This will probably change a lot, and I am pretty much "shooting blind" for how good the non-ranked Big Ten teams are. However, gun to my head, this is my season prediction as of today. Select commentary included!
W vs. Jackson State
W vs. FGCU
W vs. #10 Texas Tech ... I am choosing to be optimistic and believe that this team will be hungry to prove they're legit this year, and I think the electric atmosphere at SFC carries us to a close win.
W vs. Colgate
L vs. #15 Alabama ... Just have this awful feeling about this one. I hope I'm wrong, but I see a 4-0 Illini team riding high laying a bit of an egg in front of a very disappointing crowd at the UC. This was the hardest one for me to predict on an emotional level, BTW.
W vs. LIU
W vs. UT Rio Grande Valley
L vs. #4 UConn (New York, NY)
W vs. #18 Tennessee (Nashville, TN) ... I think it's one of those games where the shots are falling and we finally get that W over the Vols.
L at Ohio State ... Don't ask me why, but a Tuesday night game to start conference play on the road after an emotional win in Nashville just spells trouble to me ... hope I'm wrong.
W vs. Nebraska
W vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO) ... Braggin' Rights is due for a team to go on a streak, and we won last year so it will be us!
W vs. Southern
--- Illini start the new year at 10-3 (1-1) and likely ranked around #17 still. ---
W vs. Penn State (Philadelphia, PA) ... This one would scare me a hell of a lot more in that environment if PSU weren't just simply really bad this year.
W vs. Rutgers
L at Iowa ... I think Iowa is underrated, the rivalry will be back in swing with the new hire there and of course I will be at this game with my friends, so things can't work out perfectly.
W at Northwestern ... I think we finally get back in the win column in Evanston.
W vs. Minnesota
W vs. Maryland ... NOT THIS YEAR, TERPS!
L at #1 Purdue
W vs. Washington
L at Nebraska ... Here is your dud performance for the year!
W vs. Northwestern ... But we don't look great getting that W.
W at #22 Michigan State ... Bounce-back game where we refuse to let this season be an up-and-down one like last year.
W vs. #24 Wisconsin ... Revenge for the savage beatdown in Madison last year.
W vs. Indiana ... We FOR ONCE look like we are pumped up and ready to go for a Sunday morning game!
L at USC ... One of those total letdown performances where we just look sluggish.
L at #12 UCLA ... And the fans begin to freak out after the 0-2 West Coast trip!
W vs. #7 Michigan ... We don't lose to Michigan anyway, but these guys aren't going to let Morez leave Champaign with a victory, period.
W vs. Oregon
W at Maryland ... Sweeping Maryland feels as good as anything we've experienced in a long time.
Illini head into the BTT at 23-8 (14-6), finishing 1-2 games behind Purdue for the regular season championship. We are the #2 seed in the BTT due to tie breakers, and we win the damn thing in front of a sea of orange at the United Center, determined to not let our fans witness another loss in our Home Away From Home.
We enter the NCAA Tournament at 26-8 and earn a #3 seed. Our #1 seed goes down before the Sweet Sixteen (this has happened 4 times in the last 5 NCAA Tournaments...), and we blaze ahead to the Final Four. However, we face another #1 seed as we are running out of steam and lose a similar game to our 2004 Sweet Sixteen loss to Duke - good effort but just not enough firepower.
Here's to hopin'!!
