Wisconsin Milwaukee at Illinois

Ah, what goes around comes around here. Wonder if Mr. Pearl thought that this might happen years ago when he was taping the conversation with Deon and sending it to the NCAA. Well, he'll get the worst in this one. His Panthers head into this game off their second consecutive upset in the NCAA tournament, beating Alabama 83-73 as 6 point underdogs in 1st round action and then disposing of Boston College in 2nd round action by a score of 83-75 as 3 point dogs. Those wins for the up-start Panthers have come via a game plan that implements a pressing-trapping physical style of play. But Illinois is used to the physical play of the Big 10 and will thrive in this type of game situation. Look for the Illini guards Dee Brown, Luther Head and Deron Williams to easily move the ball against the Horizon League champs. UWM is here because they played two mediocre basketball teams with little or no discipline. It also helped them that neither Alabama or BC played any perimeter defense in either game. That will not be the case here as Dee Brown is one of best perimeter defenders in the country. UWM really does not match up anywhere with the Illini, who will also be in Chicago. Illinois is the superior squad in this match up in all aspects of the game (coaching, defense, offense). With that said I am expecting Illinois to also match Wis-Milwaukees emotional intensity on their way to a lopsided victory. This game has blowout written all over it. Illinois minus the points for five stars.