By Paul M. Banks, President of The Sports Bank.net

Regarding college basketball in the state of Illinois, it is the worst of times. And it’s again the worst of times. We may get zero teams in the NCAA tournament. And it’s all over from the Wisconsin border to the edge of the state that neighbors Kentucky. SIU was on the national stage for much of the 2000s, today they’re irrelevant. DePaul has been a joke for decades. Chicago St. is quite possibly the worst team in all of Division I. Loyola and UIC bring nothing of significance to the table; ditto for all the remaining direction schools. But two schools, Illinois and Northwestern, spent a lot of time this season within field of 65 tournament bracket projections. Not so much anymore.

In February, both Illinois and Northwestern had a very clear map into the NCAA tournament. Both of Chicago’s Big 10 teams had a route that seemed very doable given what he already saw in their body of work. Both failed miserably, and now each will have to run the table in the big ten tournament to qualify for the big dance. Good luck with that. So whose collapse was a bigger overall letdown?

Prosecuting the Illini

Ok, so you beat Michigan State, a team that’s owned you the past three years, and win at the Kohl Center where nobody does…but then lose 5/6 down the stretch? You achieved the marquee wins needed to balance out your dreadful pre-conference losses, only to throw it all away by refusing to play offense in home losses to Minnesota and Wisconsin.

You get firmly into the tourney picture, then give up when it matters most. The home loss to Wisconsin where the inmates ran the asylum was embarrassing, but not quite as embarrassing as putting up 14 in the first half to a team that hasn’t beaten you in your building in like 30 years. Quite pathetic, but let’s not forget the Ohio St. heartbreak on Valentine’s Day. Yes, you can define a heart-breaker as a game that’s over within the first five minutes. It was the worst loss at Assembly Hall since the same year the venue hosted an Elvis Presley concert; quite heartbreaking.

Much of the blame goes on Bruce Weber, because his players folded faster than Superman on laundry day. Take the curious case of Mike Davis, who matured in reverse this season. After a breakout sophomore year, he took a giant step backwards this season. Bruce believed in mid-season that Davis didn’t practice hard enough. Take a look at Davis’ results in the biggest games the illini had to have: lots of 4-13, 3-9, 4-15 type FGM-FGA. And what makes those numbers even more pathetic is the fact those misses includes lots of bunnies, cheapies, and “high percentage shots.”

McCamey isn’t a perfect player, but he is second in the nation in assists. Maybe he’d be first if Davis could consistently finish. This team peaked on February 9th, when they were 17-8.

Prosecuting the Northwestern Wildcats

When you lose twice to Penn St. (a team that started 0-12 in Big Ten play), not to mention Indiana and Iowa, therefore completing your entire set of crunch time losses to the league’s three bottom feeders, it’s hard to imagine a collapse much worse than that. Northwestern had a scheduling quirk which might explain. A front-loaded conference schedule probably demoralized them. All the tough teams came near the start, and we reasonably believed they could fix everything down the stretch when the cakewalk portion kicked in.

Instead the results were devastating. Playing without their best player Kevin Coble, NU got off to a 13-1 start somehow. It looked like the Ewing Theory was at work again. The Cats achieved their first national ranking in 40 YEARS!!! And set a new school record for single season wins. Of course, that 19 win season, the new program benchmark, comes with a qualifier.

I’ll use an example from my own life. In high school I dated both co-captains of the pom pon squad. (my status as a 6th string DB/9th string RB had benefits) but all kidding aside, that is a fact. Just like NU setting a new school record for wins is a fact. Of course, I should also tell you that both relationships with the pom pon girls ended quickly, without getting past first base with either of them. And neither one was exactly scorching hot to begin with. Back to Northwestern basketball history, and its zero total NCAA appearances, two conference titles and one NIT tournament win. As Talking Heads once said, “facts all come with points of view. Facts are never what they seem to be.”

Of their 19 wins this season, only one was of the signature variety: Purdue ranked #6 at the time. The Cats peaked on February 8th when they were 16-7, before going 3-5 in their final eight. Despite just one of those last 8 coming against a ranked team.

The Verdict

This Illini team ended up about as likable as Al Qaeda; or the ‘04 Chicago Cubs. Following/liking this team is bad for your mental health, because they haven’t just been bipolar along the course of the season, they’re bipolar within every half of every game. Take a close look at the four meetings with their Hoosier state rivals. In the four games against Indiana and Purdue, you’ll see 8-10 minute stretches in which they looked like a Final Four team, immediately followed by 8-10 minute stretches where they would have trouble beating Chicago St.

Illinois had an advantage NU didn’t, their conference schedule was soft early on, letting them build momentum and confidence. In mid-February, it looked like they had done exactly that. Then again their signature wins came against teams missing their best player (MSU-Kalin Lucas) and second best player (Wisconsin-Jon Leuer) so maybe these wins weren’t so special.

