Maui Invitational: Illinois vs USC

Dan · Jul 26, 2012, 09:57 AM

Monday, November 19th, 11:00pm CT

Illinois vs USC

Bracket-

http://www.mauiinvitational.com/site...%20Bracket.pdf

FeelYourPaign · Jul 26, 2012, 10:07 AM

Hope Butler takes Marquette in the first round.
No reason to make Marquette look any better to the recruits that we are both pursuing.

Edgar Mundo · Jul 26, 2012, 10:20 AM

ILLINOIS 86
usc 62

Looks like it starts at 11:00 pm central time...

jhayton · Jul 26, 2012, 10:25 AM

Could get a nice NC SOS boost if we can win a couple games out there. Double-edged sword though, if we lost to USC then we would take a hit on the NC SOS.

I guess it won't take long to know if this team will over-achieve. If they make it to the title game then I would be thoroughly excited about the prospects of our season.

Kramer116 · Jul 26, 2012, 10:36 AM

Not going to lie, a potential draw of USC then Texas is about the best we could do imo...

bheezey · Jul 26, 2012, 10:38 AM

Looks like a solid (winnable) bracket for us.

Holdemall · Jul 26, 2012, 10:42 AM

Colgate as our opening round game.

HeartofaChampion · Jul 26, 2012, 10:53 AM

USC was 6-26 last season. This is an excellent draw for us. And UT was 20-14, so a semifinal matchup there is winnable, too.

bradford_illini · Jul 26, 2012, 10:55 AM

If we don't beat USC (6-26).... cancel the season....

Jabber Jabber · Jul 26, 2012, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhayton

Could get a nice NC SOS boost if we can win a couple games out there. Double-edged sword though, if we lost to USC then we would take a hit on the NC SOS.

I guess it won't take long to know if this team will over-achieve. If they make it to the title game then I would be thoroughly excited about the prospects of our season.

Last time the Illini were in Maui, they made the championship game and lost to Duke in a good effort. The same year, they finished 16-19.

I'll be happy if we win 2 out of 3 pretty much any way it shakes out, but I won't alter my expectations that early into the season.

IlliniByProxy · Jul 26, 2012, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jabber Jabber

Last time the Illini were in Maui, they made the championship game and lost to Duke in a good effort. The same year, they finished 16-19.

I'll be happy if we win 2 out of 3 pretty much any way it shakes out, but I won't alter my expectations that early into the season.

+1. I think these brackets setup just about as well as they can for us to have a shot at making the championship game. I'll be tickled pink if that happens.

BrooksTaylorFan · Jul 26, 2012, 11:09 AM

I like the thought of USC, Texas, and then NC. Doing well here would be a great early boost for our program and would go along way towards making the tourney.

IntenselyOrange · Jul 26, 2012, 11:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jabber Jabber

Last time the Illini were in Maui, they made the championship game and lost to Duke in a good effort. The same year, they finished 16-19.

I'll be happy if we win 2 out of 3 pretty much any way it shakes out, but I won't alter my expectations that early into the season.

I don't think that was the championship, was it? Semis I thought.

HeartofaChampion · Jul 26, 2012, 11:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IntenselyOrange

I don't think that was the championship, was it? Semis I thought.

Correct. We beat ASU, lost to Duke, then beat OK St in the third-place game.

Ransom Stoddard · Jul 26, 2012, 11:39 AM

I like this bracket. Good programs, some of them with plenty to gain from a good showing. One of the better preseason tourneys in recent years, IMO.

ryls · Jul 26, 2012, 11:46 AM

We got an excellent draw but USC is supposed to be much improved a lot of injured players back and several new recruits, still a game we need to win

jhayton · Jul 26, 2012, 12:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jabber Jabber

Last time the Illini were in Maui, they made the championship game and lost to Duke in a good effort. The same year, they finished 16-19.

I'll be happy if we win 2 out of 3 pretty much any way it shakes out, but I won't alter my expectations that early into the season.

Notice how I said over-achieve. I am not saying if we get to the title game we will win the B1G. I overall have very low expectations for this first season. There is clearly talent enough on the roster to make the tournament, but they haven't ever put it together.

A strong Maui showing will boost my expectations, but not as much as my first post may have given the impression on.

zoggle101 · Jul 26, 2012, 01:30 PM

I'm not so sure either of these teams are going to role over for us.

