What’s the excuse now?

A day after Illinois was one vote shy of being unanimously ranked No. 1 (somebody needs to find the media member who voted for Duke), the Fighting Illini strolled into the Kohl Center and told the “Grateful Red” student section that all things must come to an end.

Does the fact they didn’t blow the Badgers out leave doubt in the minds of those who are deemed worthy to pick the national champion in January?

Has the cupcake schedule created suspicion? Obviously, when Illinois head coach Bruce Weber made phone calls to Wake Forest, Gonzaga, Arkansas, Oregon, Missouri and Cincinnati, he knew an undefeated record was inevitable.

Everybody who knows what they are talking about (Dick Vitale, Jay Bilas, Digger Phelps) knows they have no frontcourt help. I’m sure that’s what Badger head coach Bo Ryan is seeing as he counts all the insignificant 44 points scored by James Augustine, Roger Powell and Jack Ingram.

Gentlemen, this is why people like Ryan have a Big Ten coaching job, and, well, do I have to say it?

Nonetheless, North Carolina is the 2005 ESPN National Champion and everyone will have to accept that until it plays that competition in March (I hear it’s a big deal).

The Tar Heels have athletes, solid big people, depth and an 11-point loss to Santa Clara.

Don’t get me wrong, that’s a quality loss to a 10-9 team in the West Coast Conference that is ranked 129 in the Ratings Percentage Index (otherwise known as the selection committee’s bible).

The Big Ten is barely a top-level conference right? With six teams in the Top 50 of the RPI, the ACC must dominate that number.

In fact, they have…six? Well, that’s not the point because anyone knows Illinois is skating through a weak conference filled with what will be five NCAA Tournament qualifiers.

I’ve even heard this argument at the local Windy City level: Well, if they wouldn’t steal those Chicago kids and bring them down south, they wouldn’t even sniff a .500 record.

Okay, one of these days Chicago natives will have to explain to me how Illinois stole Luther Head and Dee Brown when the scholarship covers their in-state tuition.

This goes under the same Chicago sports-fan logic that claims the IHSA State Boys Basketball Championship should be played at the United Center. The state of Illinois includes Chicago, not the other way around. Jump on the bandwagon.

However, Illinois’ most solid basketball player this year is Deron Williams from where you may ask, The Colony, Texas (14 hours and 935 miles away from the Windy City).

So, what’s the excuse now, because every week there has to be one. I mean, they can’t possibly be that good.

Must be a combination of flat terrain and lots of corn. Yeah, that’s it.