Pregame: Illinois at Notre Dame, Tuesday, November 27th, 6:00pm CT, ESPNU

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#51      

IllFanInMi

I
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Sounds odd I know, but they have a pretty talented and balanced roster, with three bigs we would take. Struse will likely be a first round draft pick. They also have a top 20 recruiting class coming in along with a 3/4* athletic wing from Arkansas; if they get TSJ you’re looking at a top 10ish class. Oh and a cool new arena downtown, a lot on the upside with their program.
 
#52      

jmilt7

Waukegan
man, crazy to think we have Notre Dame, Nebraska and OSU this week...

Toughest opening stretch in the history of the program, this might be it...

#1 Gonzaga, top 30ish Iowa St team, Xavier, Georgetown, Notre Dame, top 35ish Nebraska, top 25 OSU with 2 cup cakes to start the year...insane! Rather start 3-6 with this schedule than 8-1 with all gimmes...this team is young and these games develop the guys more. Look at the strides Griffin, Samba, Ayo, Jordan, Damonte, Tev etc. have made already going into game 7. It’s all about showing progress, we are YOUNG and this is the best way to develop quickly! Looking forward to our first true road game! Go illini!

But I have to wonder if these young guys will get too demoralized without a win or two along the way. And against a fairly good team. Just wondering. Have no clue as to the emotional state of young athletes.
 
#53      
Sounds odd I know, but they have a pretty talented and balanced roster, with three bigs we would take. Struse will likely be a first round draft pick. They also have a top 20 recruiting class coming in along with a 3/4* athletic wing from Arkansas; if they get TSJ you’re looking at a top 10ish class. Oh and a cool new arena downtown, a lot on the upside with their program.

I don’t know where your’e getting that from Strus will probably be undrafted
 
#54      

IllFanInMi

I
Guest
I don’t know where your’e getting that from Strus will probably be undrafted

We shall see, I’m going off my eyes and that many saying he will be a Big E p.o.y. Candidate. 6’6” guy with an NBA body, excellent athleticism, very high motor, and a great stroke with range; these guys don’t grow on trees. I.M.O. he has a lot of similarities to Thunder Dan, who I played against back in the day. We shall see, you may be right, but you may be wrong.
 
#55      
But I have to wonder if these young guys will get too demoralized without a win or two along the way. And against a fairly good team. Just wondering. Have no clue as to the emotional state of young athletes.
Underwood made the statement after one of the games that most of the new guys are not used to losing. They have all been big time winners in the past. Will that winning mentality be sustained thru the current losses or will they becoming discouraged. I believe that they will not allow losses to remove their winning mindset. They will emerge more determined than ever.
 
#57      

KrushCow31

Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
W



We've not exactly been holding our opponents down in the shooting % area....if we play the aggressive overplay man defense as usual....then we better turn them over 15-20+ in order to win

We're not last...but at 330/353, we're pretty darn close.

ND is #76 btw.

We're also #202 for 3pt FG% at 34.2% per game.

ND is #45 at 40.7% which I think is deflated due to the fact that they've mostly played nobody.

We are #16 at Turnovers forced per game though. If we keep that number up high, ND will struggle. ND gives up the 11th least turnovers in the NCAA so we will see if that is just because they have played nobody, or if they are actually elite at keeping the ball.
 
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#59      

SKane

Tennessee
Notre Dame isn't as good as usual but I think that they will win.

ILL has to show that they can play defense against someone/anyone before I will expect them to defeat a decent team.
 
#61      
As a current Notre Dame student, I consider myself the expert here. This is a very winable game. ND graduated most of their scoring, and are also pretty young. They've also struggled badly against Radford which they lost, and Duquesne which they won after a 13-0 run. They also were only up 5 against Chicago State St at half. TJ Gibbs is probably the best player, followed by Pflueger if he gets hot on the 3. Mooney is a decent center but only like 6'9". He can drop 3s randomly so they definitely can't leave him open up top. Lastly, Harvey has been slow to start but was good last year, and Hubb is playing starter minutes as a freshmen. Just like us, they are not a super tall team down low. Also like us, they probably rely on the 3 too much.

