Drive and Dish: On the Road in West Lafayette

By Trashtalk Superstar

Today, ESPN's Gameday was in Gainesville, FL, for the Florida / Kentucky game. Not to be outdone, Drive and Dish braved the frigid Arctic air and sub zero temperatures that are currently gripping the Midwest, in order to be in West Lafayette, IN, for the big Purdue / Illinois game. The above picture was taken at today's game by Mark Buckets, from high atop the stands of Mackey Arena, on the lovely campus of Purdue University.

Purdue dispatched with the Falling Illini, 74-67. They're now 13-5, and 4-1 in the Big Ten. Illinois fell to 9-10, and 1-5 in conference.

Drive and Dish is bullish on Purdue. We recognize the Boilermakers as one of the top up-and-coming teams in the country. They may be young, but they're on their way back to being a stalwart in the Big Ten. Purdue's two year stay at the bottom of the league is quickly proving to have been nothing more than a "bump in the road." And while Matt Painter's Boilermakers aren't completely "there" yet, they're starting to look like a Purdue team again, if you will.

However, on the other side of the coin sits Illinois. Never before have I seen a program fall so far, so fast.

In 2005, the Illini fell five points short of getting past North Carolina and capturing their first National Championship. But in 2006, they failed to get past the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Last year, the Illini (who were lucky just to get into the Tournament) blew a 14 point lead with two minutes left to play and found a way to lose to Virginia Tech in the first round of the Tournament.

This year, Illinois will need a miracle just to finish above .500 and become eligible for an N.I.T. bid. Worse yet, the Illini's futility can't be written off as the result of injuries, unforeseen circumstances, or youthful "growing pains." They're a fully healthy, veteran team, led by pre-season All Big Ten Center, Shaun Pruitt, Junior Point Guard Chester Frazier and 5th year Senior Forward Brian Randle.

But in contrast to Purdue's up-and-coming young Boilers, the only thing remotely "up-and-coming" about the Illini are the collective contents of the stomachs of Illinois fans who've loyally endured game after torturous game of the 2007/'08 season.

It's already been a long winter down in Champaign. But it's just going to keep on getting longer with every Illini game.

Something tells me that Illinois fans are already counting down the days to the start of Spring football.