Illinois vs. Detroit Mercy
7 pm
TV: None (ESPN3 stream)
After laying a might whooping upon McKendree Tuesday night, the Illini got their longest rest of the season thus far: two days. In what Paris Parham referred to as the team’s “NBA schedule,” Illinois opened the year with 3 games in 5 days. Making a sweep of those games was expected, but having an extra day off this week was surely a bonus for the Illini.
Their competition this evening in the first NIT Season Tip-Off game isn’t much more fear-inducing than any previous foe, but at least Detroit Mercy is a D-I school, unlike McKendree. The Titans (1-1) are coming off a big loss to East Tennessee State (78-107) and only have a win against D-III school, Adrian. Like most of Illinois’s opponents thus far, the Titans don’t have much size and will look to play a an up-tempo game.
For more on Detroit Mercy, let’s hear from Perry Farrell of the Detroit Free Press:
The Titans’ key players are Chris Jenkins, a senior swing man, Jaleel Hogan, an under-sized center, and Josh McFolley, a sophomore guard. They try to get out and run and were going to be a defense-oriented team, but that’s not likely after the ETSU game. This is Bacari Alexander’s first year as head coach, and he’s not had enough time to get things together. It’s gonna be ugly.
My prediction: Gonna trust Mr. Farrell, an ugly one for Detroit, leading to more impressive point guard play for Tracy Abrams, Jaylon Tate, and Te’Jon Lucas.