Feb. 15--Had you witnessed the first half of the Illinois-Northwestern game Saturday night, your logical reaction would have been this: WHAT. WAS. THAT.
Seven minutes in, the score was deadlocked at 4. The teams combined for 17 first-half turnovers, prompting NU coach Chris Collins to describe both offenses as "a little overanxious."
OK. And we're a little overanxious about the state of college basketball in the state of Illinois. Less than four weeks from Selection Sunday, not one school is in the top 100 of the Ratings Percentage Index. Northern Illinois is tops at 105, followed by Illinois State at 107.
Narrowing the focus of this column to Northwestern (108), Illinois (142), DePaul (150), Loyola (232), Chicago State (342) and UIC (344 out of 351), it's clear that another round of March Sadness looms.
Why? And which program is best positioned to change it?
Here's what we know: The city's best players don't want to stay. We saw that with Derrick Rose (Memphis), Jahlil Okafor (Duke), Jalen Brunson (Villanova) and now Charlie Moore, the point guard from Morgan Park.
Moore visited Illinois, telling Rivals.com in September, "Illinois impressed me, and I just enjoy being inside the gym."
But the four-star recruit ultimately chose Memphis, which is tied for seventh in the American Athletic Conference.
"If you told me it was Kansas or Duke, I get it," said David Kaplan, the Comcast SportsNet and WMVP-AM 1000 host who also calls college basketball games nearly every winter weekend. "DePaul and Illinois lose him to Memphis? That's ridiculous."
Beyond the commonality of not attracting enough good players, the six area schools listed above have their own issues.
Chicago State coaches clip coupons to survive. UIC is rebuilding under Steve McClain.
Loyola went 24-13 last season and continues to show promise under third-year coach Porter Moser, who benched four starters after an 0-5 start in Missouri Valley Conference play. Since then, the Ramblers are 5-4 with a one-point home loss to Evansville on Sunday. The game drew 2,257 to the newly renovated Gentile Arena.
And therein lies a major problem. Loyola's average home crowd of 1,779 ranks last -- by far -- among MVC competitors. The other schools average 5,353, and Wichita State doubles that.
