I - L - L !!!!!!!

We know some of those early-season tournaments have been going on all week, but as far as we're concerned, the college basketball season actually starts tonight: Our beloved, "Paint The Hall Orange" Illinois Fighting Illini tip off against the South Dakota State Jackrabbits — because nothing says "Jackrabbit" more than "South Dakota;" we wonder, by the way, is Andy Roddick afraid to visit this school? — at the Assembly Hall in Champaign. We know we're more Illini-centric than most normal humans, but we still encourage you to check out the incredibly smart and funny Big Ten Wonk for all your Midwestern hoops related info. And enjoy. We love college basketball more than just about anything that doesn't have Birds On Bats, so, you know, expect us to be pretty crazed about all this. And we're pretty bad about hiding our allegiances. Just be happy we didn't go to Duke.

Official Big Ten '05-'06 Predictions [Big Ten Wonk] Illinois Opponent No. 1: SDSU [Illini Wonk]

(Oh, if you want to own a print of that photo — like we do — they're very reasonable right here.)

(By the way, if you happen to be one of the apparent millions of people who did not attend the University of Illinois, believe it or not, there are excellent season preview resources on the Web for you too. Seriously! We highly recommend yoco: college basketball and, though we had a little fun with him earlier today, the comprehensive Mid-Majority, your source for all things Austin Peay and Sam Houston State.)