Men's basketball hopes to bolster record over break

Peace out, fall 2009.

How about this semester? I know I’m a sportswriter, so it’s not exactly my expertise/in my job description to comment on official University business, but dang. There was more drama on this campus in fall 2009 than there was when Lindsay Lohan exposed the “Burn Book” at the end of “Mean Girls.”

A president, a chancellor and board members came and went. The GEO worked for months without a new contract, went on strike in ponchos for two days, made it tough for us to get into buildings and returned to work after getting their tuition waivers.

This semester was one of the busiest and eventful in the 142-year history of the University. No matter your age or status, it’s likely you’ll remember it for the rest of your life. And now it’s over.

Eye on the Illini

But back to sports. Over the month-long winter break, the Illini men’s basketball team will be about 3 million times busier than many of us will be (including yours truly).

As of right now, Illinois stands at 7-2. Two disappointing losses to unranked Utah and Bradley have been more than washed away by huge wins against ranked opponents, including a Dec. 2 comeback ‘W’ at then-No. 18 Clemson and a manhandling of Vanderbilt (No. 24 in the ESPN/USA Today poll) on Tuesday.

So here are the games Illinois will play over break and my predictions/quick summaries of them (assuming a win over Western Michigan to enter break 8-2):

Dec. 19 vs. Georgia in Duluth, Ga. — This shouldn’t be close. The Illini travel to the Dirty South to play a weak Georgia squad. The Bulldogs are 4-4 and don’t have much upside. Illini by 20. (9-2)

Dec. 23 vs. Missouri in St. Louis — I’d only be worried if this game was in Columbia, Mo., so I’m not worried about anything now. This isn’t last year’s Missouri team. The Tigers are 5-3, so expect Illinois to take care of business. Illini by 12. (10-2)

Dec. 30 Northwestern — The Illini return to the Assembly Hall for their final game of the calendar year against the Wildcats. I expect this to be a solid contest — Northwestern gave Illinois fits last season and are better now. But Illinois is too. Yet this game being at the Hall gives the Orange and Blue the edge. Illini by 7. (11-2)

Jan. 2 vs. No. 22 Gonzaga in Chicago — This game will be played at the United Center. Not a ton of good basketball being played there this season, with the Bulls floundering and all, but this should be a great game. Both teams should be ranked by this time, and the Zags are no stranger to good competition. But by my count, Illinois hadn’t been tested in a while — so I’ll take the Zags in a squeaker. Gonzaga by 3. (11-3)

Jan. 5 Iowa — I laughed when I looked at this game. That’s mean, I actually like the Hawkeyes — but this team is brutal. The Illini (by my estimation) will be coming off their first loss in more than a month, and they’ll take out their anger on Iowa in front of their home crowd. Illini by 19. (12-3)

Jan. 9 at Indiana — This Hoosiers squad isn’t as bad as last year’s, when Champaign Central could’ve given them a run for their money, yet they’re still not very good. I’m still bitter about the Eric Gordon fiasco, and I’m sure Illini head coach Bruce Weber will enjoy going into the other Assembly Hall and beating the snot out of Indiana and their arrogant fans once again. Illini by 16. (13-3)

Jan. 12 Penn State — Unless Talor Battle goes completely bonkers, Illinois will win this game. There’s no doubt that revenge and offense will be on the minds of the Illini, after losing to the Nittany Lions in the infamous 38-33 slugfest at the Hall last year. But this is a whole new ballgame. I expect the Illini to more than double their tally from last year and win handily. Illini by 14. (14-3)

Jan. 16 at No. 14 Michigan State — Quoting Heath Ledger as the Joker in “The Dark Knight”: “And here ... we ... go.” The toughest test of the 2009-10 season thus far resides in East Lansing, Mich., against Tom Izzo and the Spartans. I see this as a tremendous contest but envision the Illini faltering in the end. Biggest question: At this point, will freshman D.J. Richardson be able to guard reigning Big Ten Player of the Year Kalin Lucas? I’m going say no. Michigan State by 5. (14-4)

If Illinois is 14-4 when we return to school on Jan. 18, you should be very pleased. Anything better and you should be ecstatic. Anything worse and, well, I guess it depends on who the losses were to.

Shootout at the Hall

The Deron Williams Shootout at the Hall will take place this Saturday at the Assembly Hall. This event is a high school basketball fan’s dream, as the first game begins at 11 a.m. and the last should end around 11 p.m. Among the 14 teams participating in the event are Waukegan (complete with the crown jewel of Weber’s 2010 recruiting class, Jereme Richmond) and Mount Carmel (complete with point guard Tracy Abrams, an oral commitment to the Illini and a top-three 2011 player in the state).

Am I excited to see these guys play live, up-close and on the floor they’ll be starring on soon? Uh, you could say so. Abrams plays at 4:15 p.m., Richmond plays at 7:45 p.m. Maybe I’ll see you there.

Closing comment

In a very short time, we’ll be off for 31 days. Even typing that makes me smile. Enjoy that time, get some rest and I’ll be here to greet you in a month. Maybe by the time we get back, this school will have some stability — but hey, you never know. Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good break.

Editor’s note: City Hall will be The Daily Illini’s basketball columnist Rich Mayor’s weekly overview of all things college basketball. Readers are encouraged to send questions and comments to Mayor at rmayor2@illinimedia.com and provide him feedback at @CityHall03 on Twitter.