RE: Northwestern, they lost to MUCH worse competition than Illinois, and what they let slip away is worse because it meant so much more. The first NCAA tourney berth in school history would have been a magical story, attracting national media attention like the 1995 football Wildcats’ Rose Bowl run. These Cats simply choked up a hairball under that pressure. A tourney berth at NU is history, at Illinois it’s just routine.

Usually. The Illini didn’t lose as much, but letting your RPI slip way down into the 70s and 80s during March is just plain unacceptable in Champaign. And Illinois was the only mediocre-or-better team in the conference that didn’t lose a key player for key stretches of the season. Wisconsin, Ohio State, Minnesota, Michigan State, Purdue: all lost their best player (or a key starter) for a few games. The Illini stayed healthy everywhere except inside their own heads. And squandered their talent, luck and resources.

The orange and blue should be used to winning in pressure games now. And Northwestern went this entire season without their best player in Kevin Coble, and still won more games than Illinois, even though NU went 2-8 on the road this season. So I have to go a bit easier on them.

Bigger collapse=Illinois!

Paul M. Banks is Founder/President of The Sports Bank.net, an Upper Midwest sports webzine. He’s also a member of the Football Writers Association of America, the United States Basketball Writers Association and a sports writer for the Washington Times.com Communities and Walter Football.com

What’s Quidditch, you ask? Well its a dumb fake game that J.K. Rowling made up for her Harry Potter fiction books, a series about a bunch of children training to be wizards.  Would you believe if I told you that this is not a new development?  Northwestern is not the first school to start a Quidditch program; in fact there is an entire association for this fake game:

“There’s actually an Intercollegiate Quidditch Association that organizes teams across the country,” said Marc Bourgeois, a sophomore who’s trying to put together an NU Quidditch team. “It started at Middlebury College in Vermont and has really caught on.”

Our friend Mr. Bourgeois (what a fitting name, right? Idle rich Northwestern student has time and money to play fake game, I love it) is looking to get funding from the University for equipment and uniforms, which include purple capes.

I know this story sounds as made up as the actual game of Quidditch, but it is completely true.  There is one unanswered question though (beyond Mr. Bourgeois’s connection with the real world).  How can you play Quidditch?  I have  distinct memory of it being a bunch of wizards flying around on brooms chasing magical balls.  Don’t worry, the rules have been adjusted for muggles (I looked this up, it means a non-wizard):

Here’s brief look at the game: Each player needs a broom. One hand must be kept on the broom between your legs at all times as players run around trying to throw a slightly deflated volleyball, known as the “quaffle,” past a goalie and into one of three goals, which are essentially Hula Hoops attached to PVC piping — all this while trying to avoid being hit by rubber kick balls, or “bludgers.”

“It’s also a contact sport, so it gets pretty intense. You can’t tackle somebody, but you can hip check and run into people while trying to steal the quaffle,” said Bourgeois, who added that players wear cleats — and mouth guards and athletic supporters are recommended.

Looking at the picture above and reading all this stuff, I’m going to go out on a limb and guess that our friend Mr. Bourgeois is a virgin.  I don’t see how it could be any other way, I mean the guy wants to wear a freaking cape.

With 5:25 to go, the Illini trailed 57-43 marking their largest deficit of the entire game. About 5:22 later, Illinois had a one point lead marking their largest, and only, lead of the night. During those five-plus minutes the Illini must have blacked out, then imagined themselves back in Assembly Hall because it was solid offense and better defense that led the Illini back. Oh, and Trent Meacham.

Meacham had 12 of his 15 points in the last five minutes, including a three with about a minute to go, followed by a layup about 20 seconds later to make it a one point game. As if the offensive revolution wasn’t enough for Meacham, he also caused a turnover on Northwestern’s next possession, giving the Illini the ball with 14 seconds remaining.

Demetri McCamey was the hero when he banked in the game winner with 2.9 seconds left. Actually, he was heroic long before that, as he finished the night with a game-high 21 points. Chester Frazier was also great for the Illini, posting eight assists and seven rebounds, with only one turnover.

That makes it 20 wins for the Illini with six games left. They will be at Indiana Sunday, then back to Assembly Hall next Wednesday against Penn State. With Big Ten leader Michigan State playing Purdue and Wisconsin in their next two, this is a good chance for Illinois to gain some ground.

I would say the Illini are playing their best basketball of the season coming off their beat-down of Purdue last week, but it hasn’t been that kind of season for Illinois. Every time they look like they are playing great, they go out and shoot 28% on the road and lose. Since the beginning of January, the Illini have won every home game and lost every road game. That will need to change if the Illini hope to catch the Spartans for the Big Ten Championship.

Hustle and defense have been key in home wins for Illinois, two things that should translate well to road games. They’re catching the Wildcats at the right time though, as Northwestern will be looking to end a four game losing streak* that has included mostly blowouts.

