Pregame: Illinois at UNLV, Saturday, December 9th, 11:00pm CT, ESPN2

[Portillos]

I would think you try and get two quick fouls on the big man...that has to be done with guards driving and hopefully one cheap box out...

 

[PJD86]

I have no idea who will win, if we shoot well, we can win, if not, we won't. all I got

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

I have no idea who will win, if we shoot well, we can win, if not, we won't. all I got

I agree. The team that scores the most points will likely win.

 

[Ol Dirty Gamer]

I agree. The team that scores the most points will likely win.

That’s a bold strategy.

 

[BananaShampoo]

That’s a bold strategy.

Whatcha gotta do is to try to score more points than the other team, or try to keep them from scoring more points than you.

 

[RML]

Whatcha gotta do is to try to score more points than the other team, or try to keep them from scoring more points than you.

I think either of those strategies, if successfully implemented, can work.

 

[whovous]

I agree. The team that scores the most points will likely win.

With the refs we've seen this year, I wonder if this is still a sure thing,

 

[PlayAZ]

Believe Groce or BU recruited Juiston. McCoy was given feelers by our staff, he is from Chicago then moved to San Diego. McCoy would of been a nice addition.

Both Groce and BU were looking into Juiston, more BU than Groce iirc....he would have pushed Kipper farther down in PT if he had came here. He will be the difference tonight.

McCoy may have some issues as a freshman, bad play, fouls or both not expecting the chance of either from Juiston.

 

[PlayAZ]

UNLV 75
ILLINI 71

McCoy fouls out with 4:31 left in the game, Hardy steps in and seals the victory with lobs on consecutive plays to Juiston...one on a back screen-the other on a steal and breakaway!

 

[jrichisamazing]

Going 2-0 against UNLV and Mizzou would be great, but splitting those 2 games would be good enough. 2-0 would put us on track to get into the tournament easily. 1-1 would keep us squarely on the bubble. 0-2 would put us behind the 8-ball, but only slightlly because we have avoided the bad loss thus far.

 

[Whitman2020]

What do other journalists think about Rob and his off the wall questions?

4.5 now.

 

[foby]

He's been thinking a lot about us lately

 

[mdonsbach]

Talk about Loyalty after Dark. 11pm start time AND Tom Crean!

 

[Deleted member 11241]

Idk, the late start may bode well for us. We don't ever seem to be ready to play until they second half. Maybe we play better the later it gets!

 

[illinitiger]

watching BUs UNLV preview....seems to be a psychological conundrum where he wants them to be loose but he also wants them to be intense. he obviously wants to see a specific team personality that he hasn't seen yet... swagger. winning consistently should give team swagger that he wants.

 

[FeelYourPaign]

Flying out to Vegas Saturday morning with the wife and a couple friends, anyone meeting up before or after the game for cocktails?

Going to the alumni association sponsored event at the hard Rock. 6:30-8:30. Should see lots of orange there

 

[TCTORNADO]

UNLV -4.5

 

[PJD86]

UNLV -4.5

Pretty much a toss up line there since its in Vegas, seems awfully low to me.

I'd have to take UNLV -4.5

 

[Illini B-Ball Fan]

Idk, the late start may bode well for us. We don't ever seem to be ready to play until they second half. Maybe we play better the later it gets!

On the east coast, it will be a different version of midnight madness. No matter what the time zone, go Illini!

 

[PJD86]

Do any of you guys remember the game we played about ~3-4 years ago, late night start, like 11 PM-ish, can't recall exactly who or where we played but I do enjoy the occasional late start like this. No one will be harassing me while I watch the game lol

 

[Deleted member 236589]

Going 2-0 against UNLV and Mizzou would be great, but splitting those 2 games would be good enough. 2-0 would put us on track to get into the tournament easily. 1-1 would keep us squarely on the bubble. 0-2 would put us behind the 8-ball, but only slightlly because we have avoided the bad loss thus far.

We're already squarely behind the 8 ball. We have no quality wins, our strength of schedule even after these next two games will be sub-par and are already 0-2 in conference. We need to win both and go 10-6 in our remaining conference games to even have a shot. I suspect it will take 11-5 in our remaining conference games, as the strength of the conference is way down.

 

[CoalCity]

Do any of you guys remember the game we played about ~3-4 years ago, late night start, like 11 PM-ish, can't recall exactly who or where we played but I do enjoy the occasional late start like this. No one will be harassing me while I watch the game lol

Just don't wake everybody up yelling at the TV

 

[NScale]

I have no idea who will win, if we shoot well, we can win, if not, we won't. all I got

The broad side of a barn is a phrase used to best describe our offense.

 

[InterimLoyalty]

I'm admittedly an old fart. Who in the hell on Illinois' side of things agreed to this start time?? Sounds like a Mike Thomas or JFG move.

 

[BillyBob1]

Do any of you guys remember the game we played about ~3-4 years ago, late night start, like 11 PM-ish, can't recall exactly who or where we played but I do enjoy the occasional late start like this. No one will be harassing me while I watch the game lol

Remember playing at Hawaii before the Maui Classic. DJ with a buzzer beater. No tv, but Hawaii had it on line, but so many fans overwhelmed their system.