Pregame: Illinois at Rutgers, Saturday, February 15th, 3:30pm CT, BTN

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#27      
Has a reporter asked BU why he stopped running the spread offense? I think we ran it twice against MSU. I understand the defensive switch. But offensively I was excited to see how the spread could work with a better and deeper team.

The improvement defensively is very exciting, but I was expecting a lot more creativity on offense in year 3.

we ran more possessions of it yesterday than we’ve seen in a long long time.
 
#28      

breadman

Herndon, VA
Well, this going to be a tough one for us. Tough task for the coaching staff to keep the guys focused, that's for sure. Great opportunity for Ayo to speak up.
 
#30      

Deleted member 746654

D
Guest
Going to the game Saturday. Flying in to visit my brother in Jersey, he works for Rutgers. Really looking forward to the game.........I would have been jacked if we pulled out that MSU game. Let's get a W against Rutgers
 
#31      
Any idea when Ayo will be back? If it's for any real time, you gotta hope this will be like when Deron broke his jaw. Made him a better player (which part was due to the forced weight loss with him), but also made the team better.

May be a good time for Trent, Giorgi and Kofi to really come on strong and for Tevian to find consistent playing time and get going for the final run at the end of the season.
 
#32      

illini80

Forgottonia
Any idea when Ayo will be back? If it's for any real time, you gotta hope this will be like when Deron broke his jaw. Made him a better player (which part was due to the forced weight loss with him), but also made the team better.

May be a good time for Trent, Giorgi and Kofi to really come on strong and for Tevian to find consistent playing time and get going for the final run at the end of the season.
Speculation of 1 - 2 weeks, but no one knows exactly what the injury is or how he will respond to treatment. One would think the staff will err on the side of caution.
 
#33      
Any idea when Ayo will be back? If it's for any real time, you gotta hope this will be like when Deron broke his jaw. Made him a better player (which part was due to the forced weight loss with him), but also made the team better.

May be a good time for Trent, Giorgi and Kofi to really come on strong and for Tevian to find consistent playing time and get going for the final run at the end of the season.
There are about 30 minutes per game to divvy up here and Tevian is going to get a bunch. Referencing Lake Placid, "great moments are borne from great opportunity". This could be an extended chance for serious minutes. Not that we need a true 4 or anything.
 
#34      
Illini, have to find a way to win 1 out of the next 2. Not an easy task. But going into final 5 games 9-6 rather than 8-7 would be huge.
 
#35      
As much as I would like this Illini team to come out and play with fire and competence from the tip...I cannot in any conscious world see them winning in Piscataway, New Joisey on Sat. Maybe Feliz starts takes charge, but then he can't come off the bench and take charge. Maybe Georgi decides to show once again that he is a B1G warrior who is cunning and crafty and can hang in a game for 40 minutes of plus contributions. Maybe not. This game means too much for Rutgers and they sure are not chopped liver....and Illini can be and were for 42 minutes before playing their butts off against Sparty....then forgetting that if all Illini players are defending on one side of the floor, there are only Spartans on the other side all alone rebounding and dunking.

As coaches know, you can't take one play off or afford one blunder as it may cost you a title. So let's hope my sure pick of a loss on Sat. is a huge blunder by me.
 
#36      
Illini, have to find a way to win 1 out of the next 2. Not an easy task. But going into final 5 games 9-6 rather than 8-7 would be huge.
Very, very, very tall order.

I'd love to be wrong, but I'm thinking we're 8-7(16-10) after the next two, then the goal needs to be win four out of the final five.

That should do the trick....I hope.
 
#37      
First need to take the lid off of February.
 
#38      

Retro62

North Bethesda, Maryland
Splitting the next two would be such an incredible boost, and we can pull it off. I know RU is undefeated at home, Wisky, PSU, and PU are their best home wins. But we've beaten the two of those at their place, and we beat RU at ours. They are beatable, it will just be a very tall order. PSU? They are rally hot right now, we may need to get this one at RU. Get a swagger back with a win there and PSU seems much more possible.
 
#39      
I really think you will see a new GB playing Sat. Will Feliz get the start at the 2 guard or will AG and bring AF off the bench for Trent? Whatever I am sure that BU and staff have it figured out.
 
#40      
I really think you will see a new GB playing Sat. Will Feliz get the start at the 2 guard or will AG and bring AF off the bench for Trent? Whatever I am sure that BU and staff have it figured out.
I think the keys are 1) GB gets back to 2019 form, 2) Trent steps up and knocks down threes, 3) AF steps up the leadership. Plus tough defense and stay out of foul trouble. PS: Kofi is worn out. I doubt that we will see much extra from him the rest of this year.
 
#41      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
The only way to wipe off this February Funk is our D. Our defense is why we went on a 7 game tear, holding teams to their lowest outputs.

Get back to the grind. The shots will start to fall for Kofi and Giorgi, but the path back to W's is locking it down on D.
 
#42      
I'm all for benching Giorgi at this point. 15 mpg sounds about right. If you want him starting that's fine, but his overall usage needs to decrease, whether it be becuase of poor decision making, being in a slump, or being out of position, he's more than just a liability at this point.

Give Kipper 5 more minutes a game, let Hamlin get a tick or two, and have Giorgi and Kofi play as little as possible together. It works sometimes, but it's borderline disaterious when it doesn't.

Increased presser on Griffin while/if Ayo is out. He's probably a 25 mpg guy now, unless you want Damonte out there more than he already is. Rutgers is just as vulnerable as we are, no reason this cant be a win.
 
#43      
This game is so important on Saturday. It can't get here soon enough. If we win, I think we stay in the Top 25. We will likely be without Ayo, and a victory without him will give everyone else confidence heading into the PSU game.

Defense, defense, defense. Sticking with our overall season trend, keeping teams under 70 is our path to victory. 62 :chief: - 55 Rutgers.
 
#44      
I'm actually quite optimistic about this one. Things were gloomy at the conclusion of the MSU game, what with the loss and injury to Ayo. However, with the good news regarding Ayo's injury, and the perspective an event like that brings, I feel that the team will have a new sense of ease and purpose. Basketball is psychology, right? :)

Illinois 68
Rutgers 59
 
#45      
the Buckeyes led by 20 points with 13 minutes left in the game, as the Scarlet Knights were not playing with the usual energy and focus we’ve seen most of the season. They were routinely outhustled and outworked, which was unsettling to watch. And then, RU then battled back down the stretch behind strong bench play to make it another one possession game with less than a minute to play. However, it was too little, too late as Rutgers fell to Ohio State by the final score of 72-66.

Both teams coming off similar games. It will be difficult to pretend the level of emotional intensity.
Giorgi needs some time in the post, see if he can get back to contributing 10 points a game.
Regardless , we need to do a better job of getting the ball into the post.
We seem to have a lot of difficulty doing this than many other teams.
 
#46      
Is the consensus that Ayo will likely miss 2-3 games? Sorry if I missed it.

We’re more than capable of beating RU in Piscataway without Ayo. Period. Obviously, it will take either our D throwing them off their rhythm enough to win or our offense being on fire. The first is much more likely and what we need to bank on. Let’s win this one for Ayo, boys!!

Illinois 61
Rutgers 56
 
#49      
Is the consensus that Ayo will likely miss 2-3 games? Sorry if I missed it.

We’re more than capable of beating RU in Piscataway without Ayo. Period. Obviously, it will take either our D throwing them off their rhythm enough to win or our offense being on fire. The first is much more likely and what we need to bank on. Let’s win this one for Ayo, boys!!

Agreed, if teams can beat us at home, we should be able to end Rutgers 16 game home winning streak :)
 
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