# Illinois-Arizona Elite Eight Game
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487
**Category:** Cafe Society
**Created:** [March 27, 2005, 8:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487 "2005-03-27T20:27:48Z")
**Posts on this page:** 8
**Page:** 2
### Author:  [@Hammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hammer)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2005, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487/21 "2005-03-28T21:08:43Z")
Sounds a lot like the ACC. We clean every ones clock prior to conference play (including the big 10) then beat each other up. Come tourney time we’re lucky to get 4/5 bids. I agree that defense wins in the tournament. How many times did the Badgers give up 88 points this season?
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### Author:  [@Garfield226](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Garfield226)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2005, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487/22 "2005-03-28T21:21:15Z")
Something I don’t understand is that Dick Vitale has a team profile/game recap for every Final Four team…EXCEPT Illinois. He did the one for Louisville and it was up before the Illinois game was over. I was looking forward to reading what he had to say about the Illinois comeback…but he never put one up. Then came the UNC story, and later, Michigan State. Still no Illinois.
I don’t know if this is a legitimate oversight or more of the “no respect” Illinois has been getting all season (this is the same guy who didn’t rank them number 1 until January 24, when they had won 19 straight games including almost two months prior, handing number-1 ranked Wake Forest its first loss (and leading by double-digits for the last 28 minutes of the game…including being up by as much as 32).
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### Author:  [@Hammer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hammer)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2005, 9:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487/23 "2005-03-28T21:50:20Z")
It does seem odd. Illinois was #1 all season and rightly so. Another funny thing was Digger Phelps being assigned the “Why they can win it all” segment for UNC when he clearly hates us. Lavin had to keep reminding the guy we were actually winning our games.
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### Author:  [@The\_Big\_Cheese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Big_Cheese)
#### Post date: [March 28, 2005, 11:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487/24 "2005-03-28T23:32:03Z")
> [@Hammer](#):
>
> I agree that defense wins in the tournament. How many times did the Badgers give up 88 points this season?
It’s the most they’ve given up this year, and the 3rd most they’ve scored (behind Western Carolina-89 & Greensboro-85)
What I meant in my previous post is that just because MSU is a #5, they definitely have a shot against NC. I think MSU is a bit better than UW, and they’ve got a better coach. On the other hand, I have NC to win it all so if they do win, I won’t finish last in my pools.
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### Author:  [@Gangster\_Octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gangster_Octopus)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2005, 12:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487/25 "2005-03-29T00:05:41Z")
> [@The Big Cheese](#):
>
> What I meant in my previous post is that just because MSU is a #5, they definitely have a shot against NC. I think MSU is a bit better than UW, and they’ve got a better coach.
I disagree. Bo Ryan is a better coach than Tom Izzo…just by the slightest.
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### Author:  [@brianjedi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brianjedi)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2005, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487/26 "2005-03-29T02:31:30Z")
> [@The Big Cheese](#):
>
> What I meant in my previous post is that just because MSU is a #5, they definitely have a shot against NC.
I hope UNC beats the everlovin’ crap out of Michigan State.
/bitter Kentucky fan
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### Author:  [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)
#### Post date: [March 29, 2005, 3:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487/27 "2005-03-29T03:11:21Z")
> [@Omniscient](#):
>
> See the thing is that the Big Ten plays defense. Everyone sees a bunch of 65-60 games and assumes no one is any good. They see everyone knocking each other off (because when you play defense you can beat anyone on a given day) and they assume its a middling league with no stand out teams. Well, guess what, defense wins games. It’s not flashy (no earring stdded McCants here, thanks) but it’s visciously competitive. Just like the Big Dance. RPI my ass.
I agree. Though I’m sad the Badgers didn’t make it to the Final Four (I was in school 5 years ago when they made it and the celebrations were awesome!) I’m glad they played so well. I was jumping out of my seat when they came from an 11 point deficit with less than 3 minutes left to tie it at halftime.
I was at concert for the end of the Illinois game. My boyfriend made me check the scores using my cell phone. It was stuck with Illinois at a big deficit with 2:45 left. I was pretty pissed, because my office pool at work had them winning the NCAA.
As for the good D–when I was in middle school I saw a basketball player wearing a shirt that said something along the lines of “If you score a lot of points, you may win. If the other team doesn’t score, you _will_win.”
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### Author:  [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)
#### Post date: [March 31, 2005, 6:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/illinois-arizona-elite-eight-game/296487/28 "2005-03-31T06:45:21Z")
a guy at [http://www.illiniboard.com](http://www.illiniboard.com) has it ready to go. Sorry, I can’t provide a link to a thread - this board is hugely active nowadays. You’ll have to search.
Also, WCIA, the local CBS station, is showing the game late Friday without commercials. There ought to be some new DVD’s being created then.
If all else fails, start a new thread.
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