Pregame: Illinois vs Iowa State, 9:09pm CT, TBS

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#28      

OrangeBlue98

OrangeBlue98
Des Moines, IA
OrangeBlue98
TriangleIL said:
I sort of agree this won't be close. I'm getting Louisville 2005 vibes.
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I wish I was that optimistic. I feel it will be more of a game like at the Kohl Center against Wisconsin this season. The only two ways I see this not being pretty close is (positive) we are hot early and ISU has a scoring drought or (negative) Iowa State gets a lot of live ball turnovers and scores often on those.

My prediction is Illinois 77, Iowa State 68. May not be the prettiest game, but Illinois has the two or three best individual players and that makes a big difference at this time of year.
 
#29      

Mr. Roberts

Mr. Roberts
Mr. Roberts
GIF by Looney Tunes
 
#30      

ChiefGritty

ChiefGritty
Chicago, IL
ChiefGritty
A bit of trivia: the national title game in 2005 was also played on the evening of MLB's Opening Day.

Dunno if there might be some strange circumstance I'm missing, but I'm relatively certain the Illini have never had their season extend beyond Opening Day.

(They shouldn't play baseball in March and shouldn't play college basketball in April, but that's another story)
 
#31      

CHK71185

C
CHK71185
FoundersClub said:
Unsure why, but I have a feeling this game won’t be close.

If we lose, their defense will have flustered us, their offense will still score, and we’ll lose by 15+.

If we win, we will have figured out their defense midway through the first half and we’ll have knocked down shots. They won’t have an answer.

Here’s to the latter. Illini by 16. Harman 4/6 from three.
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I've been telling people that Illinois wins by 14, and I've been called "crazy"...can't wait until it happens tonight!
 
#32      

Bbuck21

B
Bbuck21
the national said:
Gotta avoid this. Robert Jones and Lipsey double team the Wazzu gaurd and he panics, travels. Jones drifts out a lot for these types of double teams. Really jams up passing lanes and Lipsey will rake the ball. Guys need keep clam and keep their head on a swivel.
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Based on my viewing this season, this is exactly what Ilinois invites teams to do.
 
#33      

CoalCity

C
St Paul, MN
CoalCity
the national said:
Gotta avoid this. Robert Jones and Lipsey double team the Wazzu gaurd and he panics, travels. Jones drifts out a lot for these types of double teams. Really jams up passing lanes and Lipsey will rake the ball. Guys need keep clam and keep their head on a swivel.
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The oft talked about but seldom enforced "cylinder rule" is apparently no longer a priority to be called especially in the open court. I think the refs panic just like the ball handler does on a lot of these traps these days with the result that the defense eventually just bodies the ball handler into a travel. If he throws an elbow to get some room, it's a flagrant on him. Gotta get rid of it when the trap is on the way and catch them in mid rotation.
 
#34      

thefalcon5

T
thefalcon5
Not normally that guy, but I find this moment refreshing and really rewarding from a fan perspective.

Even just 4/5 years ago to think we’d be in a S16 matchup, ranked as the top offense efficiency team, and have a POY candidate (don’t care the media didn’t vote him he deserves to be up there) is such a positive position for this program to be in it’s time to truly appreciate what underwood has done here and what this team is today, regardless of outcome.

With that being said, let’s win the whole thing!
 
#35      

theNewGuy

theNewGuy
Dallas, TX
theNewGuy
FoundersClub said:
Unsure why, but I have a feeling this game won’t be close.

If we lose, their defense will have flustered us, their offense will still score, and we’ll lose by 15+.

If we win, we will have figured out their defense midway through the first half and we’ll have knocked down shots. They won’t have an answer.

Here’s to the latter. Illini by 16. Harman 4/6 from three.
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I know you're talking feelings but if we lose, it will not be by much. When our offense has struggled, we have still been able to get into the 70's. We scored 71 against Purdue (#15 def). We scored 79 against Tennessee (#3 def).
We have averaged ~85 points per game in the month of march. Iowa State has averaged ~70 points per game
Iowa State has given up ~58 points per game and we have given up ~75 points per game.

It will be a great matchup!

I think the range of outcomes is somewhere between a 5 point loss to a 20 point win. So if this game isn't close, I would expect us to be the one's on top!
 
#36      

chiefini

chiefini
Rockford, Illinois
chiefini
It’s been a long, long wait. Too long. I’m thinking our seniors, Terrence, Coleman, Marcus, Quincy, and Justin have a lot to prove and will not disappoint tonight. They have all said they have come or stayed at Illinois for this moment. I don’t care who steps up, or how they do it. Play hard as a team to the best of their ability. Win this one for themselves, Brad, and the rest of Illini Nation. Just WIN.
:illinois: :hailtotheorange: :illinois:
 
#38      

Thaillini22

Thaillini22
Thaillini22
CoalCity said:
The oft talked about but seldom enforced "cylinder rule" is apparently no longer a priority to be called especially in the open court. I think the refs panic just like the ball handler does on a lot of these traps these days with the result that the defense eventually just bodies the ball handler into a travel. If he throws an elbow to get some room, it's a flagrant on him. Gotta get rid of it when the trap is on the way and catch them in mid rotation.
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One was called on ISU vs WSU iirc, late-ish in the game.
 
#43      

Genesis

G
Genesis
I like to see an aggressive defense by my opponent and double teams out high. I always told my players to not panic when they see that, but to celebrate that instead because that means there's only three defenders left for the rest of the court. Quick passing can burn that.
 
#45      

Gordon Shumway

Gordon Shumway
Gordon Shumway
the national said:
Gotta avoid this. Robert Jones and Lipsey double team the Wazzu gaurd and he panics, travels. Jones drifts out a lot for these types of double teams. Really jams up passing lanes and Lipsey will rake the ball. Guys need keep clam and keep their head on a swivel.
View attachment 32806
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One major difference is that any Illini caught in this situation will be over 6'6". They won't be physically dominated like this Wazzu guard.
 
#46      

NarrowJ

NarrowJ
NarrowJ
Do you guys get as anxious/nervous about this as I do? I'm only 44 y/o but I feel like once I get older I'm going to have to stop following my sports teams to safeguard my (heart) health. :oops:

When the game starts it intensifies 10000000000x lol
 
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