Illinois and Northwestern, both of whom figure to have a lean year in the Big 10, will try to show a mean streak Wednesday night when they open their respective conference seasons against two other teams seemingly destined for the second division.
Illinois (6-4) will play Purdue (8-4) in Assembly Hall, while Northwestern (7-3) will travel to Wisconsin (7-4).
According to coach Lou Henson, the Illini`s top player, 6-foot-9-inch sophomore center Deon Thomas, won`t be in the starting lineup after suffering a sprained ankle late in Saturday`s six-point loss to fifth-ranked Connecticut. However, the injury isn`t considered serious and Thomas is ticketed to be on the court on opening night.
Thursday night, four other teams will start the conference season. Indiana (9-2), tabbed by many as the team to beat in the Big 10, will play host to Minnesota (8-5), and the ”fabulous five” freshmen from Michigan
(8-1) will be introduced to conference competition at Iowa (8-2).
”I`m sick and tired of this `fab five` business,” Michigan coach Steve Fisher said Tuesday. ”They`re just five freshmen-Chris Webber, Jalen Rose, Juwan Howard, Jimmy King and Ray Jackson.
”It`s impossible for them to live up to the advance billing. They`re very good and I hope they can be better than that.
”If we can get out on the road and win a couple games, it will be a great conference-builder. Thursday night, for the first time our young kids will be facing that suffocating Iowa press and have 16,000 people cheering against them. They`ve never experienced that kind of environment.
”I still think probably the two best teams in the league are Indiana and Ohio State. Iowa is that next tier along with Michigan State. We hope to crack that tier.
”But you can be a very good team in this league and still not be in the first division.”
Connecticut would say amen to that after Saturday`s fight to the finish with Illinois.
However, for Illinois to be a very good team against Purdue, it seems mandatory that Thomas make more than a token appearance.
”It`s a slight sprain, but he couldn`t work out Sunday,” said Henson.
”We plan to play him.”
Thomas has been the focal point of the Illinois offense all season and his 19.9-point scoring average is the third highest in the conference.
Robert Bennett, the 6-6 freshman from Julian High School, will move into the starting slot.
If Purdue coach Gene Keady had his druthers, the Boilermakers wouldn`t be opening on the road. ”If we had an older club, I`d feel a lot more comfortable about going over there,” he said.
Offsetting the Boilermakers` inexperience is their depth. In contrast to Henson, who has only eight scholarship players, Keady has ”10 players I feel comfortable starting, and I think it`ll vary from game to game because of the defensive matchups.
”That`s something new for us. Usually we have a set lineup.”
However, barring injury, there is one Purdue player who figures to start every game. The VIP is senior Woody Austin, a do-it-all guard back after being academically ineligible the second half of last season. ”Austin is a premier scorer,” said Henson. ”That guy can score with anybody in the league.”
Two of the best young point guards in the conference will meet for the first time in the Northwestern-Wisconsin game. Both NU`s Pat Baldwin and Wisconsin`s Tracy Webster are sophomores, but Webster, who went to high school at Thornton, sat out last season under Proposition 48 guidelines.
”Tracy is very good for a sophomore who never played at the college level,” said Wisconsin coach Steve Yoder. ”He`s an excellent ballhandler who can create things on his own. He can score on penetration, pass off penetration and he can be a stand-still shooter.
”I don`t think there`s a guy in the conference like this guy. He loves the game and he follows all the players. He knows them all; he knew them like a book already last year when he wasn`t playing.”
Baldwin, meanwhile, is very aware of the role Webster has been playing, but thinks it would be foolish to be preoccupied by a personal duel.
”What we have to think about is what Northwestern has to do, not what Tracy Webster has to do,” said Baldwin, who leads the Big 10 in steals with a 4.2 average. ”I`m not looking to get more points than he does or more assists. But I will get more steals, and I am looking to win this game.”
If so, it will be a first for Baldwin and Northwestern`s other outstanding sophomore, 6-11 Kevin Rankin. Last season the Wildcats were 0-18 in the Big 10.
”We are capable of playing much better than a year ago,” said Northwestern coach Bill Foster. ”The next level for us is to win the close games.”
