Battle Wound

Talor Battle has been the best kept secret in the Big-10 for nearly 4 years now. He is one of the most dangerous guards in the conference, but is locked in the basketball jail of Happy Valley, PA. Battle's talent disguised in the face of Nittany Lion basketball is like if you were to keep the Dr. Dre 2001 CD inside the Chingy Jackpot album jacket, it's simply a travesty on all accounts. Not that Illinois didn't know about Battle or wasn't prepared for him, but Talor lit up the #16 Illini for 27 in a 57-55 victory last night in Pennsylvania. Initially, you immediately thought, "how did U of I just lose to Penn St., they haven't been good since...ever." Yeah, you're right. But don't write off Talor Battle as arguably the most complete player in the Big 10. Last year, Battle was the only player in D1 college basketball to lead his team in scoring (18.8), rebounding (5.4), assists (4.1) and steals (1.1). How come you haven't heard of him? Essentially, it's the same reason why nobody had heard about The Wonders from That Thing You Do! before Mr. White (Tom Hanks) stepped in and gave Guy Patterson those shades--they are in Pennsylvania! It takes at least a calendar year for anything popular in PA to make its way to Big-10 country. Yet, there's a Big 10 school in Pennsylvania. I try to forget.

Still, whether it be to play Talor Battle or fight the Battle of Big Horn, U of I needs to start showing up on the road. All 4 of their losses have now come outside of Assembly Hall. They lost to Texas in New York, got overran by Mizzou at a neutral site in St. Louie, embarrassingly got dropped by UIC at the UC (you see? get it? nevermind) and then lost last night to Penn St. in the Bryce Jordan Center. Illinois has been tremendous at home, beating good teams (Wisconsin, Northwestern?, UNC) rather handily and looking like a sharp, well-executing, top-10 team in the process. But on the road, the story is much more slanted, and needs to be ironed out immediately if Illinois is going to compete for a Big 10 title like their preseason hopes entailed.

For me, road games are much like 22 year old sleepovers at a friends/acquaintances house. Crazy I still do it, I know. First, find your niche (offense). How good of friends are you with the apartment/house owner? Can you finagle your way into an empty bed? Test the waters a little. If you can't make headway in a hostile environment with a lot of guests (tough Big-10 arenas- Breslin, Kohl, Mackey, etc.), then find a spot on the carpet and get a few pillows (offensive boards, second chance points). Just make sure you come prepared and have something you can rely on (defense/ample space on the ground) so you don't end up sleeping on the kitchen hardwood and are shelved for the next week with a bruised hip. At this point, there is no way anyone is still following this analogy, so I'll let it die. Still, it is imperative for Illinois to 'get comfortable' on the road if they're going to be successful in the thick of the Big-10 season. Otherwise, it could be a miserable morning.

As for Pick of the Day, the Pulse Man got "Jimmer'd" last night as the BYU boy-band megastar dropped 47 on the Runnin' Utes and obliterated the 12 point spread in the process. For tonight, the Pulse Man likes the Hawks giving 4 to the Raptors in Canada. After watching Toronto twice this season, I have yet to figure out how they have beaten anyone.

Pick of the Day: Hawks (-4) @ Toronto- HAWKS

Record:(45-31-0)

Now I'm done. Rack me

Frost