Ten games down. Four games under .500.
Not the way Illinois wanted to start the basketball season.
But the Illini got to smile after Saturday's game against UNLV. Thanks to stellar performances by subs Andres Feliz and Samba Kane, they held on for close win against UNLV.
Not the Runnin' Rebels of my youth. Jerry Tarkanian has passed away and nobody on the current team has the talent of former greats Larry Johnson, Sidney Green or Reggie Theus.
Still, it's a name. A solid win for an Illinois team that had just two of them going in.