When the Maui Invitational Tournament bracket was released, the prospect of playing Duke in the championship round was enough to cause uncontrollable salivation. Once the Zags hit Maui, however, it looked like that opportunity was going to go missed.
Illinois harried the Zags all night long that oscillated wildly between a surefire win to an almost loss. You were probably not the first person to think, good thing they got that out of their system before the start of the Arizona game.
Last night was a tale of two halves. The Zags looked flat out abysmal during the first half of the game, marred by self-inflicted turnovers, missed three pointers, missed free throws, and a bevy of unwelcome whistles from the referees.