USC is going to be much improved with three key additions in players who have contributed at the high major level in Ari Stewart(Wake), JT Terrell(Wake), and recent addition Renaldo Woolridge(Tenn) plus a solid mid major pick up in Eric Wise who lead UC Irvine in scoring his three years there. Add a healthy Jio Fontan and that's a heck of a class in itself. Other players of note are former Hawkeye Aaron Fuller, Bryon Wesley who started every game as a true frosh along with being named the best high school player in California his senior year, and 5'7 leading scorer/pg in Maurice Jones who was a first team all state player that played his prep ball in Michigan. They have two solid freshman coming in also. One is a foreign kid who played on the U18 Serbian national team who placed second to Turkey in the European Championship named Strahinja Gavrilovic and the other is a kid who was ranked in the top 20 players in the state of California despite hardly playing a junior and only 18 games as a senior because of a transfer rule. Throw in two 7 footers who are 22/23 y.o.'s along with an opinion that one is just now getting it who is also a very good athlete in Dewayne Dedmon and this should be a competitive group.

Texas lost some veteran leadership in CLint Chapman who was a very good role player meaning he knew his job, an under-utilized athlete in the post in Alexis Wangmene, scoring guard J'Covan Brown, and a solid freshman guard in Sterling Gibbs. It might seem like a lot but this team had a great group of freshman who will ease the loss a two tough bench players and a dynamic scorer like Brown. They will also bring in a nice blend of freshman to go with the sophomores most importantly being center Cameron Ridley who should easily replace the numbers Chapman and Wangmene combined for. I'm going to reiterate how much I loved Texas's freshman class last year. I expect them to win between 22-24 games and if there are no defections than we'll see a top 10-15 pre season team in 2013-14 with the possibility of top 5 with one or two key additions. This young Longhorns team will be fun to watch.

Let's not just see a team and expect us to win. Our boys are in for a challenge in this challenge in my mind and we better be more prepared than just assuming they suck based off of last years results. FWIW I've seen bad/average USC teams surprise some very nice teams during the past three seasons.

WizardBill · Jul 26, 2012, 04:10 PM

IF we were to go USC, UT and NC, our SOS would be as good as it could get for that point in the season. HOWEVER, if we are calculating SOS after Maui, then, obviously, we ARE expecting the dance, so, anyone who says they are not expecting the dance this year would not be calculating SOS at all.

jhayton · Jul 26, 2012, 04:14 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WizardBill

IF we were to go USC, UT and NC, our SOS would be as good as it could get for that point in the season. HOWEVER, if we are calculating SOS after Maui, then, obviously, we ARE expecting the dance, so, anyone who says they are not expecting the dance this year would not be calculating SOS at all.

Kind of. Its a statistic. You can manipulate it to say just about anything. "We were this bad because". "We should be in the dance because". Get my meaning there?

WizardBill · Jul 26, 2012, 04:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jhayton

Kind of. Its a statistic. You can manipulate it to say just about anything. "We were this bad because". "We should be in the dance because". Get my meaning there?

Sort of. But, people are saying that they are not expecting anything this season. IF that is REALLY the case, SOS is a meaningless number, I would think.

I am ALWAYS expecting the dance. If we were 9-20, I would still be making the case that we beat so and so, and they beat so and so, and follow the Kevin Bacon thread and we beat the number 2 team in the country. So, we should be dancin! (Yeah, I am a homer like that):laugh:

Jabber Jabber · Jul 26, 2012, 04:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by IntenselyOrange

I don't think that was the championship, was it? Semis I thought.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HeartofaChampion

Correct. We beat ASU, lost to Duke, then beat OK St in the third-place game.

Ah, good catch. Still, I remember feeling really good about our team after Maui and could never have envisioned such a terrible season.

I do like the teams selected this year.

IntenselyOrange · Jul 27, 2012, 06:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WizardBill

Sort of. But, people are saying that they are not expecting anything this season. IF that is REALLY the case, SOS is a meaningless number, I would think.

I am ALWAYS expecting the dance. If we were 9-20, I would still be making the case that we beat so and so, and they beat so and so, and follow the Kevin Bacon thread and we beat the number 2 team in the country. So, we should be dancin! (Yeah, I am a homer like that):laugh:

I think most are expecting a bubble-type season which makes SOS an extremely important number.

illiniguy24 · Jul 27, 2012, 08:31 AM

How sweet it would be to beat NC (i think we all know why) or MU, or Butler even, just to throw it back in everyones faces that we are still the U of I!

PeoriaSteve · Jul 27, 2012, 10:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bheezey

Looks like a solid (winnable) bracket for us.

I agree. This is a good draw for the Illini.

Jul 26, 2012, 09:57 AM	#1
Dan Admin Location: Champaign, IL Posts: 25,908	Monday, November 19th, 11:00pm CT Illinois vs USC Bracket- http://www.mauiinvitational.com/site...%20Bracket.pdf Last edited by Dan; Jul 26, 2012 at 10:06 AM.

