The South

I'm in Atlanta for training this week, so posting will be spotty. As a result, I didn't see the UCLA game today, but apparently for the second straight game, they started actually playing in the second half.

As for the Illini, the played a pretty solid game yesterday. It was weird in that no one performace really stood out as being tremendous. Richard McBride was a good selection for player of the game, but he was fairly spotty for much of the afternoon. He contributed big three pointers at key moments, especially the two at the end of the first half, which changed the complexion of the game.

The defense was excellent for the full forty minutes. Greg Brunner got off, but Jeff Horner and Adam Haluska were completely shut down, and that was truly the difference. The last two games are winnable, but they're also very losable. I'd expect a split, but I wouldn't be shocked if they lost both heading into the conference tournament.