ESPN's Team of the Week: Illinois
December 6, 2010 2:11 PM
The Illini had the one slip so far this season, losing in overtime to Texas in New York. But that's a quality defeat and this team hasn't showed any signs of a tailspin. Illinois has had a hard time finding consistency in the non-conference since it reached the title game in 2005. That's not the case now. The Illini bounced back by beating Maryland the next day and then got fully back on track this past week. They bounced North Carolina by 12 behind Mike Davis (20 points, 10 rebounds) and Demetri McCamey (eight assists) and then went to Gonzaga-friendly Seattle and knocked off the Zags, also by 12.
That's two double-digit wins against a pair of teams ranked in the preseason top 12, whether they were deserving in retrospect or not. The Illini had balance against Gonzaga, getting contributions from Davis, McCamey, Mike Tisdale, D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul during key moments. Illinois still has one more major nonconference event: the Border War against Missouri in St. Louis. Win that tossup game and Bruce Weber's group should be 12-1 heading into the rugged Big Ten.
Andy Katz
That's two double-digit wins against a pair of teams ranked in the preseason top 12, whether they were deserving in retrospect or not. The Illini had balance against Gonzaga, getting contributions from Davis, McCamey, Mike Tisdale, D.J. Richardson and Brandon Paul during key moments. Illinois still has one more major nonconference event: the Border War against Missouri in St. Louis. Win that tossup game and Bruce Weber's group should be 12-1 heading into the rugged Big Ten.
Andy Katz
Filed under: Illini Basketball
