Hoosiers vs. Illinois: Game Thread

Indiana gets their second true road game of the season this afternoon against Illinois. They're looking to dispel some hand wringing from the fan base and walking away with a nice victory. This is one of those games that you don't care whether they look good doing so or not, all you want is the win. If Indiana can get away with that then the new year will be a little brighter.

Last time Indiana went on the road they looked good for 20 of 40 minutes against #2 Syracuse. Indiana will be looking to avoid PTSD as they go into another orange heavy surrounding. A lot of this game will come down to how well the Hoosiers can stay out of foul trouble and get to the rim. This game should also be a good measurement of whether Yogi is the real deal or not. Show up against the physical back court of the Illini and you can be quite confident going forward.

Look for Indiana to force the pace as well. Pressing is probably going to be something we see as well. Crean wants to force the pace and make Illinois run. If that can be done then I think Indiana has a very good shot. As of now they're 5 point dogs, hopefully that doesn't hold up. Go Hoosiers!