INDIANAPOLIS - All Wisconsin does is win.
That was evident this season as the Badgers swept both Big Ten Conference titles, winning the regular season and tournament championships.
Wisconsin captured the tournament title Sunday with a 61-48 victory over upstart Illinois at Conseco Fieldhouse.
"All we care about is winning, " said Brian Butch, who scored 12 points against the 10th-seeded Illini.
INDIANAPOLIS - No doubt which team was the best in the Big Ten this season.
Wisconsin pulled off a double championship, winning the regular season title and now the tournament championship.
The Badgers beat Illinois 61-48. Nice run by the Illini but Wisconsin was just too much.
INDIANAPOLIS - Bo Ryan's next big decision is when does he empty his bench? It should be soon.
Wisconsin is in control, leading 57-39 with under four minutes to play.
Known for their inside game, the Badgers are 9 of 18 from 3-point range.
INDIANAPOLIS - Under eight minutes to play and Wisconsin has a 53-35 lead. It's all but over right now.
Illinois looks tired and can't do anything to stop the Badgers. Another Brian Butch 3-pointer and a dunk have brought Wisconsin's fans to their feet.
INDIANAPOLIS - The Badgers have come out scoring in the second half, building a 39-26 lead on a Michael Flowers 3-pointer.
Illinois is trying to pick up the pace but is losing ground.
INDIANAPOLIS - Best decison of the day belongs to Wisconsin Bo Ryan.
Sophomore Trevon Hughes suffered an ankle injury on Saturday and was favoring that same ankle today. Ryan left the guard in the game.
Hughes beat the halftime buzzer with a jumper, giving the Badgers a 29-22 lead.
Could the Illini be running out of steam, playing their fourth game in four days?
INDIANAPOLIS - For someone who stands 6-foot-11, Brian Butch can stroke the 3-point shot.
His 3-pointer has Wisconsin on a 14-4 run and an 18-12 lead. Butch started the season 1 of 23 from beyond the arc but coach Bo Ryan told hm to keep shooting.
INDIANAPOLIS - Wisconsin is known for defense but Illinois has four steals already.
We're tied at 10 at the second media timeout.
INDIANAPOLIS - Typical Wisconsin game so far. Low scoring.
It's warm in Indiana today but the shooting is cold. More shots have missed the rim than gone through the basket. Wisconsin and Illinois are a combined 3 of 13 shooting through the first media timeout. The Illini lead 4-2.
Gotta love Illinois coach Bruce Weber's orange jacket.
INDIANAPOLIS - Welcome to the Big Ten Conference championship. It's top-seeded Wisconsin and No. 10 seed Illinois.
The Badgers are in the NCAA tournament. The Illini need one more victory to secure a berth and knock a bubble team out.
Illinois is the surprise team, beating Penn State, Purdue and Minnesota. Coach Bruce Weber's team also has two tournament titles, winning in 2003 and 2005. They need one more to cap an improbable journey.
Meanwhile, Wisconsin is playing in the championship game for the fourth time in the last five years. The Badgers won the title in 2004.
We're about 20 minutes from the start.
INDIANAPOLIS - Wisconsin's Michael Flowers chased Michigan State's Drew Neitzel all day with little success.
Flowers finally slowed down the senior guard and put the Badgers in the Big Ten Conference tournament championship game.
A steal and a layup by Flowers was the difference as top-seeded Wisconsin rallied to nip the fourth-seeded Spartans 65-63 at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The Badgers will face Illinois in Sunday's title game. The 10th-seeded Illini knocked off sixth-seeded Minnesota in the other semifinal.
INDIANAPOLIS - After battling through some clock issues, Illinois advanced to the championship game with a 54-50 victory over Minnesota.
The Illini, the tournament's 10th seed, will face top-seeded Wisconsin in Sunday's title game.
Illinois opened up a 10-point lead with two minutes to play and hung on to knock off the sixth-seeded Gophers. Sunday will be the Illini's fourth game in four days.
Shaun Pruitt led Illinois with 16 points. Lawrence McKenize had 13 for the Gophers.
INDIANAPOLIS - It didn't take long for Illinois to open up a 10-point lead (50-40).
Shaun Pruitt made two free throws, added a dunk and Brian Randle scored a layup. There's 2:30 to play.
INDIANAPOLIS - Illinois is up 44-40 with 3:54 remaining but Shaun Pruitt is shooting free throws.
