Where Do I Get One of These Jobs?

After two straight losing seasons, Ron Zook finished .500 in 2010 (plus a bowl win). For that, he got himself a $250,000 raise for next year.

After three straight non-playoff seasons, Lovie Smith won a division title and then beat the worst playoff team ever. For that, he received a two-year contract extension (through the 2013 season).

So apparently your best bet for job security in this troubled economy is to become the football coach of a team I root for.

Illini Surprise Buckeyes in Columbus!

You read that right, sports fans. I'm sure that no one in the Ohio State locker room expected Bruce Weber to put Crandall Head into the starting lineup for Tuesday night's game. Of course, that was the only surprise in the game, in which the Buckeyes coasted to an 89-70 win over the Illini. The scary part is that the Illini actually shot well tonight (over 50% from the field; 11-24 from 3-point range) and still got blown out. Losing the turnover battle 16-3 will do that, I guess. As for Crandall Head's playing time (16 minutes), I think that was a ploy by Weber - put Head into the lineup in a no-hope game, so Weber could say to the fans afterward: "see, the team isn't better with him out there. Now stop complaining, and let me bury him on the bench again while I go back to my regular ineffective player rotation."

So with Tuesday's loss, the Illini fall to 7-8 in Big Ten play. In a year in which Weber's roster is loaded with experience and talent, and pretty much every preseason publication tabbed the Illini as a top 25 team (and some even touted them as a darkhorse Final Four candidate), and most of the rest of the teams in the Big Ten stink, with a week and a half left in the regular season the Illini have a losing record in conference play and are headed full-steam ahead toward the NCAA tournament bubble. You could argue that this disappointing season is an aberration, except for the fact that in the (nearly) five years since Dee Brown and James Augustine graduated, the Illini's overall conference record is now 42-43. So this year's record is right in line with Bruce Weber's record without the players he inherited from Bill Self.

But don't worry, fellow Illini fans - better players are on the way! Never mind that we've been hearing that for two years, or that this was supposed to be the year when everything came together. What's that thing Cubs fans say...oh, right. Wait till next year!

Back to Form: Illini Play Close Game, Lose

As I predicted, Illinois was unable to gain any momentum after their close win over Michigan on Wednesday. At least the Illini put forth a good effort tonight at the Breslin Center (the kind of effort that would have easily carried them to wins at Indiana, Penn State, or Northwestern), but effort alone doesn't count any more. Wins do, and this one ended up as a 61-57 loss. The game was right there for the taking - tied with under 4:00 to go - but like so many other times this year, the Illini couldn't execute at either end of the floor in the final minutes.

And with that, the Illini's last realistic chance for a road win goes by the boards, which means that we're looking at a best-case scenario of a 9-9 conference record, which is about as mediocre and bubblicious as you can get. It also means that we'll probably need to win a game in the Big Ten Tournament to be sure of an NCAA tournament bid. How I miss the good old days, when I could relax and enjoy the Big Ten Tournament as the Illini used it as a tune-up for the NCAA tournament.

Bruce Weber - making your Selection Sunday nerve-wracking since 2007!

Illini Win Close Game!

Well, "win" might be too strong a word - "Illini Don't Lose Close Game" would probably be a more accurate description of Wednesday night's game against Michigan in Champaign. The Illini nearly blew a 10-point halftime lead and had to hang on for a 54-52 decision as two potential game-winning shots by Michigan went awry in the final seconds. And all of this came as the Illini were holding the Wolverines to 2-18 shooting from behind the arc for the game, mind you. I'm thinking that Michigan will be a good sleeper pick in the Big Ten next year, since they have everyone back (on a roster of mostly sophomores and freshman), and are well-coached (notice the way they were able to come back despite not hitting their three-pointers, and how adjusted their offense and started getting baskets on back-door cuts when the Illini were heavily pressuring the 3-point line on defense). But at least for tonight, we can celebrate the fact that the Illini didn't blow the home game they absolutely had to win in order to have a shot to reach the NCAA tournament.

