Pregame: Illinois at Northwestern, Thursday, February 27th, 7:00pm CT, BTN

[kiwanegarris22]

They can definitely both play together. That was our main line up during our winning streak. Giorgi just has zero confidence right now.

Giorgi has essentially always played horribly as the "4". Small flashes of adequacy I will admit, but he excelled in the "5" last year. I agree with the poster who said we need to run a lob/dunk play for him to establish confidence.

 

[Retro62]

Giorgi isn't having fun. When was the last time you saw him dance or even break out a big smile? Just gotta be who he is and his game will come back. I'm looking for him to get back to the joy of the game in Evanston.

 

[Ga65]

Giorgi isn't having fun. When was the last time you saw him dance or even break out a big smile? Just gotta be who he is and his game will come back. I'm looking for him to get back to the joy of the game in Evanston.

Giorgi has done a ton to get us where we are including getting Kofi and don’t want to give up on him.

 

[Hopingfor500]

He's had to go against Kofi too much in practice. Making him nervous.

That should make him better. Nebraska is so undersized. If he can't get on track vs them, I don't see it happening.

Can't afford any more of those types of games. NW is going to be a gritty game..probably tight. Can't fumble this one away. Season is coming to it's conclusion. The best, most reliable players have to play at this point, if they're going to extend it.

 

[skyIdub]

Kill the Kitties!

 

[Hopingfor500]

Giorgi has done a ton to get us where we are including getting Kofi and don’t want to give up on him.

Let me preface this by saying that I love Giorgi, his enthusiasm and him being the teammate that he is.

That said, what has he done to get us to where we are today? One could argue that the Iowa loss is at his feet. One could argue that he stunted the comeback vs Maryland. His inability to make even the easiest of lay-ins has lead to issues on both ends. He's been relegated to the bench in tight games.

We're 27 games in and he's regressing more and more each game, as each game becomes more and more critical. You can see it hurts BU to talk about it in his pressers. I think it hurts all of us. BU wants so bad to find answers because he's a great kid. Couldn't ask for a better ambassador for the program.

I think he's at the point where he plays spot minutes to give Kofi a rest and AG's minutes tick way up.

 

[SuperintendentChalmers]

He got a rebound early in the second half, and was pretty much wide open on the left side of the hoop.

He didn't even hit the rim on the wide open layup.

He's got the yips.

On another play, instead of corralling a rebound under the hoop and going back up, he gave it a big volleyball-type swat.

 

[ChocolateThunder]

74% chance to beat the Wildcats. Cats have lost 11 in a row. We only beat them by 4 in Jan. We need a game where we demonstrate consistency at both ends of the course from start to finish.

•	After beating Nebraska 71-59 yesterday, Illinois is now projected to finish the regular season 20-11 (12-8 Big Ten).
•	The odds that the Fighting Illini make the NCAA tournament are down to 73%, a decrease of 4% since yesterday.
•	We currently rank Illinois as the #31 team in the country, and the #9 team in the Big Ten.
•	Next game: Thu, Feb 27 at #123 Northwestern. Our power ratings give the Fighting Illini a 74% chance to win.

 

[RedRiver24]

74% chance to beat the Wildcats. Cats have lost 11 in a row. We only beat them by 4 in Jan. We need a game where we demonstrate consistency at both ends of the course from start to finish.

•	After beating Nebraska 71-59 yesterday, Illinois is now projected to finish the regular season 20-11 (12-8 Big Ten).
•	The odds that the Fighting Illini make the NCAA tournament are down to 73%, a decrease of 4% since yesterday.
•	We currently rank Illinois as the #31 team in the country, and the #9 team in the Big Ten.
•	Next game: Thu, Feb 27 at #123 Northwestern. Our power ratings give the Fighting Illini a 74% chance to win.

What is the source for all that mess?

 

[kcilliniguy]

74% chance to beat the Wildcats. Cats have lost 11 in a row. We only beat them by 4 in Jan. We need a game where we demonstrate consistency at both ends of the course from start to finish.

•	After beating Nebraska 71-59 yesterday, Illinois is now projected to finish the regular season 20-11 (12-8 Big Ten).
•	The odds that the Fighting Illini make the NCAA tournament are down to 73%, a decrease of 4% since yesterday.
•	We currently rank Illinois as the #31 team in the country, and the #9 team in the Big Ten.
•	Next game: Thu, Feb 27 at #123 Northwestern. Our power ratings give the Fighting Illini a 74% chance to win.

Win the game and drop 4%, where is this coming from?

 

[kcilliniguy]

Let me preface this by saying that I love Giorgi, his enthusiasm and him being the teammate that he is.