The Illini have been a bad free throw shooting team all season but they're 12 of 15 today.
INDIANAPOLIS - After scoring just three points during the first 9:51 of the second half, Illinois' offense showed some life.
Breaking away from 32-all tie, the Illini scored seven straight points to open up a 39-32 lead. Freshman Demetri McCamey's 3-pointer was the spark.
Minnesota has come back to pull within 41-35 with 6:55 to play.
INDIANAPOLIS - We're tied at 32 with 11:19 to play between Illinois and Minnesota.
The Gophers have rallied from a 29-23 halftime deficit. Both teams are now shooting under 40 percent and points are becoming difficult to come by.
First one to 40 wins?
INDIANAPOLIS - The six-point lead Illinois held at halftime has been reduced to four. The Illini are up 32-28 with under 15 minutes to play.
Not much has happened in the first five minutes.
INDIANAPOLIS - Illinois is trying to keep its run in the tournament going. The Illini are leading Minnesota 29-23 at halftime.
Big man Shaun Pruitt has 12 points on 4 of 5 shooting and Illinois is an impressive 9 of 11 from the free throw line.
Senior Dan Coleman leads the Gophers with six points. Minnesota is shooting just 34 percent from the field and also has missed six free throws.
We'll see if Tubby Smith can rally his Gophers in the second half.
INDIANAPOLIS - Cold shooting dominated the start but now the pace has picked up.
Illinois is leading 22-15 with six minutes left until halftime. The Illini are shooting 50 percent and are 7 of 7 from the free throw line (a weakness all season). The Gophers are shooting just 35 percent but that's an improvement from the start.
INDIANAPOLIS - Through the first eight minutes, it looks like two teams who are playing their third game in three days.
Illinois is leading Minnesota 9-5 but both teams are a combined 5 of 20 shooting.
INDIANAPOLIS - Today's winner between Minnesota and Illinois will have the right to earn their way into the NCAA tournament.
The Gophers have a good overall record (20-12) but finished sixth in the league and feature a poor RPI. The Illini have no other choice but to win the tournament to advance to the NCAA. Illinois is 15-18 overall. In fact, one more loss and the Illini will set a school record.
We're at the first media timeout with Illinois leading 7-4.
INDIANAPOLIS - Despite missing five free throws in the final 38 seconds, Illinois hangs on and upends second-seeded Purdue 74-67 in overtime in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The 10th-seeded Illini didn't allow the Boilermakers to score a field goal in the extra session. Meanwhile Demetri McCamey was a stud for Illinois, scoring 26 points. McCamey, who tied the game at the end of regulation with a 3-pointer, had the game-winner on a backdoor cut with 2:19 remaining.
E'Twaun Moore led Purdue with 22 points.
INDIANAPOLIS - Without Demetri McCamey, Illinois would be loading up the bus by now.
The freshman guard has scored the Illini's last seven points to give his team a 67-66 lead over Purdue with 1:52 to play in overtime. McCamey has 26 points.
INDIANAPOLIS - Free basketball at the Big Ten tournament as Purdue and Illinois are tied at 63.
Demetri McCamey's 3-pointer with 18 seconds left tied the game. Purdue's final shot came from Chris Kramer, whose 15-footer bounced off the rim.
McCamey has 22 points, including 14 in the second half.
INDIANAPOLIS - If Purdue hangs on and wins this game, and its leading 57-52 with 3:18 to play, all credit goes to the defense.
The Boilermakers have converted numerous steals into layups, blocked a handful of shots and made it difficult for Illinois to score throughout most of the second half.
INDIANAPOLIS - Back and forth we go in the Big Ten tournament.
Illinois is on top now, leading Purdue 47-44 with 7:49 remaining.
Center Shaun Pruitt was just called for a questionable offensive foul that would've given the Illini a five-point lead. Illinois needs to go inside to Pruit more often if it was wants to win.
INDIANAPOLIS - Boy, how things can quickly change.
A steal and a layup by Chris Kramer. A steal and layup by Tarrance Crump and the Boilermakers have the lead.
Purdue is ahead 42-41 with 10 minutes to play.
INDIANAPOLIS - If Purdue could find someone else besides E'Twaun Moore to score, the Boilermakers might move ahead of Illinois.
The Illini are hanging tough with Purdue, leading 41-38 with 11:59 to play.
