Just a fond reminder (excerpts from the Tarheel Message Board):
Roughly 24 hours to go.... Go Heels!
One more guys.
Welcome to The Hurt Locker Illini.
Pain. Lots and lots of pain.
It??€™s a simple game again fellas, attack in the post and we can??€™t be beat.
I hope the "brilliant" Andy Katz and the "intellectual" Clark Kellogg are picking Illinois to win like they did MSU! Seth Davis put them both to shame. Go Heels!
Good lord this is awesome.
I can't believe we've gotten to this point!! Somebody pinch me!
To go from 8-20 to a national title is the stuff of legend. With all the crap these guys have taken and all the crap that Roy has taken, it would just be unbelievable to win it all like this.
I think UNC has a higher ceiling than UI, but I think UI hits their ceiling more consistently than we do. It's like a classic boxing match up between the "boxer" and the "puncher." The boxer is consistent and racks up points on the scorecards, but the puncher is dangerous and always has the knockout punch he can deliver. No doubt we're the puncher and if we play as well as we can, then no one can stay with us, not even the Illini.
Looking more closely at this match up, I have to say that's it's a little better for us than I first thought. UI is shooting so many threes, if they're not just red-hot (which they very well could be) that means a lot of long rebounds to trigger the fast break. Also, if you'll remember the Arizona game, it was the only time the Illini had to face a tough big guy with Frye, a guy who could command a double team. Frye is very good and had his way with the UI big men, but he is certainly no Sean May. May is far more physical and every bit as skilled.
Illinois is very beatable. We have a big advantage inside with Jawad, Sean and Marvin. We MUST guard the three and limit turnovers. Arizona had Illinois beat and started rehearsing their presser a little early. We need to get a working margin and keep increasing it. 5 turns into 8 turns into 11 turns into 15. We're going to win this game.
Boom goes the dynamite. ahh
I have decided that I can deal with the fact that the 2 best teams are playing tomorrow night. The best will win. If we lose, I can accept that. I won't be happy
but I at least will know for sure who the best team is. This doesn't happen much.
Illinois is playing at home - can we win on their court?
Man this day is creeping by!!!!! AAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!
What do you think the crowd percentage will be for Illinois? 70% Illini 30% UNC
11 hours
I woke this morning and the sky was Carolina blue.
8 very long short hours.
Illinois has an outstanding basketball team, and we will have to play our absolute best to win tonight.
5 Hours to go!
Butterflies, moths, and Miller Lite in my stomach now.
1 HOUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
20 minutes until tip!!
omg this is a road game
Holy Cow!!! Look at all that orange!!!!!!!!!
Maybe they'll wear themselves out with all that hopping.
It sounds like a gladiator dome in there. Yikes.
Can we delay the game? I'm nervous.
Game is underway!
@#%$ foul on Felton
Illinois getting away with pushing underneath... that's a shocker.
I think we're going to see a lot of runs in this game.
Amazing how much grabbing and holding Illinois does
Oy, two fouls on Felton.
This is crap. It's a f*ckin home game in every sense of it for the Illini
The refs need to stop calling the cheap fouls
Tick tack fouls on Ray and then May is allowed to go on and play tough down low, terrible officiating.
Roger Powell is killing us. He is really outworking us on the boards. Yes, it's called over the back
Funny that Ray gets called on two touch fouls and Powell is allowed to thug away...
I hope Illinois keeps flopping like on that play with May, and I hope the refs continue not to buy it.
Why don't they call the moving pick?
Powell vs. May...there??€™s no way May can be stopped
Scott takes the charge!! Two on Augustine!!
Maybe the zone will lull Illinois into some bad shots.
How the @#%$ does Illinois only have 4 fouls? We should be shooting 2 already. They aren't calling crap on them and BS touch fouls on us. That last Felton foul wasn't one.
REBOUND!!!