Opponent: Illinois Fighting Illini (16-7, 5-5)

Series Record: Tied 83-83

Last Meeting:3/5/11  The Illini thumped Indiana 72-48(and it wasn’t really that close,) to close out the regular season.

Last IU win: 1/27/11 A thrilling 52-49 victory which led to Hoosier students storming the court in celebration of IU’s first win over a ranked opponent in the Tom Crean era. Little did the students know there were going to be better reasons to storm the court in the next season.

A different team from last year:  If IU thinks it will be able to just breeze through a 52-49 walk in the park like last year, it has another thing coming.  This is a completely different Illinois team. The trio of Mike Davis, Mike Tisdale, and Demetri McCamey are gone. Their production has been mostly replaced by a new trio who is sure to be as big of a pain in the ass;  DJ Richardson, Brandon Paul,  and Meyers Leonard.  All three were with the team last year, but have taken on much larger roles this season.  Of the three, the 7’2″ Leonard’s ascent has been the most noticeable. He’s gone from averaging 2.1 points and 1.2 rebounds per game to 13.3 and 8.  To put that in perspective, it’s almost as good as replacing Bobby Capobianco’s production with Cody Zeller’s. Wouldn’t that be something if a team could manage that.

Stat to win friends and influence people:  The absolute takeaway from the Hoosiers win over Purdue was the defensive effort and execution fans have been clamoring for. IU held Purdue to .91 points per possession, almost .2 below their average. As a comparison, it was essentially like taking what IU has done on average all season and making it look like the Hoosiers did against Wisconsin.  What made it more impressive in my mind was that the Hoosiers forced only 3 turnovers. IU simply limited the good shots for most of the game, and when Purdue missed, IU didn’t allow many offensive rebounds.  If IU can play defense like that for the rest of the season, there are few teams who can match up to the Hoosiers firepower on offense.

Gratuitous Bruce Weber Cheap Shot: Unfortunately for Mr. Weber, his record is trending downward at the worst possible time. Weber is now in his 9th season as head coach of the Illini, he took over a loaded team from Bill Self and to his credit brought them to the doorstep of a National Championship in his 2nd year.  You might remember Sean May and the Tarheels beating Illinois in this game, if you do, you’re a better  fan than me. Since then his record has been mixed to say the least. He’s missed the tournament twice and last year’s run to the Sweet Sixteen with a senior laden squad was the only time he’s seen the 2nd weekend of the NCAA’s in the last 7 years.  And as the seat is getting warmer, he also has to deal with a new Athletic Director. Mike Thomas, came over from the University of Cincinnati and immediately began cleaning house by replacing the enigma known as Ron Zook.  Which leads me to….

Gratuitous Jack Trudeau cheap shot: You might remember the gratuitous cheap shots became an official headingafter Trudeau promised to “have his old buddy Zooker” run the score up on Kevin Wilson and the Hoosiers.  Well he might have accomplished that, but apparantly Wilson gets the last laugh as both Trudeau and Zooker were let go within weeks of each other. Far be it from me to do something as classless as kicking a man when he’s lost his job. But that’s why I trust in my readers to do it for me.

Scouting Future Opponents:

Northwestern Hosts Iowa Thursday at 9.

North Carolina Central hosts Savannah State on Saturday.  

Prediction: Much to my dismay, they won’t make Leonard Part 7.

   Though Meyers Leonard will pose an interesting and new challenge to IU’s talented freshman forward, the surrounding talent won’t be enough as Victor Oladipo continues his defensive renaissance in locking down Brandon Paul. IU wins 78-65.