Pregame: Illinois at Gonzaga, Saturday, December 8th, 9:00pm CT, ESPN2

[Dan]

Game 10: Illinois (9-0) at Gonzaga (9-0)

Saturday, December 8th

McCarthey Athletic Center, Spokane, Washington (6,000)

Time: 9:00pm CT

TV!- ESPN2

[mikeyo25eugoh]

After tonights game, i'm not so confident about this one.

[stevo99]

We need the Tracy Abrams we saw in Hawaii or there is no chance.

[SteakSandwich]

After listening to the game on the radio my belief in a win on saturday has been erased

[trevdv]

Zags - 84
- 73

[RadIllini]

-76
Zags-72
Keeping the faith.

[OrangeAndBlue217]

- 85
Zags - 78

[AK Illini]

blowout loss

[RadIllini]

Originally Posted by AK Illini

blowout loss

Ouch. I can definitely see it happening though.

[zoggle101]

Here for you Gonzaga fans that think Kelly Olynik isn't talked about nationally.

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forum...t=Kelly+Olynik

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forum...+Olynik&page=2 post 37

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forum...t=Kelly+Olynik post 12

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forum...+Olynik&page=4 post 84 might be more mentions later in the thread

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forum...+Olynik&page=3 post 52 and might be more in the thread

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forum...+Olynik&page=3 post 69 and might be more after that too

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forum...+Olynik&page=2 post 41 and from this season

http://www.illinoisloyalty.com/Forum...+Olynik&page=2 post 49 and might be more after that

[OrangeKrush]

Gonzaga 74
62

[saltygrapes]

Players play big in big games.

Illinois will have to have a good game plan, they'll have to be in attack mode all night, and our bigs will have to not be hopeless. Possible, but unlikely that all three of those things happen in unison.

Zags - 84
Illini - 74

[trevdv]

Is it fair to say that if we lose at Gonzaga we drop out of the top 25? I know on paper we're still 9-1, but writers and columnists everywhere are unsure about us, and a sloppy effort tonight and bad loss Saturday would just solidify their opinion.

[WesterveltVictoryCigar]

Originally Posted by trevdv

Is it fair to say that if we lose at Gonzaga we drop out of the top 25?

Unlikely

[lstewart53x3]

Originally Posted by trevdv

Is it fair to say that if we lose at Gonzaga we drop out of the top 25? I know on paper we're still 9-1, but writers and columnists everywhere are unsure about us, and a sloppy effort tonight and bad loss Saturday would just solidify their opinion.

Meh. Probably depends on how we look. If we come out like we did tonight, play awful, and get blown out, we might drop out.

But if we play them tough and make a game out of it, we probably only drop down into the 18-22 range.

They're ranked #10 in the country, we're ranked #13, and it's @ Gonzaga, so this is a game we're suppose to lose. I don't see us dropping out of the rankings altogether, unless we absolutely play awful.

[trevdv]

Originally Posted by WesterveltVictoryCigar

Unlikely

It's just that everyone is so skeptical of us, and two bad games strung together would make them feel even MORE skeptical, to the point of falling far in the rankings. Eh, whatever, rankings are fun but not vital.

[HeartofaChampion]

Expecting to see us play a lot of zone Saturday. We actually seem to rebound better in a zone, for some reason.

Offensively, we'll have to put together a nice mix of accurate 3-point shooting and effective drives to have a chance. Imagine GZ will pressure us out past the arc to force us to put the ball on the deck and shoot mid-range and long 2s. If we can consistently drive the lane early, that should loosen up the D and open up looks from 3. BP and TA need to be in attack mode early and often.

Playing with the kind of energy and effort we displayed in Maui is imperative, too.

GZ 73
UI 71

[OrangeAndBlue217]

Originally Posted by trevdv

It's just that everyone is so skeptical of us, and two bad games strung together would make them feel even MORE skeptical, to the point of falling far in the rankings. Eh, whatever, rankings are fun but not vital.

Even if we lose we wont drop out. We already have one win this week, as ugly as it may have been. We will also be underdogs at Gonzaga. Losing there really wont hurt us very much, unless we lose by like 30.

[lstewart53x3]

Originally Posted by trevdv

It's just that everyone is so skeptical of us, and two bad games strung together would make them feel even MORE skeptical, to the point of falling far in the rankings. Eh, whatever, rankings are fun but not vital.

I wouldn't say everyone is skeptical of us. Of the 65 voters in the AP poll, 37 of them had us ranked in the top 15 and 54 of them had us in the top 20. A lot of people actually believe we're pretty good.

[zoggle101]

Originally Posted by lstewart53x3

I wouldn't say everyone is skeptical of us. Of the 65 voters in the AP poll, 37 of them had us ranked in the top 15 and 54 of them had us in the top 20. A lot of people actually believe we're pretty good.

If anyone thinks we aren't one of the top 30-35 teams they are crazy. FWIW top 35 teams get automatic bids and the bubble isn't part of their m.o. either.

[combes]

Originally Posted by trevdv

It's just that everyone is so skeptical of us, and two bad games strung together would make them feel even MORE skeptical, to the point of falling far in the rankings. Eh, whatever, rankings are fun but not vital.

Game wasn't on tv. Average fan/sportswriter looks at score and sees an 8 point win. Not great. Not horrible. Could have been a big lead that got closer late when subs were in.

Don't know why fans are throwing in the towel already. We have known that when we shoot well we look good. When we don't, we struggle. The competition doesn't seem to matter. If we hit 12-14 threes against Gonzaga, we have a shot. If we shoot like tonight, we get hammered. But the M.O. of this team is always going to be about hitting outside shots.

[SteakSandwich]

Good thing the game wasn't on TV because hopefully most voters won't know what a struggle tonight's game was.

[Future Walk-On]

Originally Posted by WesterveltVictoryCigar

Unlikely

unless we get beat by 40 which is possible...

[RyanK]

Zags - 78
Good guys -61

[drumanimal]

I actually like our chances Saturday!

ILL- 78
Zags-75