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!