Illinois' Sweet 16 date with Houston — the team and the city — is cause for some perspective
It’s the time of year in college basketball when everything gets kicked up a notch or five, including fans’ complaints.
The refs are against us. The gods are against us. Even the announcers are against us.
And if you’re rooting for Illinois, there’s a pretty good chance the location for its NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game against Houston (9:05 p.m. Thursday, TBS, truTV) is on your list of beefs before the first dribble. As if the Cougars (30-6), the South Region’s No. 2 seed, wouldn’t be enough of a challenge for the No. 3-seeded Illini (26-8) in any old gym, this one is at the Toyota Center in Houston.
Whoa, that’s rough. But “woe is me,” it better not be.
That message is clear from the Illini going in.
“We play Houston,” center Zvonimir Ivisic said. “We don’t play the fans.”
“They’re the higher seed,” forward Jake Davis said, “so it is what it is.”
It’s all about perspective, according to their coach.
“I’ll be honest, I couldn’t care less,” Brad Underwood said.
“I’m an old juco ball coach. I drove 16-passenger vans. I drove from Dodge City, Kansas, to Mesa, Arizona, for a basketball game, for a tournament, in a bus. If you had told me back then that I’m getting to coach basketball in the Sweet 16 and play Houston, I would sign up for it. I would crawl to get there.”
Sweet 16 matchups don’t get much more worth the time than this one.
Underwood has been boasting all season about having the best offense in the country, and the metrics have backed up his claim, though Purdue has edged a whisker in front of the Illini into the No. 1 spot in the KenPom efficiency rankings. Houston is fourth in defensive efficiency and second in scoring defense, allowing a mere 62.2 points per game.
Each team is led in scoring, assists and steals by a freshman point guard bound for the NBA draft lottery. Illinois’ 6-6 Keaton Wagler takes his time creating space for threes and drives and loads up on free throws. Houston’s 6-4 Kingston Flemings is much quicker getting to his spot and expert in the pull-up game.
Speaking of beefs, Illini fans still have an old one with Cougars coach Kelvin Sampson, infamous for flipping Illini commit Eric Gordon in 2006, when Sampson was at Indiana.
“I would expect there to be a lot of Illinois fans here,” Sampson said. “They have a tremendous program, terrific fan base.”
A year ago in Indianapolis, Houston overcame partisan Purdue and Tennessee crowds in the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight, respectively, en route a national-runner-up finish. Sampson’s team knows it can win anywhere, against anybody, period.
Underwood's ought to be able to say the same by now.
“If we want to beat them, no matter where we play them, we would have to play great,” Underwood said. “Guess what? We’re going to have to do that [Thursday]. And I think they’re going to have to play well if they want a chance to beat us.”