Illinois St. has its work cut out against Indiana
Saint Mary's took down Oregon this week. Gardner Webb had already shocked Kentucky. Mercer toppled USC. Division II Grand Valley State even did it to Michigan State in an exhibition game.
Upsets are happening everywhere in college basketball. Experts are picking them weekly as if they're expected things.
So why can't it happen Friday at the Sears Centre in Hoffman Estates as Illinois State matches up with No. 8 Indiana in the third round of the Chicago Invitational Challenge?
The Missouri Valley Conference does know a thing or two about being David to the high majors' Goliath.
"I don't feed into that," said first-year Illinois State coach Tim Jankovich, whose team is 3-0. "The truth is the better team wins most of the time.
"We'll have to play an unbelievable game. Truth be told, our margin for error is just past zero. D.J. White is an all-around player. Eric Gordon is arguably the best guard in the country. You could stop there, but they have more. I don't know what they don't do well."
The Hoosiers have shown little weakness so far in their three games, all 20-point plus victories. White, a 6-foot-9, 251-pound forward, is an NBA prospect inside. Gordon, who had once committed to Illinois before changing his mind, has been scoring at a scary pace, going for games of 33, 21 and 30 in first three collegiate performances.
Two other Indiana starters are familiar to Chicago basketball fans. Jamarcus Ellis, the national junior college player of the year last season, and DeAndre Thomas both starred at Westinghouse on Chicago's West Side. Brandon McGee, a freshman forward off the bench, also played in the Public League at Crane.
Indiana won't be the only team with some Chicago flavor. Illinois State is led by 6-3 sophomore guard Osiris Eldridge, a product of Phillips. Coincidentally, he does have success against Westinghouse players. During his senior year, he scored 28 points in one half against the Warriors.
It's the sort of numbers Eldridge has been putting up for the Redbirds this season. In Sunday's win over UNC-Wilmington, he scored a career-high 30 points and knocked down five 3-pointers. He's averaging 21.7 points for the season.
Going up against Gordon and the Hoosiers gives Eldridge his first big college stage to display his ability.
"It is a chance to show what I can do against a great team and show how I match up against guys of that caliber," Eldridge said. "The big picture, though, is one player isn't going to win the game.
"We're just looking at it as if we're playing another game. We know Indiana is a great team with great talent, but we still have to do what we do."
Win or lose on Friday, Illinois State's mission is ultimately to return the Redbirds to a respectable program. They finished 15-16 last season, which led to Porter Moser's firing and Jankovich's hiring. Their last winning season came in 2005, last NIT appearance in 2001 and last NCAA appearance in 1998.
"It's no secret that our program has been way down for five years," said Jankovich, who brought on former Northern Illinois coach Rob Judson as an assistant. "What we have is a hungry group of guys who want to get this ship right."
Friday's winner will meet either Xavier or Kent State in the championship game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. The loser will play at 5 p.m.