I'd like to think that winning a tight game will finally enable the Illini to get on a little roll going into the final weeks of the regular season and into the Big Ten tournament. But more realistically, they'll follow this one up by laying an egg or two, and we'll all be on pins and needles right up to Selection Sunday.

Just When I Think I'm In, They Push Me Out

Another home game against a ranked opponent (Purdue), another loss for the Illini. This one was eerily reminiscent of last year's home loss to Purdue - in both games the Boilermakers played poorly in the first half, but the Illini were unable to build up a big enough cushion to hold off Purdue during the Boilermakers' second half surge.

If it wasn't clear before, it's certainly clear now that to beat a good team, the Illini need Demetri McCamey to have a good game, and a game in which McCamey shoots 1-10 from the field (with as many missed dunks as made baskets) won't get it done against a team like Purdue. It would help if the Illini had another point guard on the roster to run the show when McCamey is in a funk, but we won't have one until next year, when it's too late to help McCamey. Hmmm...you'd think after having Dee Brown and Deron Williams during his first two seasons at Illinois, Bruce Weber would be OK with multiple point guards on the roster, or at least that he'd recruit more than one every four years. But I digress.

So Illinois falls back to .500 in Big Ten play, which amazingly is still good for 4th in the conference standings - with three weeks to go before the Big Ten Tournament, only three teams (Ohio State, Purdue, and Wisconsin) have winning records in conference play. As poorly as the Illini are playing, if they win their remaining home games (Michigan, Indiana, Iowa), they'll finish no worse than .500 in conference play and probably still make the NCAA tournament. But today's game represents a wasted opportunity - other than possibly upsetting Michigan State at the Breslin Center, this game was probably the Illini's last reasonable shot at a statement win during the regular season, which means that the Illini can't afford to slip up in any of those remaining home games. It also looks as if this team incapable of building momentum and putting together a string of good games, so even if they do somehow get to the NCAA tournament it'll be as a one-and-done proposition. Considering that we had pretty much everyone of consequence back from last year's team and added some high-impact freshman, that's another major disappointment that falls at the feet of Bruce Weber.

Cubs Pitchers and Catchers Report!

This is great news for Cubs fans, because nothing does a better job of saying "spring is just around the corner" than the sight of Carlos Silva doing calisthenics.

Illini Gut One Out over Gophers

Great win for the Illini tonight at the Barn! Some things I really liked:

1. Lots of hustling, especially McCamey diving on the floor for a loose ball
2. The team not panicking when things started to go sour at the end of the first half and beginning of the second half.
3. Seeing someone else miss a bunch of shots in the paint for a change - it's like we're finally getting some cosmic payback for all of those Mike Davis misses.
4. Making Minnesota pay for pressure defense by attacking the basket
5. Hitting all of our free throws down the stretch

Best of all, we turned the tables on Minnesota for last year, when they came to Champaign and basically stole our NCAA tournament spot (not to mention when their football team came to Champaign in 2008 and knocked us out of a bowl game). Tonight marks a key win over a team that could be fighting us for an NCAA tournament bid, and this time we've got the leg up. Of course, it won't mean as much if we don't take care of business against Purdue on Sunday, but it's a start.

Illini, Northwestern Play Close Game - Guess Who Won

No, it's not a surprise. Despite Northwestern's best efforts to give the game away in the final minute, Illinois came close but (naturally) still departed from Welsh-Ryan Arena with a loss. Left unanswered is whether a season split allows the NUrds to still claim the title of "Chicago's Big Ten Basketball Team". Of course, since we lost to UIC too, I don't think it's us.

The good news - unlike with the losses at PSU and IU, I was spared the spectacle of NUrds fans storming the court.

The bad news - no, wait, that is the bad news. The fact that they didn't storm the court leads me to believe that they expected their team to win. How sad is it that our program has descended to the point where Northwestern fans think it's not a big deal to beat us.

The worst news - this was probably our last chance at a road win, which means we'll finish (at best) 9-9 in conference play and, for the fourth time in five years, will need to win at least one Big Ten Tournament game to get into the NCAA tournament. But at least we won't have to worry about any more court-stormings!

Bruce Weber - making Selection Sunday nerve-wracking since 2007.