Look for me in my orange jersey front row in the student section. I think UIUC wins by 10.

Thanks for the optimism, but based on what I've seen, I'll take ND and the points. In fact, I'll take them straight up. (Apologies for the negativism)

I do think we'll be in this one, but IMO we're fatally flawed on defense, which tends to be a difference maker late in games. I haven't yet seen us lock down enough to force tough shots for more than a single possession. We do have the talent to score, though, despite our inability to run the offense. I think we'll be pumped to win after the Maui beatings. Should be a good contest. Hoping we can close out a close game, which I think is the most likely scenario. I expected growing pains, but so far, we're just baaad. My hope is that Underwood's system is hard enough to learn that it looks this crappy because of the learning curve, but assuming guys get it, it will start to shine.

Fingers crossed that we can get some positive feedback tonight.
 
#62      

illini80

Forgottonia
We are better than our record. I like Kenpom's line.
This is not a knock on you, but lordy it's a sad day anytime you have to say that about your favorite team.

And we have said it a lot in the last 13 years.
 
#63      
Sounds odd I know, but they have a pretty talented and balanced roster, with three bigs we would take. Struse will likely be a first round draft pick. They also have a top 20 recruiting class coming in along with a 3/4* athletic wing from Arkansas; if they get TSJ you’re looking at a top 10ish class. Oh and a cool new arena downtown, a lot on the upside with their program.
Highest I can find him rated is #56 for 2019 NBA draft.
 
#65      

IllFanInMi

I
Guest
Highest I can find him rated is #56 for 2019 NBA draft.

I get that, he tested the draft waters last summer and wisely went back to school.

He’s averaging 5 points per game so far more than last year, at 21.8

My projection is based on how his draft stock rises this year as ratings now pretty much reflect past performance.

I could be wrong and I admit that, but watching him play this year, I feel his draft stick is going to rise.

My original point was that DePaul is a program on the rise and many “experts” are singing the same song.
 
#66      
My original point was that DePaul is a program on the rise and many “experts” are singing the same song.

2017 9-23
2018 11-20
2019 3-1 against an abysmal SOS

Incoming class was ranked 61st. I suppose "rise" is subjective, but I'm not seeing indications of an NCAA bid, which is kind of the minimum for relevancy. They could be NIT worthy, which, sad to say, looks like a stretch for Illinois in the early going.
 
#68      

Ransom Stoddard

Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
One thing to consider with Notre Dame is that in the 3 games prior to their win over DePaul on Saturday (where they put up 95 points), they were only averaging about 66 points per game.

If we can force them into turnovers, we should have a pretty good chance to win. If not, it could be a long night in South Bend.

According to KenPom we're #10 in defensive turnover percentage at 25.3.
 
#69      

IllFanInMi

I
Guest
2017 9-23
2018 11-20
2019 3-1 against an abysmal SOS

Incoming class was ranked 61st. I suppose "rise" is subjective, but I'm not seeing indications of an NCAA bid, which is kind of the minimum for relevancy. They could be NIT worthy, which, sad to say, looks like a stretch for Illinois in the early going.

Current class sitting at 20ish, with an Arkansas transfer sitting this year, and in the hunt for TSJ. Weems from Michigan is a beast, EJ Liddell equivalent.

Too much ink spent on this, but given they’re an in state a school competing against Illinois for recruits, perhaps relevant topic given Illinois is in a rebuild as well.

To your point, who makes the NIT or NCAA first, Illinois or DePaul?
 
#70      
^^^^^^ Illinois, Depaul is well Depaul, not in a conference that will work for them to get an at large bid (assuming they get better), and also not a team that can get to NCAA first before ILLINI, NIT however?
 
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