Hopefully this causes them to tailspin not only into the conference tourney but also the Big Dance.

who beat them?

Ohio State 65-64

http://sports.yahoo.com/ncaab/recap;_ylc=X3oDMTBpN3NjcG9mBF9TAzk1ODYyMjM4BHNlYwN0bQ--?gid=200503060443&prov=ap

damn, by 1 point, thats gotta be heart breaking, they probably would have rather lost by like 30

Matta sure knows how to coach those upset victories over undefeated teams.

I think the loss will be to the Illini's advantage. I think they'll bounce back and win the big 10 tournament. I'm still not sure they can win the whole thing, but I think this gets them at least to the finals of the big dance. If they had gone in undefeated I think someone would have knocked them off before the Final 4.

Any reasoning for this belief?
Because to me, this loss ends all the momentum that they had built up throughout the whole season. Up until this point in in their minds they were thinking that they were unbeatable, and they were. But this puts that doubt into their head.

Yeah, I don't buy into that whole "a loss helps" an undefeated team. They know every night that their opponent is gunning for them and trying to end the run of wins. I think losing hurts them more than staying undefeated.

In the NCAA tournament we (the Ilini) play in Indiana, Chicago, then St. Louis. This only asks the question "How many orange shirts can we pack into an arena?". The Ilini have a home court adavantage all the way through. This loss means absolutely nothing.

So you think that being one game away for being the first undefeated regular season team in 15 years, and then losing, wont have any effect on a bunch of 20 year olds?
I have a hard time believing that.

Awesome game, best I've watched all season. Ohio State was playing great defense all game even though they were down the entire time. I may be wrong but I think the only time OSU led was after the shot that gave them the win.

I don't think that this hurts Illinois. They were due to have an off-day, and they weren't getting good shots at the end. Ohio State won despite themselves because I thought in the final two minutes they took a couple of ill-advised shots and appeared to be running out of gas. God bless em, though, they found a way to pull it off. It is just so hard to go unbeated in D1 hoops, there is so much parity these days. Personally I'm liking UNC to win the whole thing.

meh. i would have loved to see illinois go undefeated, but i'm not sure that this loss "means" anything other then they're not going to go undefeated.
As a unit, that's the worst their three guards have played all year, and they ended up losing by one point to a team that's both far from hapless and was playing a game on their home court that was, for all intents and purposes, their NCAA championship game, as OSU said they're not going to the tourney even if they were invited. The athletes and students at OSU have had this game marked on their calendar since December, I'd wager.
so...they're not going undefeated. if they're truly good, they'll bounce back in the big10 tourney and ncaa. if they're not, they won't.

I thought that their shot selection in this game was terrible and that was one of the reasons they lost.


exactly.

I had a feeling that they would lose their last game. I would have loved to see them go undefeated, but I'm happy with how the Illini finished their season.




bingo.

how many people here think Illinois will make the F4?

i love it... just last week illinois was already talking the talk about going 39-0... mr williams decided to open his mouth before the purdue game about it, and of course he was safe there, but ohio state knocked em off... after years of futility and shortcomings illini fans everywhere have, i mean HAD gotten the biggest heads in the world... say one bad thing about their team and they would just about tear your head off... talk about anyone else's season, and why why why arent you talking about our precious illini?... good riddance to an undefeated season



im calling a big bullshit on this one... this team was building its season on the hopes of history... they've now seen their own blood and just watch for them to be timid come tourney time... and not the Big10 tourney, because they might as well be in CUSA or the Missori Valley tournament with the level of competition they will face in Chicago (taking homecourt into account)



great point... let's not go acting like this ohio state team was one to be worried about ... they just lost at home by 8 the previous game to wisconsin (who isnt much outside of their homecourt)



spoken like a true illini fan



uhhh... no... they pretty much are a hapless team... 7-8 in the Big10 before this game... let me run that by you again, 7-8 in the Big 10.... and what team isnt going to be hyped to play a No.1...



welcome to the bigtime... i'd say act like youve been their before, but i dont know your age and if you were a fan in '89, so ill cut you some slack there



a true statement... but they will coast through the big10 tourney... only chance of a loss would be vs. wisc/msu in championship

illini fans should just be happy that their games against Indiana (Bracy Wright), Michigan (Daniel Horton), Iowa (Pierre Pierce), and even Purdue (Landry) were games where the opposition's BEST player was injured or suspended... you play teams like Northwestern and Penn State who lose by 20+ once a week... other than winning at wisconsin and at michigan state their conference schedule was a cakewalk paved with injured, talentless teams... illinois finally faced a team that made a shot inside the final few minutes of a close game... sure, that does mean illinois' defense stepped up at the right times in previous close games, but they were stepping up against inferior competition on many and most of those nights




it really depends on the matchups they encounter on the road there... can they get there? i'd say without doubt they can get there... but i also wouldnt be surprised one bit if they are the first 1 seed knocked off

Says who? Where do you get this shit from? They were shooting for: 1) a Big Ten Championshp, and 2) an NCAA Championship. No one shoots for a place in history.

Nevetheless, this loss means nothing. In fact, like I've been saying all along, this loss takes a lot of pressure off them so they can just play basketball now.



Pot kettle black Mr. Tarheel. In fact, everything you post on this board about college basketball has to be read with a little skepticism because of your ridiculous homerism . . . (but I did like your picture at the free throw line with Vince Carter).



Like Santa Clara?

talking to you is against my better judgement, but hey, i'll bite. tell me what it "means", then. Give me a big picture, backed up empirically and in a fashion i cannot cast doubts upon, on what this game told you other than "the illini are 29-1". Using this game, foretell the future. Go.
And i'd suggest you shy away from the word "momentum".


hapless is Purdue. I'm ignoring the rest of your statement because most of it goes back to your staunch desire to have the semen of every ACC player and coach in your mouth, as near as I can tell.

1. Says who?... said Deron Williams before the Purdue game... i believe the exact quote was "It's time to start talking about it (going undefeated throughout)"

2."Ridiculous homerism"?... i think carolina has done a damn fine job of backing me up... take away the leading scorer/all-american candidate and the team goes 4-0 with road wins at ncstate and maryland along with a home win against one of the nation's best teams and a win AT uconn where mccants really started to get sick and didnt come out to start the second half

3. Santa Clara?... plain and simple, lose felton (which he missed that game) and it's like trying to drive a car without a steering wheel for this team... but take away an all-american and they just keep on kicking ass

imagine illinois losing one of their big three... would they still be a lock for the final four?... that's what i thought, not even close