Now that the Illinois football team has lost back-to-back matchups and chances of going to a bowl game look bleak, Illini fans may feel let down about the athletic program. With the men’s basketball team coming off a 16-19 season, the future may not seem as bright as it really is.

Yet despite missing the NCAA tournament for the first time since the Stone Age last year, the season ahead won't be as bad as the season behind.

Outside of my school life, and outside of my life at home, I have another life on the road with my teammates.

What do you do on the weekends? Homework, catch up on sleep, go to Big Show, hang out with friends ...

For four months, I really didn’t care about college basketball.

My team (everyone’s team) — Illinois — was having an unusually dreadful season. My interest waned as the Illini floundered at the bottom of the Big Ten standings, losing to Tennessee State, Ohio State, and Penn State (all in a row). Illinois’ other team and the NFL’s most hated team diverted my attention from college basketball entirely.

This time of year most Fighting Illini sports fans are rejoicing at the end of football season and the beginning of basketball season.

I've got the shoes, I've got the shorts, I've got that queasy feeling in my stomach, and now it's time for it to start. I'm talking about basketball season, one of the hardest seasons of the year. With one week off from volleyball, which was amazingly relaxed, it is now time for me to suit up and prepare to get home at 7, again.