NCAA Hoops: The March to the Arch

[LiveItUp21]

I too think it will be an all Big Ten championship game. That would be so cool. But I think MSU will win it. I've been saying all month that I think Illinois will go to the final game but won't win it all. Hey, they have to lose again sometime! lol. Plus I want my team to win. If State's in the final game I have already decided I would skip my Monday night class (unless it gets cancelled - which my prof would be pretty stupid not to do) so I can watch the game. When I told my friend in that class that was my plan, she told me I was insane. But my priorities are set and in this order 1. Homework/studying, 2. Basketball and 3. Band (which is my Monday night class). With that I have to add: IT'S GREAT TO BE A SPARTAN!

GO STATE!

Band Class? That is one of those classes that I would skip reguardless if I had a reason to or not! :lol: I thought only high schools had 'band class'. Just Kidding

Anyway, getting to the game. Personally, I can't see Illinois losing to Izzo's Spartans in the Championship Game. They have already beat MSU very convincingly i might add twice this season! I mean, Izzo is a great coach and all but they (MSU) do not have nearly as much talent as Illinois has and if Illinois plays up to their abilities (which I think they will) the game could possibly be a blow out!

If MSU and Illinois make it to the Championship game I will definately be an Illini fan for the day! No way, do I want to see a national title go to that awful state up north (Michigan)! I guess that's just the Buckeye in me talking but I wouldn't have it any other way. :sohappy:

GO ILLINI!!

To the Orange Krush: Take Down the Izzone! (if it's a MSU-Ill Championship game of course :animwink: )

 

[shello1113]

I didn't really see anything about this, but I've got to post. I am a Louisville fan. They play tonight and I can't wait. I just thought they should be mentioned. Am I the only Louisville fan out there? I even went to the pep rally they had last week and it was soooo packed, I didn't see a thing.

 

[LiveItUp21]

I didn't really see anything about this, but I've got to post. I am a Louisville fan. They play tonight and I can't wait. I just thought they should be mentioned. Am I the only Louisville fan out there? I even went to the pep rally they had last week and it was soooo packed, I didn't see a thing.

Looks like you are alone here man. Well, Welcome to Big Ten Country! And yes, we are the best conference in the land! And we will prove it shortly.

Although, I must say that I really respect what Pitino has done with that program this year. He is without a question the best coach in college basketball (and he knows it). I just think that Francisco Garcia is due for a bad game, and that's why they will lose today (IMO).

On a side note: did anyone watch the segment on Francisco Garcia on Sportscenter this morning! OMG! What that kid has gone through is nothing short of amazing. Personally, I greatly admire his courage and hope for his continued sucess at the NBA level. I mean, how could you not root for this guy after seeing that? I will be rooting for him.... but not the Louisville bball team. I gotta root for the Big Ten there!

 

[nikimsu2002]

Band Class? That is one of those classes that I would skip reguardless if I had a reason to or not! :lol: I thought only high schools had 'band class'. Just Kidding

Anyway, getting to the game. Personally, I can't see Illinois losing to Izzo's Spartans in the Championship Game. They have already beat MSU very convincingly i might add twice this season! I mean, Izzo is a great coach and all but they (MSU) do not have nearly as much talent as Illinois has and if Illinois plays up to their abilities (which I think they will) the game could possibly be a blow out!

If MSU and Illinois make it to the Championship game I will definately be an Illini fan for the day! No way, do I want to see a national title go to that awful state up north (Michigan)! I guess that's just the Buckeye in me talking but I wouldn't have it any other way. :sohappy:

GO ILLINI!!

To the Orange Krush: Take Down the Izzone! (if it's a MSU-Ill Championship game of course :animwink: )

Just an FYI MSU and Illinois only played once this season. And yes State lost, but it was their 3rd game in 5 days. And oh yes, those other 2 games, they won by a landslide. The players on Illinois can not compare to State's players in that the Illini have one player that stands out night after night and makes all the plays. State doesn't have that. But yet we gave Duke a run for thier money back in November, beat Stanford, Wisconsin and Minnesota in the regular season (as well as many other teams) and then went on to beat Duke and Kentucky in the tournament.

Also, I know you are an Ohio State fan and there's nothing wrong with that. OSU is a fine school (my aunt and uncle graduated from there). But just because you are a Buckeye who doesn't like Michigan because of UofM is no reason to not like an entire state (or cheer for a team from that state). MSU and UofM are two COMPLETELY different schools. I too am not a fan of UofM but that's because they're the cross-state rival. I would not say I don't like Ohio just because I don't like a school in that state. It would be like me saying I don't like the state of Ohio because I don't like Bowling Green State. (I'm just assuming that UofM is the reason you don't like the state of Michigan).

