Tennessee State @ Illinois

[MacabreMob]

I know the RPI doesn't mean anything.... but UIUC was 71 according to JPalm before the loss (he updates early morning the next day usually) and RealTimeRPI has UIUC dropping to 118. That's a pretty hard hit IMO. But this IS a BCS/B10 team, so I am sure a couple marquee wins in conference play will boost them back up and have them off the bubble.

Which now reminds me... where is the Asian Sensation to give us his "signature" -POP- ? Guess UIUC's bubble hasn't burst... guess a bubble can't burst if you are never on the bubble cause you are always in.

[bert notorius]

The Illini's future looks pretty bright to me.

[squirrel]

I'll never understand the vacuous hate some Bradley fans have for Illinois.

I agree Bert. Illinois has some nice but inconsistent young players, and hobbling/struggling upperclassmen.

Misery loves company.

[BradleyBrave]

The Illini's future looks pretty bright to me.

I am not disagreeing with you...but some folks (who are telling me this from Pasadena) are really concerned that some of the '09 verbals are going to jump ship. I told him that if I was a recruit, and saw how much the guards were struggling I would be giddy to go to an place like Illinois, because I would play immediately in the Big 10 for a very good coach. I guess time will tell.

[Da Coach]

I'll never understand the vacuous hate some Bradley fans have for Illinois.

I agree Bert. Illinois has some nice but inconsistent young players, and hobbling/struggling upperclassmen.

Misery loves company.

Are you referring to something said here? I re-read all the posts and I don't see anything remotely close to what I would call vacuous hate.

[tornado]

Eastern takes the awful cake with its sub 300 RPI

BUT EIU beat Tennessee State, and Tennessee State beat Illinois in Urbana, and Illinois was the highest ranked team in the state.


and squirrel....the very worst anti-Illinois language and sentiment I have ever seen here, pales in comparison to the Anti-Bradley stuff I have seen and experienced first hand at a certain other message board in Central IL that you know well, so gimme a break...

[cpacmel]

BUT EIU beat Tennessee State, and Tennessee State beat Illinois in Urbana, and Illinois was the highest ranked team in the state.

EIU lost to Tennessee State.

[bert notorius]

EIU lost to Tennessee State.

Thanks mel! See, IL isn't that bad after all.

[tornado]

sorry...then Tennessee State lost to SEMO and we beat SEMO....so we are better than Illinois!!!

[mportsch]

Pomeroy's ratings have now been updated to include yesterday's games... here's the rankings for Illinois teams:

3 Illinois
57) Illinois St.
84) Southern Illinois
119) Illinois Chicago
12 Bradley

Obviously this loss hurts Illinois, but let's not get carried away in putting UIC and SIU ahead of them - if SIU was as good as last year's version, then they'd be the best team in the state, but at this point I think you'd still have to say UI is #1, with ISU coming on pretty strong.

Another thing - I still don't think that RPI has much meaning at this point of the season. For one example, I don't believe that St. Mary's is significantly better than Duke, but that's what RPI is saying right now. Pomeroy's ratings pass the sniff test, while the RPI ratings don't right now. At the end of the season, RPI will be more closely aligned with Pomeroy's ratings and will have some value. For now, I'll stick with Pomeroy's ratings when evaluating how well a team has actually played to date.

[Average Joe]

When conference play starts, the conference RPI rankings will not change much, but Illinois' loss puts the Big Ten within striking range for the MVC to pass them. Valley members can only hope all their prior opponents keep winning the rest of their games.

[Murph]

Weber has taken Illinois to new lows, sad but true......

Congratulations all you Weber apologists.

[MacabreMob]

Another thing - I still don't think that RPI has much meaning at this point of the season. For one example, I don't believe that St. Mary's is significantly better than Duke, but that's what RPI is saying right now. Pomeroy's ratings pass the sniff test, while the RPI ratings don't right now. At the end of the season, RPI will be more closely aligned with Pomeroy's ratings and will have some value. For now, I'll stick with Pomeroy's ratings when evaluating how well a team has actually played to date.

I think I said the RPI doesn't mean anything.

My point was regarding how big of a hit they took.

After the Loy (Md) to the Tenn St loss, they went from 66 to 119. That's big. (after this many games have been played in all of NCAA hoops, to take a hit that big is significant)

[bert notorius]

I am not disagreeing with you...but some folks (who are telling me this from Pasadena) are really concerned that some of the '09 verbals are going to jump ship. I told him that if I was a recruit, and saw how much the guards were struggling I would be giddy to go to an place like Illinois, because I would play immediately in the Big 10 for a very good coach. I guess time will tell.

More of that "inside information"? I don't have to go as far as California to find Illinois fans that are concerned with recruits not actually getting to Campaign. There have been a few high profile recruits lately that we've had some trouble with. Potentially, IL has 3 prospects for outside shooting in Smith, Legion and Meach. Ironically, I am more concerned about a big banger with the loss of Pruitt, the lack of Carlwell's development, and Tisdale's weight, so they better not miss a lot of shots. Howard will no doubt be spending a lot of time up north the next few years...

[BradleyBrave]

More of that "inside information"? I don't have to go as far as California to find Illinois fans that are concerned with recruits not actually getting to Campaign. There have been a few high profile recruits lately that we've had some trouble with. Potentially, IL has 3 prospects for outside shooting in Smith, Legion and Meach. Ironically, I am more concerned about a big banger with the loss of Pruitt, the lack of Carlwell's development, and Tisdale's weight, so they better not miss a lot of shots. Howard will no doubt be spending a lot of time up north the next few years...

No. I was just chatting with some of my friends who made the journey out there, and that was their sentiment.