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Basketblog

Illini hoops schedule probably delayed

Posted by: Paul Klee

Tuesday, August 19, 2008 3:24 PM

This could change, but I'm told the Illinois men's basketball schedule won't be released until next week. The delay is coming from the Big Ten offices, apparently due to some TV dealings. I know that coaches will request certain dates for certain games to accomodate their own interests, but I don't think that's what is causing the delay. Either way, you should get a look at the complete schedule late this week (at the earliest) and probably next week.
Believe me, I'm looking forward to seeing the schedule in full as well. But the people in the Illinois ticket office are really looking forward to it. Basketball season ticket invoices were delivered Friday, with a deadline of Sept. 5. For some fans, the longer it takes for the Big Ten to release the schedule, the longer it will take for them to make their season ticket selection. So that kind of makes it tough on the UI ticket folks.
On a related note, Illinois season tickets have the same per-game price as last season, a ticket official said. It only looks like the prices were hiked because there will be 19 home games instead of last season's 17. Hope that clears up any confusion on the season ticket front.

- Here's an interesting take on ESPN.com's Prestige Rankings that published in July. Those Prestige Rankings ranked programs from 1985 through 2008. Check this one out, a type of Prestige Rankings from The Bleacher Report that ranks programs this century (2000 through 2008). Not surprising, Illinois gets a considerable bump in The Bleacher Report's rankings, despite a historically bad 2007-08 campaign.