That four seed looked pretty good next to Illinois in the latest bracketology from ESPN.  Well after last night it will take quite a bit to get a four seed or better in the big dance.

Last night I was hearing how Penn State was trying to play its way into the tournament, while Illinois had nothing to play for.  Unbelievable.  In all of the “bubble” hype that we are fed this time of year, it’s easy to forget about playing for a better seed in your conference tournament and in the field of 64.

With a terrible come from ahead loss at Penn State last night, the Illini likely cost themselves any chance at the #2 seed in the conference tournament, and will have to make a run to avoid playing a top three seed if they make the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

I don’t know if this was a loss due to lack of focus, effort, or just one of those bad nights.  The intensity seemed to be there on a couple of monster dunks by Mike Davis and Chester Frazier leading the way many times throwing his body to the floor.  Maybe the Illini weren’t focussed enough though, as evidenced with the poor free throw shooting and ball security down the stretch. The officials were bad, especially on a ball that went off Penn State late in the game, but there were some calls the other way too.

I think Illinois got a little comfortable with their spot toward the top of the conference and got slammed back to earth tonight.  Just imagine how much of a wake up call it will be when Penn State is sitting in the #2 seed for the Big Ten Tournament.  I’m not an expert on the tiebreakers, but I’m pretty sure if Penn State wins at Iowa this weekend and MSU beats Purdue, the seeds in order will be MSU, PSU, Illinois, Purdue.

I’m not in the mood to recap the game.  Suffice it to say that it went from okay to awful several times, and when PSU’s Talor Battle went coast-to-coast and scored Tyus Edny style with .3 seconds to go, awful was the feeling of the night.

The regular season is over for Illinois and all that’s left is to wait and see what seed it gets in the Big Ten Tournament.

Illinios moved to 23-6 on the year with a win against Minnesota last night.  It was a typical Big Ten battle, with tough defense and a lot of physical play.  The 51-42 win is not pretty to most, but to teams like the Illini wins don’t come any more gorgeous.

Bruce Weber was fed up with the questions about ugly wins after the game.  “I’m sick of hearing all the jokes,” he yelled. “We guard, we prepare, we play our butts off in hostile environments.”  Assembly Hall was anything but hostile last night helping Illinois to yet another home win.

Mike Davis had another double-double, Meacham had 13, and McCamey had 10, but it was the defense that won the day.  After Minnesota came back for a one point lead around midway through the second half they were held to one point the rest of the way and none over the last six-plus minutes.  That’s an unreal defensive stretch.

That brand of defense is what makes Illinois so dangerous in the postseason.  Even when the offense is terrible, the defense can keep the team in the game and even shut it down to the point where it seems to convince the offense to mount a comeback.  Not to mention the Chester Frazier factor.  He was up to his old tricks again, holding Minnesota’s leading scorer Lawrence Westbrook to just four points.

Now it’s on to a giant match-up with league leader Michigan State on Sunday.  After a six point loss in East Lansing earlier this season, the Illini can make up for it and draw within a half game of the Sparties with a win.  If Illinois can keep it even on the glass, I think Frazier can keep Kalin Lucas down enough to get the win.

The win last night, paired with Michigan’s upset of Purdue, moves Illinois back into second place above the Boilermakers by a half game.

Illinois players and fans have been trying to forget a 33-point performance earlier in the week.  Sunday’s game at Ohio State went a long way to pushing that memory out.  The Illini made 8 of their first 9 shots and never allowed the Buckeyes to take a lead.

After being up by five at halftime, it seemed like the Illini were holding onto a one-possession lead for most of the second half.  With about 8 minutes to go, Illinois started to pull away and once again it was NQTC favorite Chester Frazier making a big play.  After an Evan Turner free throw Frazier hit a three from the corner with an arch that must have just missed the ceiling as the shot clock hit zero.

Mike Davis led the Illini again with 22 points on 11-14 from the field, and Trent Meacham chipped in with 17, including some big free throws down the stretch.  The game ended with Meacham missing a free throw on purpose, leaving Ohio State with a 70 foot heave to try for the win, and since this wasn’t Lebron in a Powerade commercial, the Illini got the win.

Illinois is now alone in third place in the Big Ten, a game and a half behind Michigan State for the lead and a game behind Purdue for second place.  They will have a good chance to gain some ground this week with two home games, one against Minnesota on Thursday and the second playing host to the Spartans on Sunday.

Again, hopefully this means that the Penn State debacle was an anomoly, but unfortunately this team might always have the chance to lay an egg like that.  The good thing is that the defense can keep Illinois in almost any game, and with this huge road win they showed they can deal with adversity and adhere to the cliche advice of taking it one game at a time.