Yahoo's Bracketology
February 17, 2009 7:52 PM
By bonick03
After a year marred by turmoil, redemption tastes orange sweet to Illinois.
Thwarted by recruiting botches, horrendous free throw shooting and just plain bad luck, Bruce Weber's club has done a complete 180. Winning close games they would've painfully dropped a year ago (see Northwestern highlights), the Illini have quietly emerged the victors 21 times and are a mere 1.5 games behind Michigan State for the Big Ten lead.
More remarkable about Illinois' turnaround is Weber. Idiotically panned by delusional "fans" last season, the Big Ten Coach of the Year frontrunner has molded a young, unheralded team into a top-20 juggernaut. Hardnosed defense (7th in defensive efficiency), unselfishness (first nationally in A/FGM), scoring balance (four starters averaging 10-plus points per game) and resurgent charity stripe performance (71.4 FT%) have been their hallmarks. It's safe to say, the under-the-radar Illini will be a very difficult tourney out come March.
sports.yahoo.com
Thwarted by recruiting botches, horrendous free throw shooting and just plain bad luck, Bruce Weber's club has done a complete 180. Winning close games they would've painfully dropped a year ago (see Northwestern highlights), the Illini have quietly emerged the victors 21 times and are a mere 1.5 games behind Michigan State for the Big Ten lead.
More remarkable about Illinois' turnaround is Weber. Idiotically panned by delusional "fans" last season, the Big Ten Coach of the Year frontrunner has molded a young, unheralded team into a top-20 juggernaut. Hardnosed defense (7th in defensive efficiency), unselfishness (first nationally in A/FGM), scoring balance (four starters averaging 10-plus points per game) and resurgent charity stripe performance (71.4 FT%) have been their hallmarks. It's safe to say, the under-the-radar Illini will be a very difficult tourney out come March.
sports.yahoo.com
Filed under: Illini Basketball