That said, what has he done to get us to where we are today? One could argue that the Iowa loss is at his feet. One could argue that he stunted the comeback vs Maryland. His inability to make even the easiest of lay-ins has lead to issues on both ends. He's been relegated to the bench in tight games.

We're 27 games in and he's regressing more and more each game, as each game becomes more and more critical. You can see it hurts BU to talk about it in his pressers. I think it hurts all of us. BU wants so bad to find answers because he's a great kid. Couldn't ask for a better ambassador for the program.

I think he's at the point where he plays spot minutes to give Kofi a rest and AG's minutes tick way up.

I too, love GB. Great teammate and an all around great kid. Having said that, was he not a 2 star recruit? You don' usually see kids like that have freshman seasons like he had. Energy off the bench is his ceiling IMO. He is still a guy that can make a difference but I'm just never going to be expecting it.

 

[SuperintendentChalmers]

Win the game and drop 4%, where is this coming from?

It was Monday and very few important games were played. The only other result that might have had any impact on an at large bid was Texas defeating West Virginia. Yet, Texas is 30 spots behind us in that ranking.

 

[louisvilleillini]

Win the game and drop 4% it must be from an Ia. fan. Beat NW and 3 more to go. One game at a time. We are in need of a blow out against another team. I think the NW game will go like the NB game went. Close in the first half and then we go on a run and win by 12-14. NW last game they got slaughtered.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

Let me preface this by saying that I love Giorgi, his enthusiasm and him being the teammate that he is.

That said, what has he done to get us to where we are today? One could argue that the Iowa loss is at his feet. One could argue that he stunted the comeback vs Maryland. His inability to make even the easiest of lay-ins has lead to issues on both ends. He's been relegated to the bench in tight games.

We're 27 games in and he's regressing more and more each game, as each game becomes more and more critical. You can see it hurts BU to talk about it in his pressers. I think it hurts all of us. BU wants so bad to find answers because he's a great kid. Couldn't ask for a better ambassador for the program.

I think he's at the point where he plays spot minutes to give Kofi a rest and AG's minutes tick way up.

And that is what has been happening the last 4 games. He hasn't seen much time at the 4 since the MSU game(and I don't think any for at least the past two games). He played 23 minutes against Rutgers, but that was when Illini was a man down and he did have 6 pts, 7 rebs, 2 asts and 1 block. The other 3 games in that stretch he has played 13, 17 and 13 minutes. He's now a back up 5. Yes, they need to get him back on track and hopefully that happens. But he's going to play 10-15 minutes at the 5 pretty much regardless because he's really the only option. He needs to dedicate himself to all the little things beyond offense -- rebounding, hustle, having fun -- and not turn the ball over and the offense will come.

 

[kcilliniguy]

On another play, instead of corralling a rebound under the hoop and going back up, he gave it a big volleyball-type swat.

just needs to put all his pocket change in his other pocket.

 

[RIVERCITYCHIEF]

at NW = difficult road win
IND = semi-comfortable home win
@OSU = a 1 possession upset win
Iowa at home = revenge victory by 5-7 points

14-6 conference record and a double bye in the tourney!

If we get to 14-6 we may just tie for the B10 title.

NW likely win a game before the season is over. We cant let it be against us! I want more and more of Ayo, AG and Feliz and lets go out tough teams and take this and all the games left.

 

[PtownIllini8]

Paint Evanston orange.

My brother will be wearing Orange up in Evanston on Thursday. Let's get some more road kill!

 

[bert1991]

I get your point but this has nothing to do with Kofi right now. This is all Giorgi, he’s in his own head. Missing easy bunnies just flicking the ball up there with zero confidence. You can see it in his body language. We need him to simply just be his normal self if we want to go on a run in the postseason. I’m rooting for him to turn it around.

I couldn't AGREE with you more......someone argued that Tev still looks lost out there while Giorgi, even though struggling, still has a grasp (i.e. not lost) of the game (defended Giorgi against a claim that Tev should be getting more of G's minutes). I couldn't DISAGREE more with the assessment that Giorgi is not lost. He looks completely lost...not only is he not executing offensively, he looks lost on defense....remaining grounded while others are jumping for rebounds around him....leaving guys unguarded under the hoop. I love Giorgi! He has proven he can be DYNAMIC! I'm befuddled....just like everyone else....not knowing what it's going to take, but I do agree with BU.....can't wallow in it....got to keep fighting.

 

[ChiefIllini]

Dead last (14th) in conference play in both 3pt and 2pt shooting percentage. 7th in FT percentage.

