http://www.stltoday.com/sports/coll...cle_bb53315d-afe9-5c53-917c-6b93dc44c890.html
Underwood is feeling good about Illinois’ chances — Sunday and in the tournament — because he’s finally seeing the growth he had hoped to see earlier in the season.
I'm hoping we win today, and a game in the BTT. That's about as much as I'm asking for as a fan. I like how we've improved. I think it would be FANTASTIC for their morale to go deep into the BTT, but that's a tall order with how the best teams are. Assuming we advance, that double-bye makes it a huge handicap to start on Wednesday. I really like that it makes the regular season more meaningful, but it sucks to be on the wrong end of it.
I tell myself that this season was laying a foundation. We'll have more help next year when Spicy can play more minutes, and with 2 open slots and a slew of teams in deep !@#$ with the NCAA, and immediate PT available, we could bring up the talent even more.
The team clearly hasn't understood his system for most of the season, and we're getting glimmers of how it should work. It's hurt their confidence, and they need to gain more and trust the system.
As a fan, it's been too long. But as a fan, I see Whitman and Underwood are not guys that are half-assing it, and guys like Trent and Leron play with heart, so I'll keep watching.