LIVE BLOG: Illinois Men's Basketball vs. Presbyterian

ILLINI WIN 94-48

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8:45 PM

And that's all she wrote...Illini with a dominating second half to run away with this one.

That's all for the updates tonight...hope you enjoyed. I'll have a postgame report online by the end of the night.

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8:41 PM

Bubba gets in and drains a three...biggest pop of the night.

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8:37 PM

And a "We want Bubba" chant has broken out here at the Hall. He's on the poster, coach, you gotta put him in.

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8:33 PM

Another Illini sports update...

Hockey wins 2-1 over Michigan-Dearborn.

Volleyball does the same winning over Wisconsin in three sets.

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8:29 PM

And in case you're wondering, Presbyterian is shooting 11 percent from the field this half...two for 17.

Timeout with 7:45 left in the game. A lot of the fans are making their way to the exits.

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8:25 PM

Legion must have somehow read my blog...he's drained two three-pointers since my last post.

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8:18 PM

Alex Legion with his first points of the night as he drains a jumper. He's one of the upperclassmen who are seeing some bench time in favor of the young guns (Paul and Richardson) who have been on a hot streak early in the season. Coach Weber has said that moves like that will hopefully serve as a big motivator for the upperclassmen to step up their game.

Illini now on a 25-2 run. Yep, Presby only has one bucket in 8 minutes of play this half.

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8:13 PM

I mentioned earlier that Kendall Gill is here working for BTN. Well, I just spotted Cory Bradford, another former Illini, in the courtside bleachers. He was at the NIU game last week as well.

Illini on a 14-2 run to start the half.

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8:08 PM

Since I cheated you all on the halftime analysis, I'll give you an Illini sports update instead.

Volleyball currently leads Wisconsin two sets to none. DeBruler with 11 kills.

Hockey leads Michigan-Dearborn 2-1. Again, tune your radio to 107.1 FM or go online at www.the217.com to listen to that game live.

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8:03 PM

Some halftime stats...

Richardson leads all scorers with 12 points on four for six shooting.
Davis leads the Illini with eight rebounds.
McCamey with five assists.
Illini shooting 18 for 34 from the field and two for three from the line as a team.
Illini outrebounding the Blue Hose 21-9.

No time for analysis as the second half is now underway.

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7:46 PM

And that's the half. Stats, analysis, and an Illini sports update coming up after I go get some popcorn.

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7:44 PM

Illini on a 6-2 run with just over a minute left in the half.

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7:36 PM

In the words of Marv Ablert..."Richardson for three...yes! And it counts!" For the lay person, DJ just completed an old fashioned four point play. And for those who don't understand that, well then you should be watching Desperate Housewives or something instead of following a college basketball blog.

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7:33 PM

Just spotted Illini women's hoops star Jenna Smith in the crowd. Last game, she passed 1600 points for her career. Sleeper candidate for Big Ten Player of the Year? I think so.

And as I'm listening to the Presbyterian huddle, coach Nibert just uttered the phrase "We have them right where we want them." To an extent, he's right...his squad has been neck and neck with the Illini so far and could possibly take a lead into the locker room if they make a run in the final 6:30.

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7:29 PM

Although it's not all students, it's good to see all the floor seats filled for this one.

Brandon Paul with a two handed slam a moment ago...had some style points on that one.

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7:23 PM

The Illini D is shining so far as they've made the Blue Hose force a shot at the end of the 35 second clock on multiple occasions so far.

Timeout on the court with 11:19 for the half.

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7:11 PM

A fast paced game so far with both teams trading buckets. Presbyterian coach Gregg Nibert appears a bit frustrated early, yelling things like "What are we running?" and "Pass the ball!"

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7:05 PM

The roundball is in the air and we're underway!

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7:00 PM

Starting lineups…

BLUE HOSE (0-2)

G Kevin Davis
G Chase Holmes
F Jake Troyli
G Khalid Mutakabbir
F Walt Allen

ILLNI (2-0)

G DJ Richardson
G Brandon Paul
F Mike Davis
C Mike Tisdale
G Demetri McCamey

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6:53 PM

Mike Tisdale stops by the scorer's table to say hi...

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6:50 PM

So as I mentioned earlier, the Presbyterian nickname is the Blue Hose, which I’m sure is leaving a lot of you scratching your heads as to what exactly a Blue Hose. Well, according to the team’s media guide, a Blue Hose is a Scottish-Irish warrior. Think Mel Gibson in Braveheart…

There’s still no official explanation as to how the nickname came into existence, though.

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6:42 PM

Fellow DI reporter Kevin Kaplan just joined me on press row. Also wanted to note that former Illini Kendall Gill is on color commentary for the Big Ten Network's broadcast of tonight's game.

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The Hall is filling up:

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6:28 PM

A few game notes with about 30 minutes til tipoff…

* This game will be the first of four for the Illini in the Las Vegas Invitational. The O & B have home matchups with Presbyterian tonight and Wofford Tuesday before travelling to Sin City next weekend. There, they have a Friday throwdown with Utah, and the following day will take either Oklahoma State or Bradley. As much as I’d like to, I sadly won’t be venturing to Vegas to cover those two games. Hey, I’m living on a college journalist’s salary.

* A few injury notes: Dominique Keller has a wrap on his left hand after getting hit there in practice this week. He should see his usual playing time tonight, though. Same goes for DJ Richardson who is still recovering from a hyperextended elbow. The injury made him a little tentative in his taking shots at will last game, so it’ll be interesting to see if he’s any better in that regard tonight. One Illini who will continue to be on the bench for injury reasons is Joseph Bertrand who is still recovering from a knee injury suffered preseason. Coach Bruce Weber said this week that it will be at least two weeks before Bertrand gets back on the court.

* The son of “His Airness” will be eligible to play tonight after sitting out the first two regular season games for an NCAA violation stemming from his play in an unsanctioned tournament in the offseason.

* And in the world of Illini sports tonight, volleyball is in action just a few blocks away from where I’m sitting at Huff Hall taking on Wisconsin at 7 PM. The ladies had a convincing three set victory over Iowa last night, of which you can find more about here:

http://www.dailyillini.com/sports/volleyball/2009/11/21/volleyball-tops-...

Illini hockey is also in action tonight up in Michigan taking on Michigan-Dearborn. The squad scored a 6-1 win over the Wolves in the series opener last night. As always, you can hear the game live on WPGU 107.1 or www.the217.com. Jon Hansen and the boys are on the air now, so grab a radio and tune in!

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6:15 PM

Mike Davis is currently singing along to 'Party in the USA" which is being blared over the Assembly Hall loudspeakers. Not kidding one bit.

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6:09 PM

A shot of warmups from my seat on press row:

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6:02 PM

Doors just opened at the Hall, and the orange-clad fans are starting to file in. I'd expect a decent crowd tonight, with the exception of the student contingent, which I'm sure is mostly at home right now for fall break. And honestly, I would be right there with them if I didn't have such a passion for blogging. Ok, who am I kidding...I just want the free Bubba Chisolm poster.

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5:53 PM

As usual, I'm super early to the Hall for tonight's matchup between the Illini and the Blue Hose (more on that unusual nickname later). Both teams are currently on the court warming up...Illinois in the orange and Presby in the blue. Cheerleaders are wearing blue as well in case you were wondering.

Back in a bit!