isconsin possess the ball for more than 40 minutes.Sporting five freshmen or so

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. Cole Hamels Jersey . -- On the road recruiting recently, a song came on Illinois coach John Groces car radio about things best left in the past, Randy Travis Digging Up Bones.At Fridays media day, Groce said he wouldnt be digging much into a chaotic 2015-16 season that ended with a 15-19 record, three arrests and what seemed like endless injuries.Were not doing that, were moving on, Groce said.But the remains of last season, Illinois first losing season since 2008, were everywhere Friday.Before he took question from reporters, the fifth-year coach updated the health of the half-dozen key players who either missed some or all of last season with serious injuries or are out now.And he talked about how much the team would miss guard Kendrick Nunn, one of the three Illini players to be arrested last season. The other two, senior guard Jaylon Tate and redshirt sophomore forward Leron Black are both still on the team while Nunn, after pleading guilty to misdemeanor domestic battery, was kicked off the team and transferred to Oakland. A domestic battery charge against Tate was dropped while Black pleaded guilty to misdemeanor aggravated assault and will sit out six games this season.Ive gotten to the point where very little surprises me, Groce said with a laugh, adding that he thought the team two seasons ago went through enough when point guard Tracy Abrams was lost for that season with a torn Achilles tendon.As Abrams worked his way back from that in 2015, he tore an anterior cruciate ligament and was forced to sit out the 2015-16 season. His injury was the first thing that went wrong for last seasons Illini.But, barring any other injuries or setbacks for Malcolm Hill, who is nursing an infected blister and should be back next week, or Jalen Coleman-Lands, who is out through this month with a broken bone in his hand, Groce should have his deepest, most complete team since 2013-14.His first recruits at Illinois -- a class that included Hill, Tate and Nunn and was among the top 25 in the country -- are all seniors.Abrams is back and, Groce says, healthy. That gives Illinois a handful of potential choices at point guard, something last seasons team lacked.And graduate-transfer center Mike Thorne Jr. was granted another year of eligibility by the NCAA after going down early last season with a torn meniscus in his left knee.Most of the players, like Groce, say they dont want to talk about last season, what it was like as the roster grew shorter with injuries or seeing teammates arrested.Ive pretty much got amnesia about all of that right now, said Abrams, who is 24 and who in five-plus years on campus already has bachelors and masters degrees.Most of them talked Friday about wanting to do something special in the season that will start Nov. 11 against Southeast Missouri State. None of them were eager to define what that might be, but Groce assumes they all talk among themselves about getting back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2013, his first season at Illinois.For Black, though, special starts simple, with the fact that hes still on the roster.He was already out injured when he was arrested in February after threatening a bar bouncer with a knife. The moment he acted, he said, he knew he was making a mistake. One that might cost him.Im just not taking anything for granted because it all could have been taken away pretty easily, he said.---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAP Jonathan Lucroy Cubs Jersey . Luis Suarezs double powered Liverpool to a 4-0 victory over Fulham, and Southampton easily overcame Hull 4-1 to continue the south coast clubs impressive start to the season. Liverpool and Southampton sent Chelsea down to fourth place as the west London club was held to 2-2 at home. Fergie Jenkins Cubs Jersey . The deal is pending a physical, assistant general manager Bobby Evans said. Traded from Seattle to Baltimore on Aug. 30, Morse also can play first base and right field to give manager Bruce Bochy some flexibility in writing his lineup. https://www.cheapcubs.com/680t-jose-quin...ersey-cubs.html . Pirlo limped out of Sundays 1-0 win over Udinese after just 13 minutes. Juventus says Pirlo underwent tests on Monday which revealed he has "a second-degree lesion to the collateral medial ligament in his right knee. Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst laments his teams small margin of error.Right now, were not that explosive of an offense, he said. Right now, were not putting a ton of points on the board.Yet the 7th-ranked Badgers (7-2, 4-2) are in position to win the Big Ten Conferences West Division if they can win their final three regular season games, starting with Saturdays visit from Illinois.The reasons? Defense and discipline, traits that will play well anywhere. Wisconsin is a top 15 unit nationally in rushing defense, scoring defense and total defense. It ranks fifth in FBS in scoring defense, giving up 13.8 points per game.And the Badgers play a clean game week after week. They are second in FBS in fewest penalties with only 24 in nine games and are on pace to be the least-penalized team in school history. In its last three games, Wisconsin has committed exactly two penalties.It comes down to everyone being disciplined and everyone really trusting their technique and trusting each other, tight end Troy Fumagalli said. Just doing their jobs sound. I think its a testament to the way we practice and the way were taught the game.First-year coach Lovie Smith is hoping to instill some of that discipline into his program. The former NFL head coach has experienced some rocky times with the Fighting Illini, a team with a spate of potential NFL draft picks in their front seven that simply doesnt have enough high-level players to consistently win in the Big 10.Illinois (3-6, 2-4) led the conference in penalties most of the year, a spot it finally vacated last week when it sent Michigan State careening to its seventh straight loss with a 31-27 verdict that kept its slender bowl hopes alive.What you see is a traditional Big 10 powerhouse, Smith said. Big emphasis on running the football, play-action passes, good hard-nosed defense on the other side of the ball, playing together as a team. Thats what were going to see.We know were going to have to be at the top of our game. Well need to play better than we did this past week. We realize who were playing, but what an opportunity for our young football team to have a chance to play a great team like that. Javier Baez Jersey. On paper, this doesnt look like a good matchup for the Illini. Their offense has had trouble scoring, hampered by injuries at the quarterback position that have forced them to start third-stringer Jeff George, Jr. the last three games.After struggling in most aspects of the game in one-sided losses against No. 2 Michigan and Minnesota, George engineered a game-winning drive against Michigan State. George found Sam Mays for a 16-yard scoring strike with 1:40 left, the highlight of a 13-of-29, 140-yard day.I think you just get to the point where you keep pounding the rock, eventually you see a crack, Smith said. I think you just stay the course and eventually you get over the hump. I think thats where we are -- we got over the hump last week.Last weeks hump looks more like an anthill compared to this one. George appears likely to start again as senior Wes Lunt, the quarterback for the past 2 ? seasons, continues to nurse a back injury that has sidelined him for four straight games.Its not known if wide receiver Malik Turner, by far Illinois leading receiver, will be able to play after sitting out the Michigan State game with a concussion. Turners potential absence will put more pressure on a running game fronted last week by Kendrick Fosters 146-yard, two-touchdown effort.As for the Badgers, theyre coming off a 21-7 win last week at Northwestern in which they outrushed the Wildcats 190-39. Corey Clement rushed 32 times for 106 yards and a touchdown, helping Wisconsin possess the ball for more than 40 minutes.Sporting five freshmen or sophomores in their offensive lineup, the Badgers have been hurt by inconsistency. They rank 98th in scoring, 110th in touchdowns and 113th in red-zone conversion ratio. They are on pace to average their fewest points and yards since 2004.Weve played good teams, Chryst said. Against good teams, youre going to have a smaller margin for error.But Wisconsins defense has taken up the slack, and then some. ' ' '