March 17--The home team is playing on the road. The host is without a coach.
This is life in the NIT, which pits third-seeded Illinois against sixth-seeded Alabama in a first-round game Tuesday in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
Both teams are hoping to regroup after disappointing endings to the regular season.
The Illini, who are the home team but must travel because of State Farm Center renovations, will try to bounce back from a loss in the Big Ten tournament to Michigan that might have cost them an NCAA tournament berth.
Alabama is trying to move on after the firing Sunday of coach Anthony Grant, who was with the Crimson Tide for six seasons.
How Illinois (19-13) approaches the game mentally and emotionally will be important, coach John Groce said.
"I told them that's a choice they've got to make as a group," he said. "A lot of that will be dependent on our leadership and older guys."
With only one full day of preparation to face Alabama (18-14), Groce said Sunday he and the staff were cramming. Assistant John Brannen was named the Tide's interim coach.
What stood out to Groce was Alabama's Levi Randolph, a 6-foot-5 guard averaging 15.2 points and five rebounds.
"He reminds me of (Illini guard Rayvonte Rice) with his body and his relentlessness," Groce said.
Despite playing in the NIT for a second straight season, Groce said the program is headed in the right direction.
"We're for sure further along," Groce said. "When I look back at what we had when we got here, where we were, the mindset of guys at that point in time to where it's at now, the players that are on our roster, the players that are coming next year, we're much, much further along."
sryan@tribpub.com