Jul 26, 2012, 10:20 AM	#3
Edgar Mundo Supervenience Location: Stax Posts: 324	ILLINOIS 86 usc 62 Looks like it starts at 11:00 pm central time... __________________ Orange Crush member, '90-'93,

Jul 26, 2012, 01:30 PM	#18
zoggle101 Location: Spfld, IL Posts: 4,410	I'm not so sure either of these teams are going to role over for us. USC is going to be much improved with three key additions in players who have contributed at the high major level in Ari Stewart(Wake), JT Terrell(Wake), and recent addition Renaldo Woolridge(Tenn) plus a solid mid major pick up in Eric Wise who lead UC Irvine in scoring his three years there. Add a healthy Jio Fontan and that's a heck of a class in itself. Other players of note are former Hawkeye Aaron Fuller, Bryon Wesley who started every game as a true frosh along with being named the best high school player in California his senior year, and 5'7 leading scorer/pg in Maurice Jones who was a first team all state player that played his prep ball in Michigan. They have two solid freshman coming in also. One is a foreign kid who played on the U18 Serbian national team who placed second to Turkey in the European Championship named Strahinja Gavrilovic and the other is a kid who was ranked in the top 20 players in the state of California despite hardly playing a junior and only 18 games as a senior because of a transfer rule. Throw in two 7 footers who are 22/23 y.o.'s along with an opinion that one is just now getting it who is also a very good athlete in Dewayne Dedmon and this should be a competitive group. Texas lost some veteran leadership in CLint Chapman who was a very good role player meaning he knew his job, an under-utilized athlete in the post in Alexis Wangmene, scoring guard J'Covan Brown, and a solid freshman guard in Sterling Gibbs. It might seem like a lot but this team had a great group of freshman who will ease the loss a two tough bench players and a dynamic scorer like Brown. They will also bring in a nice blend of freshman to go with the sophomores most importantly being center Cameron Ridley who should easily replace the numbers Chapman and Wangmene combined for. I'm going to reiterate how much I loved Texas's freshman class last year. I expect them to win between 22-24 games and if there are no defections than we'll see a top 10-15 pre season team in 2013-14 with the possibility of top 5 with one or two key additions. This young Longhorns team will be fun to watch. Let's not just see a team and expect us to win. Our boys are in for a challenge in this challenge in my mind and we better be more prepared than just assuming they suck based off of last years results. FWIW I've seen bad/average USC teams surprise some very nice teams during the past three seasons. Last edited by zoggle101; Jul 26, 2012 at 01:37 PM.

Jul 27, 2012, 08:31 AM	#24
illiniguy24 Posts: 188	How sweet it would be to beat NC (i think we all know why) or MU, or Butler even, just to throw it back in everyones faces that we are still the U of I! __________________

Jul 26, 2012, 10:07 AM	#2
FeelYourPaign Location: Barrington, IL Posts: 2,305	Hope Butler takes Marquette in the first round. No reason to make Marquette look any better to the recruits that we are both pursuing.

Jul 26, 2012, 10:25 AM	#4
jhayton Location: Osceola, WI Posts: 638	Could get a nice NC SOS boost if we can win a couple games out there. Double-edged sword though, if we lost to USC then we would take a hit on the NC SOS. I guess it won't take long to know if this team will over-achieve. If they make it to the title game then I would be thoroughly excited about the prospects of our season.

Jul 26, 2012, 10:36 AM	#5
Kramer116 Location: Chicago Posts: 9,615	Not going to lie, a potential draw of USC then Texas is about the best we could do imo...

Jul 26, 2012, 10:38 AM	#6
bheezey Posts: 50	Looks like a solid (winnable) bracket for us.

Jul 26, 2012, 10:42 AM	#7
Holdemall Posts: 810	Colgate as our opening round game.

Jul 26, 2012, 10:53 AM	#8
HeartofaChampion Posts: 10,336	USC was 6-26 last season. This is an excellent draw for us. And UT was 20-14, so a semifinal matchup there is winnable, too.

Jul 26, 2012, 10:55 AM	#9
bradford_illini Posts: 130	If we don't beat USC (6-26).... cancel the season....

Jul 26, 2012, 11:09 AM	#12
BrooksTaylorFan Location: Illinois Posts: 4,759	I like the thought of USC, Texas, and then NC. Doing well here would be a great early boost for our program and would go along way towards making the tourney.

Jul 26, 2012, 11:39 AM	#15
Ransom Stoddard Location: Johns Creek, GA Posts: 1,103	I like this bracket. Good programs, some of them with plenty to gain from a good showing. One of the better preseason tourneys in recent years, IMO.

Jul 26, 2012, 11:46 AM	#16
ryls Banned Posts: 418	We got an excellent draw but USC is supposed to be much improved a lot of injured players back and several new recruits, still a game we need to win

Jul 26, 2012, 04:10 PM	#19
WizardBill Illini optimist Location: Charleston, IL Posts: 1,030	IF we were to go USC, UT and NC, our SOS would be as good as it could get for that point in the season. HOWEVER, if we are calculating SOS after Maui, then, obviously, we ARE expecting the dance, so, anyone who says they are not expecting the dance this year would not be calculating SOS at all.