Moore has been the Boilermakers' offense with 15 points, including seven of their eight points in the second half.
Meanwhile, Illinois is fighting for loose balls and controlling tempo.
INDIANAPOLIS - Purdue can't shake Illinois, which leads 37-36 at the first timeout of the second half.
E'Twaun Moore continues to shine for the Boilermakers with 13 points.
INDIANAPOLIS - Purdue can't shake Illinois, which leads 37-36 at the first timeout of the second half.
E'Twaun Moore continues to shine for the Boilermakers with 13 points.
INDIANAPOLIS - Shaun Pruitt's tip-in late in the first half brought Illinois even with Purdue at 28 in quarterfinal action at the Big Ten tournament in Conseco Fieldhouse.
The second-seeded Boilermakers had a 26-17 lead, thanks to eight points from freshman E'Twaun Moore, but the 10th-seeded Illini came back to tie the game.
It's a full house in Conseco, with a majority of the crowd rooting for Purdue and Indiana, which plays in the nightcap against Minnesota.
INDIANAPOLIS - Purdue's E'Twaun Moore likes playing in Conseco Fieldhouse.
Moore's high school team, East Chicago Central, beat Indianapolis North Central in last year's Indiana Class 4A title game. In that game, Moore had 28 points.
The freshman guard has hit two 3-pointers to help Purdue build a 21-13 lead against Illinois with 7:33 left until halftime.
INDIANAPOLIS - It's not by much but Illinois is leading 13-11 with 11:49 left until halftime.
The Illini outscored Purdue 13-2 during one stretch to go ahead by five points. But Purdue's Marcus Green drained a 3-pointer to cut the lead to two.
Did you know Purdue coach Matt Painter was an assistant under Illinois coach Bruce Weber at Southern Illinois? Both worked for former Boilermaker coach Gene Keady.
INDIANAPOLIS - Purdue scored the first six points on a pair of 3-pointers by Robbie Hummel and Nemanja Calasan.
Illinois responded with seven straight points, including a 3-pointer by Demetri McCamey.
That's where we stand at the first timeout, Illinois leading 7-6.
INDIANAPOLIS - It was almost a great day for the lower seeds at the Big Ten Conference
tournament.
Instead, the underdogs will have to settle for two out of three wins.
Ninth-seeded Michigan and No. 10 seed Illinois pulled off upsets but sixth-seeded Minnesota
rallied from a 16-point first-half deficit to put away No. 11 seed Northwestern in the nightcap at
Conseco Fieldhouse.
INDIANAPOLIS - Illinois built a 10-point lead and watched it quickly disappear.
Junior Chester Frazier saved the Fighting Illini from an early exit in the Big Ten Conference tournament, converting a layup with 3.8 seconds to play for a 64-63 victory over Penn State at Conseco Fieldhouse.
The seventh-seeded Nittany Lions had one last attempt but Talor Battle's 3-pointer was off the mark as time expired.
"The play wasn't designed for me to get the ball," said Frazier, who finished with seven points. "I thought I was going to get it blocked and that's why I went up on the other side."
Illinois led 62-52 but Penn State reeled off 11 straight points to go ahead 63-62 on two free throws by Andrew Jones with 2:04 to play.
"Like all year, we've had these droughts scoring," Illinois coach Bruce Weber said. "Someone has to make a play. I'm just happy for Chester. It's been along time since we've won a close one."
Brian Randle led the 10th-seeded Illini with 17 points and Trent Meacham added 14 points, including four 3-pointers. Battle totaled 17 points and five rebounds for Penn State, which finished 15-16.
The Nittany Lions had beaten the Illini twice during the regular season by a combined five points.
The Illini, a poor free throw shooting team, made 13 of their first 14 attempts but missed their last three.
Illinois will face second-seeded Purdue in Friday's quarterfinals.
INDIANAPOLIS - Illinois did it.
After being outscored 11-0, Chester Frazier's layup with 3.8 seconds to play lifted the Illini to a 64-63 victory over Penn State. Talor Battle's 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.
Illinois, the tournament's 10th seed, will face second-seeded Purdue in Friday's quarterfinals.
INDIANAPOLIS - Penn State has scored 11 straight points to go ahead 63-62 on two free throws by Andrew Jones.
The Nittany Lions have the ball with 51.2 seconds to play. Back after the timeout.
INDIANAPOLIS - It appeared Illinois was ready to pull away, building a 62-52 lead.
