We made the call for an event such as this to be created back in February of 2015. Thank you, Chicago Legends, for complying, and on Saturday night we shall see if the reboot of this franchise gets off to a successful start. It’s the inaugural event at the United Center in Chicago on Dec. 17th.
The opener sees Northwestern basketball take on Dayton at 6 pm, followed by Illinois versus BYU at 8:30.
Both games are televised on BTN. Here is the link to our Illini-Brigham Young game preview and prediction. You can follow the Chicago Legends on Twitter @ChiLegends
Northwestern Basketball Preview:
Chris Collins will probably go with a starting five of three guards- Scottie Lindsey, Bryant McIntosh and Sanjay Lumpkin, with Barret Benson at Center and Vic Law at the four. Three of the five hail from the Chicagoland area (Benson is from Willowbrook, Law hails from South Holland and Lindsey hails from Hillside), so this really will be quite a big deal for them, as they get a chance to play in home of the Chicago Bulls.
Lindsey and Law are the team’s primary two scorers this season with McIntosh right there behind them. NU’s point guard and leading assist man is the subject of quite possibly the greatest recent preseason college basketball marketing gimmick. #BMAC4THEDIME Read up on that at this link and check out the photo below.
2016-17 Northwestern basketball comes into this one boasting a RPI of 23 and a SoS of 24. Their most impressive win is over Wake Forest (RPI 13), and more importantly, they have no bad losses (Butler is nationally ranked and Notre Dame is really solid). Here’s a link to more on the Northwestern basketball resume up to this point.
NU was obviously looking ahead to this one, letting a very very bad Chicago State team hang around Wednesday night for far far too long. CSU, a program who’s biggest concern is mere survival, was actually winning at Northwestern with just 6:45 remaining, and found themselves down just a point inside two minutes. It was a game played, proverbially, in front of just “friends and family” as NASTY wind chill warnings began that evening with temperatures plunging into single digits.
The Wildcats beat the Cougars 68-64, but the fact that it was so close is more than a bit alarming. Were they looking ahead?
“You’ll have to ask them,” Collins responded. “You’re dealing with college kids.”
“I thought our preparation was pretty good, we got off to a pretty good start, defensively at least, I didn’t think our energy was lacking. We respected this game, we respected the opponent.”
Same exact question posed to Vic Law.
“There’s a possibility of that, we’ve just gotta take care of every game…It was an ugly win.”
Chicago Legends All-Time Team:
Be sure to check out my all-time Chicago Legends list story in RedEye, the Chicago Tribune’s sister publication. It’s a first and second team of all guys who are either from, or played their prep ball in Chicagoland, and you can read it online at this link.
Northwestern Basketball at United Center:
Northwestern last played a regular-season game at United Center Feb. 22, 2003 when they lost to Illinois 73-61. About three weeks later, they lost really really badly again to the Illini, in the same venue, 94-65. The second meeting was part of the Big Ten Tournament that Illinois went on to win; the first time they accomplished that feat. Northwestern basketball is 3-9 all time at The House that Michael Built.
Collins has been talking about playing games at the UC for a couple years already, and now he gets his chance. Collins said this about heading to the Madhouse on Madison after the Chicago State win: “It’s a great opportunity. Dayton has great history. For us, it’s a great measuring stick. They’re a perennial NCAA [Tournament] team. I know our guys are looking forward to the challenge.”
Dayton Flyers Preview:
Last season Dayton posted a 25-8 record under head coach Archie Miller during the 2015-16 season, including a 14-4 mark in Atlantic 10 Conference play, while earning a berth in the 2016 NCAA Tournament. The Flyers have been the big dance the past three seasons, including a 2014 Elite 8 run that made Coach Archie Miller highly coveted by Athletic Directors everywhere.
However, Miller decided to stay, and he has since seen his deal extended to 2023. He makes $692,547 per year according to Google and is the most handsomely compensated coach in the Atlantic 10.
The deep run through the NCAA Tournament also introduced the mainstream world to Morgan Nicole Cruse Miller, or Morgan Miller, Archie’s wife and true internet sensation. The photos below will completely explain why that was.
The Flyers come with an RPI of 27 and SoS of 19. Their KenPom ranking is 40. RealTimeRPI.com projects them to win this one 74-70. If it happens, I’m sure the descendants of Orville and Wilbur Wright would be very happy.
Dayton has two losses on the season, to Nebraska and St. Mary’s. Neither of which is a resume builder. Likewise with their six wins, not really a one to really hang your hat on there….Winthrop maybe?
Prediction: Northwestern basketball 71, Dayton Flyers 69
I’m predicting they’ll bring it Saturday night, in an atmosphere that should be completely different; and much better. It was clear that this Northwestern basketball team was really looking past the Chicago State Cougars, and I’m thinking the “ugly win” as Law put it will get this team fired up for Saturday, knowing that they can’t be complacent.
Lumpkin is fired up “I wouldn’t say we were overlooking to Saturday…We’re gonna be ready.” Law added: “I’m really excited to play Dayton. It’s always great when you can play in tournaments like this.”
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.