I have the good fortune of having spent June 9-Oct 2 up in northeast Minnesota on the doorstep of the BWCA so this will be my first game of the season to watch live. Pretty stoked about that.
At the risk of being hyperbolic, these next two games are huge IMO. Two of our recent B1G West nemeses. Neither team is a pushover by any stretch. Both still have a lot to play for. More importantly, we still have a lot to play for. I can only think of a couple times in the last decade when we got into the middle third of the season in a position to make noise in the division. Those seasons both featured a substantial returning-to-earth as the season progressed.
It feels different this time. BB and company have the team on a trend of improving a little each week, and I'm not sitting here hoping they can hold it together with bubble gum and twine long enough to get to 6 wins before the bottom falls out. I expect a slug fest tonight (and next week too for that matter) and really don't know how things will pan out. But I haven't been this enthusiastic going into game 6 since 2007 after the surprise upset of PSU. October is fun again.
Go Illini!!!
At the risk of being hyperbolic, these next two games are huge IMO. Two of our recent B1G West nemeses. Neither team is a pushover by any stretch. Both still have a lot to play for. More importantly, we still have a lot to play for. I can only think of a couple times in the last decade when we got into the middle third of the season in a position to make noise in the division. Those seasons both featured a substantial returning-to-earth as the season progressed.
It feels different this time. BB and company have the team on a trend of improving a little each week, and I'm not sitting here hoping they can hold it together with bubble gum and twine long enough to get to 6 wins before the bottom falls out. I expect a slug fest tonight (and next week too for that matter) and really don't know how things will pan out. But I haven't been this enthusiastic going into game 6 since 2007 after the surprise upset of PSU. October is fun again.
Go Illini!!!