I personally take offense to your comments about several things. For one, band class. Yes it is a class. Music is actually my minor. Another thing is your comment about the Izzone. I am a proud member of the Izzone (sporting my shirt right now as a matter of fact). I do not necessarily agree with all of their rules (that's another story) but I am still a member of the Izzone and a VERY active member in the student organization (Studnet Alumni Foundation) that is in charge of the Izzone. The Izzone is the largest, loudest and most spirited group on campus. They are just one of many groups that make up SAF including our mascot, who is a 2 time National Champion. No other mascot in the Big Ten can even say they are or have been a national champion.

I will be cheering for Illinois until they play MSU becasue they are a fellow Big Ten team. However I still hope that MSU wins tonight and again on Monday. Our players (particularly the Seniors) are proving that they are a lot stronger of a team than anybody thought as recently as a month ago.

Ok, I'm done now.

GO STATE!

 

[LiveItUp21]

Just an FYI MSU and Illinois only played once this season. And yes State lost, but it was their 3rd game in 5 days. And oh yes, those other 2 games, they won by a landslide. The players on Illinois can not compare to State's players in that the Illini have one player that stands out night after night and makes all the plays. State doesn't have that. But yet we gave Duke a run for thier money back in November, beat Stanford, Wisconsin and Minnesota in the regular season (as well as many other teams) and then went on to beat Duke and Kentucky in the tournament.

Also, I know you are an Ohio State fan and there's nothing wrong with that. OSU is a fine school (my aunt and uncle graduated from there). But just because you are a Buckeye who doesn't like Michigan because of UofM is no reason to not like an entire state (or cheer for a team from that state). MSU and UofM are two COMPLETELY different schools. I too am not a fan of UofM but that's because they're the cross-state rival. I would not say I don't like Ohio just because I don't like a school in that state. It would be like me saying I don't like the state of Ohio because I don't like Bowling Green State. (I'm just assuming that UofM is the reason you don't like the state of Michigan).

I personally take offense to your comments about several things. For one, band class. Yes it is a class. Music is actually my minor. Another thing is your comment about the Izzone. I am a proud member of the Izzone (sporting my shirt right now as a matter of fact). I do not necessarily agree with all of their rules (that's another story) but I am still a member of the Izzone and a VERY active member in the student organization (Studnet Alumni Foundation) that is in charge of the Izzone. The Izzone is the largest, loudest and most spirited group on campus. They are just one of many groups that make up SAF including our mascot, who is a 2 time National Champion. No other mascot in the Big Ten can even say they are or have been a national champion.

I will be cheering for Illinois until they play MSU becasue they are a fellow Big Ten team. However I still hope that MSU wins tonight and again on Monday. Our players (particularly the Seniors) are proving that they are a lot stronger of a team than anybody thought as recently as a month ago.

Ok, I'm done now.

GO STATE!

Ok, first of all the reason I hate ALL of Michigan: I quote the great Woody Hayes who said it best: "I don't give a damn for the whole state of Michigan." It's not just that we as Buckeyes hate the U of M, we hate the entire state (including MSU). It's nothing personal against you, it's just we don't like you, but we do respect MSU (unlike the U of M). I think the proper term is that we despise the U of M!

I mean, I will root for MSU in today's game against UNC but I just can't root for you guys over Illinois!

You took offense to the band comment? Well let me apologise for that comment. I really respect any college band member! The time you guys put in is nothing short of amazing. At Ohio State (who incidently offically has 'The Best Damn Band in the Land'!) our band members wake up at 5 am on game days in preparation for their routine!

And as for the Izzone. When did I ever knock you guys? All I said was that the Orange Krush should shut you guys up!:lol: At OSU we call the Izzone the 'Cameron Crazy Wannabe's!!'!! BECAUSE YOU ARE! Seriously, get creative with your own idea (instead of ripping off Duke's 'Cameron Crazy's') and then you will have my respect. And as for your mascot being named 'national champion' WHO CARES!! I mean come on, it's a mascot! Yeah, OSU has a National Championship that actually matters from 2002 in football! NOT A MASCOT COMPETITION!:lol:

And I will admit, MSU is definately the surprise team of the tourney after sooooo many people left them for dead after their Big Ten tourney loss to Iowa. I must say the team showed a lot of heart to make it this far. And how bout Izzo smashing those video tapes!!:lol:

 

[LiveItUp21]

Looks like you are alone here man. Well, Welcome to Big Ten Country! And yes, we are the best conference in the land! And we will prove it shortly.

