Fighting Illini and Michigan Preview: Keep On Keepin' On.

I write this having just seen Michigan State already gut out a win against Iowa, and watching Penn State locked in a one point game against the Indiana Hoosiers. The fact of this tournament is, there aren't very many blowouts or easy wins. The Big Ten, after the top three teams, are very closely matched with one another, and that includes Illinois and Michigan. To expect the Illini or the Wolverines to come away with this in a double digit victory is pretty unlikely.

That said, even thought the Illini only beat UM by two points in Champaign last month, I think they will come away with a victory tomorrow. Giving the Illini a shot at the No.1 Ohio State Buckeyes, and a real shot to get a great seed in the NCAA Tournament.

If Illinois plays the way they have been lately, in two wins against Iowa and Indiana, and a road loss to Purdue, they should dispatch  the Wolverines handily. Illinois matches up very well against UM, as they have a great deal of defensive strength and speed on the perimeter, as well as three post players that may be able to score with easy against the undersized Wolverine front line.

The Big Ten Tournament is also where Demetri McCamey has shined the brightest in the past. Incidentally, it was against Michigan that Demetri had one of his best games of the season, scoring 18 points in the 54-52 victory. For their part, Mike Davis and Mike Tisdale combined for 20 points and 18 rebounds. If the Illini can repeat those performances, and not let their feet off of the gas pedal, they should have no problem getting to the semi-finals.

On the other hand, as we have seen in the past, if Michigan gets hot from three, there is no telling how many points they will put on the board. The Wolverines heaved up 18 three's in their loss in Champaign, but only connected on two of them. I doubt we can be so lucky as to have such a low deep shooting percentage again, but it may not matter if Illinois can manage to get enough points and boards out of their big men, something we have been saying of course, for three years.