling it in Assembly Hall tonight?
7:48 PM — I know it isn’t exactly accurate, but I’m gonna call Mike Davis a bit of a cherry picker. He looooooooves getting free on those breakaway, transition dunks.
7:49 PM — In the vein of Mike Davis being VERY aggressive on offense, he is driving and getting to the line. It’s not something we’ve seen him do a lot.
7:51 PM — That was a bad empty possession by the Illini, with a rushed three pointer to end it. It was reminiscent of like 75% of Illinois’ possessions last season…
7:52 PM — 23.2 left in the first half, Illini lead by 11 and will hold for the last shot….
7:53 PM — Or turn the ball over and give the Salukis the last shot…
7:54 PM — Which the Fay kid misses. 41-30 Illini lead heading into the half.
7:55 PM — HALFTIME. So…nice first half by the Illini but a couple observations…for one, they are moving the ball around great. It’s refreshing when they spent most of last season standing around watching Cames create on offense. However, I don’t know about Richmond so far. He’s so strong athletically, it seems like the offense is somehow more out of sync when he is on the floor, like they don’t know what he is going to do, or just what he is capable of. I’m sure that will come with time, but it’s tough for him to stay on the court when he doesn’t look like he fits in that well.
8:18 PM — You thought technical difficulties could derail this train??? REALLY??? Not so much people, not so much. The Illini have extended their lead early here in the second half and lead 52-34, mainly because Southern came out of the beark looking flat. DJ, Mike Davis and Cames all in double-figures already…Richmond is wreaking havoc on the floor when he’s in…this is fun.
8:21 PM — Is it a problem that there might be too many people who can score for the Illini? Because that is starting to look like what the problem is. DJ looks incredibly improved…Jereme Ricmond looks like he can do whatever he wants TO whomever he wants on the court…and as I’m typing that we just had a Cames-to-Tisdale alley oop. Illinois 58, SIU 34, Full time out for the Doggies to calm the crowd…
8:28 PM — MORE tech difficulties…but suffice it to say that the Orange Krush is in midseason form. They are killing it tonight.
8:30 PM — Brandon Paul. WOW. Posterized the Fay kid for the Doggies. I mean…wow.
8:31 PM — All business and no mercy for the Illini tonight. Hot damn, this team is NOT messing around. Missing the tournament was the best thing that could have happened to this team last season.
8:34 PM — Still no SIDEWINDER from Bruce. A very disappointing performance from him this evening.
8:38 PM — I might be winding down a bit, gotta get back up. Illini still lead by 26. AND! The first appearance for Crandall Head!
8:40 PM — TISDALE WITH A HUGE BLOCK. WOW!!!! Like hitting a wall on that one. He really does look stronger. That led to a breakaway and another Head lay up attempt that drew an intentional foul heading into the eight minute time out. 71-42 Illini lead and they aren’t letting up. It will be another 8 years before Southern wants to do this again…
8:45 PM — Really interesting lineup on the court right now, with Crandall Head and Joe Bertrand sharing the PG duties, Jereme Richmond on the wing, and Tyler Griffey and Mike Tisdale down low. I’m guessing we won’t see that one that much this season. Oh…In comes Myers Leonard for Tis. It’s a youngster lineup!
8:49 PM — Southern is trying to make this interesting, but they are probably too far down to win…and all the vets are coming back in. The youngens’ did NOT do their job…76-55 Illinois 5:00 left.
8:51 PM — Uhhhh…..guys? You there? Guys? 76-58 Illini…
8:56 PM — Big three from Brandon Paul ices it…81-62 with 2:45 left.
8:58 PM — And with that basket, the Illini have 83 points, and won’t be outscored by the Wisconsin football team. So there’s that…
8:59 PM — Upon further reflection, it would be more embarassing to have seen the Wisconsin basketball team score 83, then not be able to match it…
9:01 PM — OK, Illinois win…til postgame all!
9:10 PM — Well it was a good win for the Illini, but there is still stuff to work on…I’m not convinced about the Illini’s ability to close out on the perimeter again, but maybe that’s only a minor quibble. The offense is clicking well right now and the scary part is they are only going to get better. Now, maybe, it’s not Northwestern and their 97 point outburst against the Blessed Sisters of the Poor or whoever they played earlier this week, but it is a good Illinois offense that can score the basketball in many different ways. Fun game.
I will continue to check in here, with updates, until I get out of Champaign, but look for another post with some post-game quotes and notes.
10:11 PM — Yeah, still here writing. If I had gotten here on time this morning I’d have been here 12 hours. Luckily, I was late! WOO!! Not that tired yet!!!
10:23 PM — I am now communicating, via twitter, with someone three feet away from me. I may actually need some help…
10:34 PM — And the internet is just GRINDING things to a halt here…killing me softly…with its not-working-ness….
10:42 PM — And with that, I think I’m wrapped up! Done before 11 was the ultimate goal because it probably allows me to get 5 hours of sleep tonight! Huzzah!
It’s been a pleasure writing for all of you today, and this was long and somewhat unwieldy (over 2,600 words) but I managed to stay coherent. Which is the goal.
And a record amount of you read it!! So thank you for your support…now I’ll keep doing these during the Illinois basketball games!
Til then…stay safe sports fans.