Miami Ohio at Illinois

There has been a good run in Champagne for 6 years now, the latest led by Brown and Augustine, who have now departed. The start has been good for the Illini, as they have begun 5-0, but have yet to play anyone that even had a chance to sta with them. Miami Ohio has been knocking on the door of a 20 win season for 3 years now, and this may be the team that puts them over the top. They may not have the best front-court in the country, but they arguably have the deepest. Illinois on the other-hand, is built just the opposite, plenty of guards, but not much inside. The challenge for Illinois tonight is going to be tempo, and guarding the deep frontline of Miami. Illonois likes to run up and down the court, while Miami likes to run their sets, and pound the ball inside. The question for Miami was would they have a guard that can run the offense. They have found the answer with freshman Alex Moosmann who has a 2.6 to 1 turnover ratio. We certainly wouldn't be as optomistic if this game was being played in "The House of Paign" where Illinois has been 93-4! Our choice is to play the team that has the most experience, and a deep baseline, versus a team that is going to have to win it from outside, and we like the tempo contrast in this one as well.