The key for Illinois tonight will be to control the boards and keep Kevin Coble under wraps. In Northwestern’s upset wins it has been Coble who has led the charge.

The game starts at 8:00 PM and it’s on ESPN2.

*It’s bogus fact day on NQTC. I suspect I was thinking of a three game home losing streak to Illinois, but who the hell knows.

Champ Sports Bowl: Wisconsin vs. Florida State, Dec. 27

Wisconsin will return to Florida for the fifth straight season when they take on the Seminoles in the Champ Sports Bowl. This is the first game for the Big Ten and might be the conference’s best shot at a win. It also carries on the tradition of the Big Ten playing what are essentially road games in the bowl season.

Alamo Bowl: Northwestern vs. Missouri, Dec. 29

The Wildcats will go down to Big 12 country to take on Mizzou in the Alamo Bowl. Tough draw here for Northwestern, but they’ve come up big all year when people have counted them out. Northwestern will be looking get its first bowl win since 1949. Now is as good a time as any to get your first bowl win on color television.

Insight Bowl: Minnesota vs. Kansas, Dec. 31

What a turnaround for Minnesota, going from winning only one game last season, to a bowl game this season. Another turnaround happened in the middle of Minnesota’s season though. The Gophers went from the top of the Big Ten to four straight losses, including a 55-0 loss to end the season. Kansas and quarterback Todd Reesing did not live up to expectations this season, but should hand Minnesota its fifth straight loss.

Outback Bowl: Iowa vs. South Carolina, Jan. 1

Here is the other good chance for the Big Ten to win. Iowa has won five of six to end the season and will take on Steve Spurrier and South Carolina. The Gamecocks have beaten virtually no one this year and finished off their season with two lopsided losses. Iowa has taken down teams like Florida and LSU in the last five seasons in New Year’s Day bowl games, so a win against South Carolina is not out of the question.

Capital One Bowl: Michigan State vs. Georgia, Jan. 1

Oh boy, this could be ugly. We have a Georgia team that was #1 to start the season and suffered through a disappointing year, culminating with a loss to Georgia Tech in their last game. Give them a month off to think about things and get ready for a bowl game. Add in the fact that Stafford and Moreno will want to show off for the pro scouts and Georgia becomes a team no one wants to see in a bowl game. Michigan State is not the team the Big Ten wants to send to match up, but there they are. The Spartans played well against Cal to start the year, but were blown out by the only other two good teams they played all year. It doesn’t look good for MSU, but there is usually at least one big upset for the Big Ten recently, so maybe this one. Never know. Right? No.

Rose Bowl: Penn State vs. USC, Jan. 1

This game doesn’t look favorable for the Big Ten either. Ohio State already went out to Southern California and got spanked this year, now it might be Penn State’s turn. But hey, the Nittany Lions blew out Oregon State this year and the Beavers gave USC its only loss, so there is hope! Not much though. USC will be looking to make a statement that their crappy loss wasn’t much different than Florida’s crappy loss and maybe they deserved a little more consideration to play in the championship game. Penn State will be looking to make a similar statement, but I think they’d be thrilled with a 3-2 win.

Fiesta Bowl: Ohio State vs. Texas, Jan. 5

Ohio State and Texas are toward opposite ends of the BCS spectrum. Texas is feeling the wrath of the system because their win against Oklahoma was played in October and not November, while Ohio State underacheived and coasted through their schedule beating bad teams, only to be welcomed to the BCS party with open arms over Boise State. This makes four straight BCS bowls for the Buckeyes, but the task will be tall against an angry Texas team holding out hope for a split national title. The formula will be the same for Ohio State as it has been all season, hope that the defense can keep it close and rely on Chris Wells for the offense. A win for the Bucks could take some sting out of what was a down year for the Big Ten.

Northwestern was idle last weekend, but moved up anyway, setting up a match-up between ranked teams when #19 Michigan State comes into Evanston this Saturday.

With a 5-0 start the Wildcats are almost a lock for a bowl game this year as head coach Pat Fitzgerald is enjoying his best season yet. With three winnable games against Purdue, Indiana, and Minnesota to follow Michigan State, Northwestern could be looking at 9-0 heading into a match-up with Ohio State in November.

A 9-0 start is not likely, but the hype is starting to build on campus and obviously people are starting to take notice nationally. The worry is that Northwestern will be distracted by the success, but Fitzgerald and his veteran team will do all they can to avoid distractions.

The Wildcats do have the advantage of senior leadership this year and one senior, tailback Tyrell Sutton knows how important it is to stay focused on winning games.

“You have to block everything out,” Sutton said. “The biggest thing we can do is focus on ourselves and stick to the game plan.”

Northwestern and Michigan State have played some great games in the past few seasons and this year’s shouldn’t be any different with both teams undefeated in the conference and ranked in the nation. So I’d tune in Saturday, or at least peek at the score.