But Penn State is right back in the game at 62-59, thanks to the Illini's poor free throw shooting. They've missed their last three attempts after going 13 of 14 to start the game. We're at the final media timeout.
INDIANAPOLIS - What was an up and down track meet has slowed down to a slugfest between Penn State and Illinois. The Illini lead 53-49 at the eight-minute timeout.
Those early transition baskets and hot shooting have been replaced by halfcourt offense. It will be interesting to see which team can prevail down the stretch playing this way.
INDIANAPOLIS - Illinois goes up 51-44 but Penn State comes right back with a 3-pointer by Danny Morrissey to pull within four points.
With 11 minutes remaining, this one is going to be close all the way.
INDIANAPOLIS - Although Penn State trails 45-41 at the 16-minute media timeout, guards Talor Battle and Stanley Pringle are keeping the Nittany Lions in the game.
Battle and Pringle have combined for 22 points and are becoming a tough matchup for the Illini. Illinois did miss its first free throw after eight attempts.
INDIANAPOLIS - With four freshmen in the starting lineup, Penn State only trails 39-37 to Illinois at halftime in the Big Ten Conference tournament.
The Illini led 28-17 at one point but the young and inexperienced Nittany Lions fought their way back into the game. Talor Battle has 12 points to lead Penn State, which is shooting 57 percent from the field.
Illinois started out on fire but has cooled off to shoot 41 percent. Trent Meacham had 11 points, including three 3-pointers, to lead the Illinois.
Impressive free throw shooting by the Illini, who are 7 of 7. Remember Illinois shot 60 percent from the line during the regular season.
INDIANAPOLIS - Trent Meacham has three 3-pointers through the first 12 minutes to help give Illinois a 31-25 lead.
Overall, the Illini are 6 of 11 from 3-point range against Penn State's zone defense. The Nittany Lions did hit back to back 3-pointers to cut into a 10-point deficit.
INDIANAPOLIS - Look out: Illinois is 3-for-3 at the free throw line.
As long as that keeps up, the Illini are in good shape, especially after shooting 60 percent from the line this season. They're leading 23-17 with 10 minutes left in the first half.
INDIANAPOLIS - Unlike the first game, Penn State and Illinois are hitting shots. And lots of them.
After five minutes, the two teams are a combined 10 of 17 from the field. Illinois has a 13-12 lead, thanks to one more 3-pointer right now.
INDIANAPOLIS - The second of three games in the Big Ten Conference tournament is almost ready to start.
No. 7 seed Penn State and 10th-seeded Illinois are warming up at Conseco Fieldhouse. The winner faces second-seeded Purdue in Friday's quarterfinal action.
The Nittany Lions beat the Fighting Illini twice during the regular season, winning 68-64 in Champaign, Ill., and escaping with a 52-51 thriller in State College, Pa.
Penn State has been bad on the road, losing seven straight. Its last win was at Illinois. The Nittany Lions feature one of the youngest teams in the country with five first-year players in the starting lineup.
The Illini have the best Big Ten tournament winning percentage (18-8, 69.2). But in order for Illinois to advance, coach Bruce Weber's team must hit free throws. The Illini shot a dismal 62.2 percent from the line in conference play this season.
CHICAGO -- Arizona hit just enough free throws down the stretch to beat Illinois 78-72 in overtime. Ineptitude at the line did the Illini in. After a bad 6-for-10 effort in the first half, they followed that up with miserable 4-for-12 second half, including two missed front ends of bonuses.
Shaun Pruitt had a big game for Illinois with 24, and Trent Meacham chipped in 16. Jordan Hill answered Pruitt for Arizona by scoring 23. Jerryd Bayless added 20, including a couple of key jumpers in OT.
After the game, Kevin O'Neill talked about how his team is showing more tenacity and fight. That was a big problem last year, and it was evident in the NCAA tournament when Purdue beat them up and knocked them out. This year's team has already come back from way behind against good teams and won and today was another example of that. O'Neill would prefer it not always go that way.
"Our plan is not to get behind big early," he said. But he is encouraged by the fact that the team doesn't quit when that happens.
CHICAGO -- Arizona leads by four with 51 seconds left in overtime. Brian Randle fouled out on a charge hitting a shot that would have tied the game. Then Jerryd Bayless hit a jumper in the lane, which he followed up by posing and preening -- something he apparently does after every made basket no matter how routine. You would think guys 6-for-17 from the floor would be more humble.