We need to figure out our three point shooting. Feel like Trent is forcing up some real bad, low percentage shots. He seems to be trying so hard to create on his own, that might be a negative of him being on ball so much. If that means playing AG more I'm all for it. He has an effect on every aspect of the game and I'd love to see him get 25+ mins. I think NW is a good chance for him to play some extended minutes.

I'd like to see Kofi pass out a few more times, even if pressure isn't intensely on him. Defenses are double and triple teaming him, and making them more honest will help in a few different offensive areas. He's shown the ability to make some really good passes, I'd like the emphasis on that to grow. I get BU wants him to go strong to the hoop and challenge double/triple teams, but he doesn't ahve a soft enough touch to get the and 1 the majority of the time.

 

[saukee]

Giorgi has essentially always played horribly as the "4". Small flashes of adequacy I will admit, but he excelled in the "5" last year. I agree with the poster who said we need to run a lob/dunk play for him to establish confidence.

it might take more than one dunk, the kid air balled a wide open bunny, literally no one between him and the basket, maybe hes seeing ghosts

 

[RedRiver24]

Dead last (14th) in conference play in both 3pt and 2pt shooting percentage. 7th in FT percentage.

We need to figure out our three point shooting. Feel like Trent is forcing up some real bad, low percentage shots. He seems to be trying so hard to create on his own, that might be a negative of him being on ball so much. If that means playing AG more I'm all for it. He has an effect on every aspect of the game and I'd love to see him get 25+ mins. I think NW is a good chance for him to play some extended minutes.

I'd like to see Kofi pass out a few more times, even if pressure isn't intensely on him. Defenses are double and triple teaming him, and making them more honest will help in a few different offensive areas. He's shown the ability to make some really good passes, I'd like the emphasis on that to grow. I get BU wants him to go strong to the hoop and challenge double/triple teams, but he doesn't ahve a soft enough touch to get the and 1 the majority of the time.

I agree with all of this.

Especially about Kofi looking to kick it out.

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

Maybe it's just because I'm going, but I am quite nervous about this one. It really is the type of game you just want to win and get over with; there is just the 19th win to gain and A LOT to lose. I fear that the soldout crowd might pump up the NU players in a way they haven't been in past games, and this could lead to an intense and close game ... never good news when you're on the road. NU hasn't filled more than 75% of its seats in any home game since the conference season started, and this will be a very different atmosphere. The StubHub prices alone signify this will be a packed house. We need to bring the energy from start to finish. We are much more talented than NU, but we need to show up and be ready to go from tipoff.

What I'm hoping will give our guys a lift is the semi-friendly crowd. I saw a pretty good post on the NU board that estimated the average visitor fan turnout at Welsh-Ryan is 30-35% or around there of the other team's fans. I'd estimate that is what we had last year. Between us having a good year, them having a bad year and high StubHub prices likely meaning that tickets that previously belonged to NU fans are being sold to Illini fans, I honestly think we could have the majority of the crowd, possibly even pushing it to 60/40. Combine that with a possible Krush trip, and I REALLY hope this pumps the boys up. I know NU isn't exactly a juggernaut this year, but we better play a few "Chicago's Big Ten Team" clips before the game. If I saw that as a player and got riled up and then came out of the tunnel to see Chicago's true team painting the house orange, I'd be pumped.

 

[ChiefIllini]

Personally think this is the scariest game left (individually). Lose this and we're dangerously close, if not, on the bubble. Winning accomplishes nothing except moving us forward. It's exactly the type of game a team in NW's shoes gears up for and a game we could sleep for. I think the team needs to dig into the hype of a rivalry game, even if it doesn't feel like one (or is one).

Probability wise, I can't say I'm any more sure we lose this than the game against Nebraska, but it's funny how this game is more dangerous than the rest we have left.

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

For any stats nerds like me, I decided to look at what teams have drawn the largest crowds at Welsh-Ryan over the last decade. Before anyone thinks I'm too weird, this was actually pretty easy using copy/paste and Excel. This is kind of a fun gauge into a combination of the biggest fan bases in Chicago, who's been good in the last decade and/or who NU fans like to beat the most. I removed Maryland, Nebraska and Rutgers due to small sample sizes:

1. ILLINOIS - 7,825
2. Indiana - 7,681
3. Michigan State - 7,670
4. Michigan - 7,520
5. Wisconsin - 7,510
6. Purdue - 7,349
7. Iowa - 7,063
8. Ohio State - 7,061
9. Minnesota - 6,610
10. Penn State - 6,422

Good work, Chicago area fans!

 

[ChocolateThunder]

What is the source for all that mess?

TeamRankings.com

Why do you say it is a mess?
Just another source of information, among many