The bottom line with Illinois is that NOBODY has a better starting 5 in the country...period.
The "secret" to beating Illinois would be to get into their bench, particularly to get the guards -- Brown, Williams and Head -- into foul trouble. Illinois is not very deep at the 1,2,3 spots. They really only bring in one guy at those spots -- McBride -- and he is a freshman who can shoot the ball some, but his full court game isn't spectacular.
Now, these guys tend not to get into foul trouble because they play very fundamental, smart team defense. Plus, they can afford maybe 1 of these guys on the bench some because all 3 can run the team and bring the ball down the court effectively. It's like having 3 points guards which is a HUGE PLUS.
The thing with Illinois is, while they may not have a guy that is destined to be an NBA superstar, the entire lineup is capable of getting a look at the next level and by the end of the year each starter could have a Big 10 Player of the Week honor under his belt. Illinois has already set a record with 4 players receiving that honor. Amazingly, the lone starter who hasn't it Deron Williams, who most figured to be the best player on the team and a National Player of the Year candidate. He has 5 weeks to get the honor.
And people who say Illinois doesn't have an inside presence are wrong. Augustine and Powell are seriously underrated because the guards get all the attention. And Illinois does have more depth upfront with Smith and Ingram doing a sufficient job off the bench.
But you jsut can't expect to beat Illinois' starting 5 man-for-man. And this includes North Carolina. Where Carolina has the edge is depth.
What this all means is refs will play a huge role in whether Illinois loses a game all year. If they call it tight on the guards, Illinois could run into trouble, but if they stay out of foul trouble Illinois can run the table all the way through the tournament.
Anyone ever handicap the refs?
