Fighting Illini and Michigan State Preview: The Return of the Krush

It isn't all gloom and doom here in Champaign. Tonight's home game against Michigan State just also happens to correspond with the first day of classes for the second semester, which means we finally get all of the students and the full Orange Krush back in Assembly Hall to yell and taunt the opponents.

It is no secret also, that the Illini, like most college basketball teams, play better at home. Some think that home court advantage might be a statistical anomaly, but for this team it certainly is not. The Illini simply shoot better at home. Maybe its because they are used to all of the sight lines, the angles and tension of the rim or whatever, but our worst shooting performances have come away from the Assembly Hall this year, and our best ones, with the exception of Iowa, have come at home.

With so many of our players being jump shooters, from D.J. Richardson to Mike Tisdale, this is a very good thing, and a hot streak by one of our shooters is exactly what we need to beat MSU.

Even though the Spartans have many more losses than many thought, this is still a very talented, very deep team, a team that went to the last two Final Fours. Korie Lucious and Kalin Lucas are as dangerous a guard tandem in the Big Ten, and you can't ever sleep on them, ever. The comebacks against Wisconsin and Northwestern that the Spartans have pulled off is a testament to the leadership that veterans are providing to this team, and proof that they  are still a team to be reckoned with.

If the Illini can get back to offensive efficiency that we saw only two weeks ago, they can still blow the Spartans right out of the gym. When the Illini upset a #5 MSU team last year in Assembly Hall, it was because of hot shooting from Demetri McCamey with 22 points on 12 shots, D.J Richardson with 14 points on 10 shots and Mike Davis, who came off the bench to score 16 points off of 13 shots. That is efficient scoring from the top of the line up, and it was scoring that allowed the Illini to overcome being rebounded by a bigger and stronger MSU front line, 34-21.

It is as simple as that, and it always has been, if the Illini are getting open looks and draining them the rest of their short comings look like non issues. A wrinkle that will be added this year, though, is how the now officially 100% Illini for life Jereme Richmond will play. He could be a difference in the rebounding game, or in the case of the shooters perhaps not hitting at the rate we need, provide production from the inside.

If the Illini can rebound just slightly better, or defend slightly better against the Spartans than they have, then they wont need nearly as inhuman a shooting performance as it took to beat them last year. If not, I sure hope this team sets fire to the nets again.