North Carolina at Illinois Preview: Getting Past 2005

Five years on (six, this coming March)  it is safe to say that as a fan base, we have had trouble getting past the loss of the National Championship to North Carolina. It isn't surprising, given that until 2005 we had trouble getting over the 1989 Final Four team, and our loss to Michigan. Part of it, obviously is because we haven't come close to matching the sort of success we had from 2001-2005, and only recently seem to have pulled ourselves up from the down period that occurred just after that season. North Carolina probably doesn't pay too much mind to that, given that they have had even more success during this same period of time, reaching two Final Fours and winning another National Championship. Logic says we need to get over that team and that game, we need to focus on this team, this season and not get too caught up in a revenge game over a team that isn't ranked and is perhaps entering a dark period of its own. But still this is tough to get over.

Tonight should be about this team. It should be about Demetri McCamey becoming a complete player that has as much awareness and ability as any Illini point guard that I have ever seen ( living up to the pressure of being compared to Deron Williams.) It should be about how big men Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale match up to the Tar Heels front line. It should be about how two very hyped freshmen Jereme Richmond and preseason all everything Harrison Barnes square off against one another. It should be about two teams trying to claw their way back into the tournament after a year relegated to the NIT. And for the most part, it will be.

Since we are at home, and it is a big stage, I think we can probably expect a very good showing from Brandon Paul. He moved into the starting lineup against Western Michigan and has been pretty solid as the back up ball handler to Demetri. He is still somewhat of a liability on defense, especially when trying to guard a man off ball. I cringe when switches put him up against a hot three point shooter, because BP doesn't always get to where he needs to be in time. Defensive issues aside, the scoring potential of Brandon Paul is undeniable, he can get hot himself from distance and has shown more and more that he has he hops to make some spectacular driving dunks. if this becomes the up and down game that UNC has pushed these last few seasons, BP is going to be crucial if he gets hot.

I don't want to pile on Mike Tisdale, who has become the pariah for all sorts of complaints about this basketball team lately.  He had very bad games against Texas and Maryland and defensively seemed to be ineffective against a freshman center from a MAC school. That said, he wasn't the reason the Illini lost to Texas, and maybe trying to have him play a wide bodied game isn't what we should be expecting from him. We know  he can be murder with his hook shot, and if he can at least draw the fouls he will be lights out from the foul line. Yes it would be nice to see a dominant inside presence, but with Jereme Richmond and Meyers Leonard off of the bench we don't necessarily have to get it from Mike. If he plays his game, he will be a good contributor to this team and we have enough around him to not lean on him too much.

Speaking of Jereme, I wonder if he is the type of player that shines the most when the lights are brightest. the last big step forward he made was in Madison Square Garden against Texas, where he had  showed poise and confidence around the rim, maybe tonight with national coverage once again, and up against another super hyped freshman, he will take another leap forward. I could be wrong, I could just be overly hopeful, but it would be nice.

I have a lot of confidence in this Illini team tonight, much more than I thought I would. It hasn't hurt that North Carolina has suddenly dropped two games to Minnesota and Vanderbilt and have struggled to get points on the board like they once could. I like that this game is in Champaign, and I like that Bruce has perhaps a little extra motivation to beat up on this team. what does worry me is that players like Harrison Barnes and John Henson probably don't have too many bad games in them, and I don't want to be the team that is playing them when things click for them. I am hoping that we don't see anything like that tonight. A crazy breakout game from some UNC star that we have no answer for. Did I mention I am happy this game is at home?

That said, I am a bit conservative in my prediction for this game, Carolina has lost when they haven't put points on the board, so lets keep it a little lower scoring for tonight: Illini win 75-68.