Although, I must say that I really respect what Pitino has done with that program this year. He is without a question the best coach in college basketball (and he knows it). I just think that Francisco Garcia is due for a bad game, and that's why they will lose today (IMO). QUOTE]

I'd hate to quote myself.... but boy did I call that one! Francisco Garcia went 2 of 10 from the field today! Might as well just call me 'Hector the projector'! :lol:

 

[GenerationX]

Great game for Illini fans! I have watched nearly every Illinois game all season, and I am still amazed at how well they pass and how unselfish they are. A team in the truest sense of the word.

 

[LiveItUp21]

Great game for Illini fans! I have watched nearly every Illinois game all season, and I am still amazed at how well they pass and how unselfish they are. A team in the truest sense of the word.

Amen Bro! When I say that team in person I was just amazed with the fantastic job that Bruce Weber has done with that team (eventhough my Buckeyes were victorious:sohappy: ).

Anyway, GO CRAZY ILLINI LAND! Who knows if you will ever experience anything else like this in your lifetime (seeing that the Cubs are truly 'cursed!')

 

[LiveItUp21]

Just an FYI MSU and Illinois only played once this season. And yes State lost, but it was their 3rd game in 5 days. And oh yes, those other 2 games, they won by a landslide. The players on Illinois can not compare to State's players in that the Illini have one player that stands out night after night and makes all the plays. State doesn't have that. But yet we gave Duke a run for thier money back in November, beat Stanford, Wisconsin and Minnesota in the regular season (as well as many other teams) and then went on to beat Duke and Kentucky in the tournament.

Also, I know you are an Ohio State fan and there's nothing wrong with that. OSU is a fine school (my aunt and uncle graduated from there). But just because you are a Buckeye who doesn't like Michigan because of UofM is no reason to not like an entire state (or cheer for a team from that state). MSU and UofM are two COMPLETELY different schools. I too am not a fan of UofM but that's because they're the cross-state rival. I would not say I don't like Ohio just because I don't like a school in that state. It would be like me saying I don't like the state of Ohio because I don't like Bowling Green State. (I'm just assuming that UofM is the reason you don't like the state of Michigan).

I personally take offense to your comments about several things. For one, band class. Yes it is a class. Music is actually my minor. Another thing is your comment about the Izzone. I am a proud member of the Izzone (sporting my shirt right now as a matter of fact). I do not necessarily agree with all of their rules (that's another story) but I am still a member of the Izzone and a VERY active member in the student organization (Studnet Alumni Foundation) that is in charge of the Izzone. The Izzone is the largest, loudest and most spirited group on campus. They are just one of many groups that make up SAF including our mascot, who is a 2 time National Champion. No other mascot in the Big Ten can even say they are or have been a national champion.

I will be cheering for Illinois until they play MSU becasue they are a fellow Big Ten team. However I still hope that MSU wins tonight and again on Monday. Our players (particularly the Seniors) are proving that they are a lot stronger of a team than anybody thought as recently as a month ago.

Ok, I'm done now.

GO STATE!

Aw... too bad. Your precious Spatans took a pretty bad beating against UNC! To quote 'eddie' in the Movie Vegas Vacation "Clark I haven't seen a beatin that bad since someone stuck a banana down my pants and turned a monkey loose!":lol: Well UNC sure sent the Izzone home packing!

Hey, at least you have a national champion MASCOT!! :lol: :sohappy:

GO ILLINI.... Beat UNC!

 

[tigger248]

I didn't really see anything about this, but I've got to post. I am a Louisville fan. They play tonight and I can't wait. I just thought they should be mentioned. Am I the only Louisville fan out there? I even went to the pep rally they had last week and it was soooo packed, I didn't see a thing.

You're not alone. I'm a Louisville fan (that's where I currently go to school). I didn't go to 4th Street for the pep rally because I knew it would be too crowded. Parking down there is bad enough when there isn't a big event going on! I didn't get to see the game (stupid work! :fork: ). Though I guess I didn't miss much. I must say that I am proud of the Louisville cardinals for how far they made it and for their great season. We haven't seen the last of them and there's always next year. Plus, at least we made it farther than Kentucky. :drevil:

So, now that my team's out, I'm pulling for UNC.

 

[nikimsu2002]

So, now that my team's out, I'm pulling for UNC.

Ditto. Although Michigan State played an awesome game last night. Well at least for 3/4 of it. Then they just fell apart. Even though Illinois is a fellow Big Ten team, I'd rather see UNC win. They not only beat MSU but the school from my hometown (Oakland).

Aw... too bad. Your precious Spatans took a pretty bad beating against UNC! To quote 'eddie' in the Movie Vegas Vacation "Clark I haven't seen a beatin that bad since someone stuck a banana down my pants and turned a monkey loose!" Well UNC sure sent the Izzone home packing!