Arizona has missed a few free throws in the OT, which has made it harder to put Illinois away.
Pruitt has just scored to cut the lead to three.
CHICAGO -- A Jordan Hill put back with seven seconds left is sending us to OT at the United Center. After Illinois came down and had the ball stolen, the Arizona player (it's hard to see who they are from here because their numbers and uniforms are both dark) clearly signaled timeout with the ref looking right at him, but the ref ignored it.
Arizona was out of timeouts, so that is a technical foul. The ref does not have the liberty to ignore that signal, but he did. People always say the refs should swallow their whistles and let the players decide the game, but a bad no-call is just as much deciding the game as a bad call, and this was a bad no-call.
Chase Budinger finally hit a shot to give Arizona the lead in OT. Pruitt missed two more free throws to blow a chance at tying it.
CHICAGO -- Both teams are getting very sloppy. Illinois has about five turnovers in the last few minutes, but Arizona either gives it back or misses the shot, so we go into the final minute with the Wildcats looking for their first lead of the game.
And they just got it on a dunk by Jordan Hill, who escaped the Illini inside. Arizona now leads 59-58.
CHICAGO -- Illinois' offense has become a bit stagnant over the last few minutes and Arizona has crept back to within two at 57-55 with 3:28 left.
On back-to-back possessions, Illinois just missed a shot clock violation and then picked one up. They've also gotten a little sloppy with the ball, turning it over twice more on bad passes.
They just showed former Illini star Kendall Gill on the screen. As Paul Harvey likes to say, this is "partly personal." Gill is the best player to ever come out of my high school, Rich Central, in south suburban Olympia Fields, IL. Gill was coming in as I was going out, so he didn't play while I was there.
Illinois has just missed another free throw, but Brian Randle hit the second to put the Illini up three.
CHICAGO -- At the eight-minute timeout, Illinois still leads by five, 52-47, but the Illini are killing themselves at the line. They are 0-4 this half, including two misses on the front end of 1-and-1s by Pruitt and Brian Randle. Pruitt even had two chances after a lane violation.
I've always felt that missing the front end should count as 0-2 because of the missed opportunity for the second shot, but I haven't figured out how to track that yet.
Chase Budinger has been a complete non-factor for Arizona. He finally forced up a shot a minute ago from about 20' that had no chance of going in. He's still looking for his first bucket.
CHICAGO -- There has been a Jerryd Bayless sighting. Bayless hit a layup on the fast break and a three in transition to pull Arizona back within seven at the 12-minute timeout.
The cheerleaders are throwing T-shirts into the crowd. Nobody got one up here though. I don't know that Vlad Guerrero could get one up here.
Both teams are shooting a little better this half, but for Arizona, that's not much of a standard.
CHICAGO -- Not much has changed early in the second half at the UC. Arizona is still sloppy with the ball and can't hit a shot. Shaun Pruitt is still dominating inside for the Illini, and the Wildcats have called an early timeout. With 15:14 to go, Illinois has extended its lead to 12 at 44-32. Pruitt scored the first four for Illinois and set up a three-pointer by Calvin Brock by drawing a double team in the post.
The biggest concern for Illinois is fouls. They have already committed four in the early going of this half.
CHICAGO -- Ever since they put in the rule a few years ago that teams had to use a 30-second time out in the first half or lose it, every coach takes it whether they need to or not. Bruce Weber just did that. His team is cruising along just fine with a seven point lead and a chance to take the last shot, a situation his kids know how to handle just fine, but he can't resist. As a result, they end up with a three point attempt by Mike Tisdale, who, needless to say, hasn't hit one all year. He still hasn't.
Illinois is up by a touchdown, 35-28 at the half as we are entertained by the Chicago Boys Acrobatic Team.
Airzona can't hit the broad side of this barn. They are 9-for-26 from the floor, and the Wildcats' two stars, Budinger and Bayless are a combined 1-for-11. Arizona is only 2-9 from three point range, but they have hit the occasional free throw, going 8-for-12.
Illinois is shooting 50 percent from the floor and is doing a lot of damage inside on the bigger Wildcats. Good thing Pruitt showed up, because he's playing great. He leads the Illini with 12 points, while fellow front-courter Brian Randle has eight and G Trent Meacham has seven.
