|
 Keep in mind that ETSU came into the
game 8-3, and had won 25 games last season and they were as
surprised as Illini fans with the ease in which they were disposed
of.
However, there may be more to the story than just Illinois’
explosive offensive arsenal. Further investigation shows that ETSU’s
flight was delayed, then re-directed to Chicago-Midway because of
the fog in Central Illinois on Friday night. Then ETSU’s bus got a
flat tire and they had to wait for another bus to take them to
Chambana getting them to their hotel rooms after 3 in the morning
[can we arrange these services for Michigan & Indiana when they
visit-I’m just kidding!]. On top of all that, their luggage was
lost-including game uniforms, etc. and none of that stuff made it to
town until two hours before tip-off. To say that all of that had
somewhat of an impact on the game is a huge understatement.
Not to be out-done, two Illini teammates must have been feeling
sympathy pains for the Bucs as they both slept in and missed the
shoot-around. Ayo Dosumnu and Alan Griffin won a free ticket to sit
on the bench for this whole contest and luckily the Illini didn’t
need them on this occasion.
Thank goodness Trent Frazier didn’t oversleep. He drilled 3’s early
and often and his 25 points made an early emphatic statement. The
Illini canned 10 of 25 3-point tries. Giorgi Bezhanishvili popped in
15 points and Kipper Nichols had another impressive game with 14
points. Illinois out-rebounded the Bucs 39-37 and forced 20
turnovers while only committing 14 themselves. [to top of second column] |
Some Great Quotes on the Day:
"Their record is not indicative of who they are as a team,"
ETSU Coach Forbes said. "They've played a tough schedule, no
puffy games at all."
There was also a great quote on a tweet by Illini guard Alan
Griffin who owned up to the fact he overslept & took his
punishment like a man. We always want to applaud guys when they
do the right thing- how about some props and kudos for this
young man who admitted he was wrong & was sorry for letting his
teammates down. I for one applaud Mr. Griffin.
Next up for Illinois? The Braggin’ Rights game versus Missouri
in St. Louis on Saturday that tips at 7pm. [By JEFF MAYFIELD]
Respond to the writer at
jeffqmay@gmail.com.
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