Hey, at least you have a national champion MASCOT!!

So we lost. Not a big deal. The women are still in. How many teams in this year's tournament could say that both of their teams made it to the Final Four. Just one. ANd that would be us. And we're only one of 6 teams EVER to accomplish this. Our women's team has been expected to make it this far all season. And I, unlike some bandwagon fans, will continue to cheer for Michigan State just like I have through all the ups and downs in football and basketball over the years. I was raised to bleed green and I will continue to cheer for Michigan State for the rest of my life.

 

[ArchiDanDisney]

Band Class? That is one of those classes that I would skip reguardless if I had a reason to or not! :lol: I thought only high schools had 'band class'. Just Kidding

Anyway, getting to the game. Personally, I can't see Illinois losing to Izzo's Spartans in the Championship Game. They have already beat MSU very convincingly i might add twice this season! I mean, Izzo is a great coach and all but they (MSU) do not have nearly as much talent as Illinois has and if Illinois plays up to their abilities (which I think they will) the game could possibly be a blow out!

If MSU and Illinois make it to the Championship game I will definately be an Illini fan for the day! No way, do I want to see a national title go to that awful state up north (Michigan)! I guess that's just the Buckeye in me talking but I wouldn't have it any other way. :sohappy:

GO ILLINI!!

To the Orange Krush: Take Down the Izzone! (if it's a MSU-Ill Championship game of course :animwink: )

Why do you associate everyone on the state with the dreadful Maize and Blue??? The Spartans Despise the Wolverines way more than any buckeye fans do, and we have to share the state with them...

 

[ArchiDanDisney]

So we lost. Not a big deal. The women are still in. How many teams in this year's tournament could say that both of their teams made it to the Final Four. Just one. ANd that would be us. And we're only one of 6 teams EVER to accomplish this. Our women's team has been expected to make it this far all season. And I, unlike some bandwagon fans, will continue to cheer for Michigan State just like I have through all the ups and downs in football and basketball over the years. I was raised to bleed green and I will continue to cheer for Michigan State for the rest of my life.

Speaking of the Football team...How awesome are the the spartans gonna be in the fall?!

 

[m star]

GO ILLINI!!!! This campus is going crazy!

 

[Dwarful]

Go Illini! My husband is so happy. Sunday morning a friend called and had 2 tickets to Monday nights game and was looking for someone to take them who would actually go and make some noise..well my husband and his best friend fit that bill! Definately wearing their Orange KRUSH tonight!

(darn school keeping me from going..but my heart will be in St.Louis!) GO ILLINI

 

[nikimsu2002]

Speaking of the Football team...How awesome are the the spartans gonna be in the fall?!

It's going to be AWESOME!!!!!!!!! I can't wait. Corner Blitz ticket information is supposed to come out this week sometime and I can not wait! It'll be my Senior year (although I'll be back for the 2006 season too) and my brother will be a freshman up here and he wants to get tickets with us. Its going to be so much fun! Plus the team is actually looking promising too. Hopefully Matt Trannon will play like he did on the basketball team and not drop every pass that is thrown to him. lol

Why do you associate everyone on the state with the dreadful Maize and Blue??? The Spartans Despise the Wolverines way more than any buckeye fans do, and we have to share the state with them...

I have to agree with you on that. I DESPISE the Wolverines and everything that goes along with them. No offense to Wolverine fans that might be out there, but some of them are just plain obnoxious. When I worked my high school's band camp on the MSU campus last summer, one of the girls was in the Michigan Band and wore a different Michigan shirt all week and wondered why when she walked around campus people were yelling nasty things at her, honking their horns, booing and more. Gee I wonder why? The rest of us (mostly MSU students) couldn't believe why she even wondered that.

And how about those MSU women? Championship game tomorrow night! I'm so excited that they managed to make it that far. They deserved it. They've had an awesome season. Big Ten Tournament AND regular season champs and a #1 seed. They're definately making school history this year.

 

[GenerationX]

GO ILLINI!!!! This campus is going crazy!

So is the entire Chicago metropolitan area!

Go Illinois!!

 

[DMC-12]

So is the entire Chicago metropolitan area!

Go Illinois!!

:sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy: :sohappy:

 

[Dizparks]

Pretty much the entire St. Louis Metro area is pulling for the Illini.

Woooooo Go Illini!!!!!!!!!!

 

[FanofDinsey1981]

ok, I finally got pictures up on my website of my trip to st. louis and the final four. St. Louis did an amazing job of catering to 40,000 plus fans that were there for the weekend. there are some cool shots of the crowd, and a few of the party at Al habrosky's (the official illini hangout).


http://theminards.com/gallery/view_album.php?set_albumName=album01&page=1