CHICAGO -- At the last TV timeout, Illinois still leads by nine, 29-20. The two teams' cheerleaders are having a competition to see which squad's guys can hold up their girls the longest. It's the only thing Arizona is winning so far.
Glad to see Arizona's cheerleaders and mascot made the trip.
Stats are a mystery here. The scoreboard doesn't give us much, and in fact, the team foul totals only go up to five. Must be a pro thing. It does give us "snapshots of the game" during the timeouts, though, in case you want to read some of the players' tatoos.
For the first time today, surprisingly, the ILL-INI chant has gone up.
CHICAGO -- The game is going back and forth hard, and I'm getting whiplash. Jordan Hill and Nic Wise led Arizona on a 16-2 run to tie the game at 16 after the Wildcats' horrible start, but before I could hardly get anything written about it, the Illini went on a 9-0 run capped off by a Shaun Pruitt layup to go up 25-16. Arizona has just taken its third timeout of the half.
CHICAGO -- Arizona is finally settling down and playing their game. They haven't had a turnover since the last post and they are taking better shots. The Wildcats are on a 7-2 run and have cut the lead to 9 at the second TV timeout.
The Illinois band may not have the Chief to perform with them anymore, but they still play their Indian music that gets the fans up and clapping.
The United Center seats 20,000 and I'd say we have a crowd of about 17-18,000, so it's a pretty good turnout.
CHICAGO -- WIth 14:40 to play in the half, Arizona finally scored and the Illini fans are getting some rest. Illinois leads, 14-2, and Arizona has six turnovers already.
CHICAGO -- Arizona has just taken its second timeout of the first three and a half minutes because nothing is going right for the Wildcats. Illinois leads 10-0 and has already forced four turnovers. Arizona has only managed to get off one shot, and it was forced.
Most of the fans in front of us are standing, but one guy is complaining about it. He was instructed that, "We can't sit down until Arizona scores." They may get tired. Arizona just turned it over again.
CHICAGO -- Shaun Pruitt is in the starting lineup for Illinois and scored the first two points. We'll see how long he can go.
CHICAGO -- Illinois is hosting Arizona today at the United Center in Chicago. This is the 14th consecutive year that Illinois has scheduled a "home" game at the UC, which is also the home of the Chicago Bulls. The games actually count as neutral court games in the RPI, but there will be nothing neutral about the crowd. There are roughly 100,000 Illinois grads in the Chicago area and this place will be mostly full today. Illinois is 31-7 at the UC over the years, which includes games in the Big Ten and NCAA tournaments, and has won 15 of its last 16 here.
The Illini may be without starting C Shaun Pruitt, which means coach Bruce Weber may have to go with a dough nut lineup. Pruitt is the only healthy, legitimate big man on the Illinois roster. Brian Carlwell hurt his knee last week, so he's out, which means that 7'1" freshman Mike Tisdale may see a lot of time. He played a career high 15 minutes and scored 8 points against Weber St last Saturday.
Pruitt's absence will be felt in this game in particular because Arizona starts two big guys, 6-foot-10 Jordan Hill and 6-foot-11 Kirk Walters, although Walters is still getting back into game shape after missing last season with mono.
Arizona coach Lute Olsen announced this week that his leave of absence will cause him to miss the entire season. He is going through a divorce with his second wife. His first wife died in 2001. Former Northwestern and Tennessee coach Kevin O'Neill is coaching the team this season.
O'Neill and Illinois coach Bruce Weber are familiar with each other from O'Neill's coaching days at NU while Weber was an assistant to Gene Keady at Purdue.
The Wildcats are ranked 22nd in the AP poll and 24th in the coaches' poll entering the game. Freshman G Jerryd Bayless is off to a good start in his college career. He is leading the team in points and assists with 19.9 and 4.9 respectively. Sophomore F Chase Budinger is averaging 18.4 per game.
Illinois offense is more balanced, with six guys averaging between 7-11 ppg. The leader is Trent Meachem at 10.9.
My seat is about five miles away in the press box across from the Illinois bench. Fortunately, I have good eyesight.
Before the game in the press room, all the talk was about the Rose Bowl. I'm one of the few people here who has been to one (Illinois hasn't been in 23 years), so there were more questions about that than basketball stuff. Illinois fans are pretty fired up about that. There's a lot of garish orange Rose Bowl gear in the house.
We're just minutes from the tip.
