EIU 80, Illinois 67 (Exhibition) POSTGAME

#51      
Sounds like a poor effort tonight. Hard to judge without actually seeing it. Exhibition results can be misleading. A great deal of exhibition outcomes are influenced by the motivation of the teams involved. I for one will wait to see actually games that count before drawing any conclusions.
 
#52      

Dan

Admin
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#53      

SKane

Tennessee
I know this will sound like serious rationalizing, but here goes. I would rather have a bad loss like this in front of another schools fan base with a week of practice to go for this group, then a fairly easy win. This could not have felt good, and the video of it will make them feel even worse. And it doesn't effect our record. This is exactly what Underwood needs to hopefully get this teams attention.

I would like to agree with you but a loss to an OVC team should not be needed to get the team's attention, especially considering how last year went.
 
#54      
The pull-up 3
That was by far Smith's worst decision of the night, and it was an anomaly for him in the context of the rest of his game. I loved how he played tonight. He flat-out balled, and he's going to show up near the top of opposing teams' scouting reports if he keeps it up.
 
#55      
I would like to agree with you but a loss to an OVC team should not be needed to get the team's attention, especially considering how last year went.

Well a few years ago Groce's squad put up 100+ in 4 or 5 games and was winning by 40. Didn't make the tournament.

It's not really needed, but what do you think gets the teams attention more? Winning by 40 or losing?
 
#58      

JDHalfrack

Springfield, IL
I'm confused. Did the season either start or end tonight? A lot of suicidal thoughts about a game that doesn't count.
 
#59      
Still very early and exhibition games do not mean much. But it is pretty obvious that we have obvious gaps in the front court PF/C. I think guards will be OK, they will improve greatly and we have Ayo coming in next year. But we need a serious upgrade in talent moving forward at SF, PF, and C, and we need to add players at those position who can contribute immediately (2018 class).
 
#63      

Ken

chitown
But at the end of the year, that group of guys is still going to be the 200th best team in MBB.

We don't know where they will end up at thats why you play the game and it seems to me that that has been lost on quite a few fans lately .

The game of basketball has changed has changed so much in just the past decade there are good players everywhere and you don't just win or lose anymore simply because of the name on the front of your jersey.
 
#65      
Still very early and exhibition games do not mean much. But it is pretty obvious that we have obvious gaps in the front court PF/C. I think guards will be OK, they will improve greatly and we have Ayo coming in next year. But we need a serious upgrade in talent moving forward at SF, PF, and C, and we need to add players at those position who can contribute immediately (2018 class).

We don’t have positions now ��
 
#66      
The team made several runs but Smith is going to need the ball in his hands.

TeJon and Frazier both played decent and will get minutes but they both struggled to get and create their own shots....Smith was way more consistent in this effort...

I have no clue what's going on in practice but Smith looked solid tonight...
 
#69      
That's generally what coaches do. Critique the upperclassmen leaders because they can handle it. Praise the freshmen for what they did well to build them up. I don't think anyone on the team really played great. Even Smith had a ton of turnovers, bad shots, and defensive break downs.

What game where u watching Smith had (2), finished with and 1, 5-5 from the charity strip.....for his debut I thought Smith looked solid
 
#70      

Tevo

Wilmette, IL
Not related to the game, per se, but I could see these Charity Exhibitions becoming the norm. It would be a complete feather in the NCAA's cap if they allowed every team in the country to play a Charity Exhibition (in addition to whatever other exhibitions they normally allow), where some standard percent of the ticket revenue goes to a charity or charities of the teams' choosing.
 
#71      

Deleted member 521385

D
Guest
I find it comical that we can’t beat EIU. We’re picked 13th in the B1G for a reason. Wake me up in 2019.
 
#72      
If I can just add my two cents although I didn't see the game.

While I'm not thrilled that we lost to EIU I'm glad at least that it's an exhibition so this doesn't count or hurt us come selection time should we be on the bubble.

I'm hoping this becomes a learning experience for the team. This team is definitely going to struggle on the road that's for sure.

There's still a lot of things this team needs to work on for sure and I hope Underwood pushes them in practice.

I'm not jumping off the ledge yet. Hopefully as I said this is a learning experience and these guys work on their weaknesses. This is technically a young team since Alstork (a transfer) is our only senior.

Not that it really means anything but North Carolina's championship team (the 2005 one that beat us) actually lost their first game to UNC-Wilmington who didn't make the tournament. I know I know it doesn't mean a gosh darn thing, but it takes time for teams to develop.

Hopefully this team will look different come March....and also well come November 12 against Southern. Rather not risk a bad loss at home that would hurt us come Selection Sunday.
 
#74      

BananaShampoo

Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
If I can just add my two cents although I didn't see the game.

While I'm not thrilled that we lost to EIU I'm glad at least that it's an exhibition so this doesn't count or hurt us come selection time should we be on the bubble.

I'm hoping this becomes a learning experience for the team. This team is definitely going to struggle on the road that's for sure.

There's still a lot of things this team needs to work on for sure and I hope Underwood pushes them in practice.

I'm not jumping off the ledge yet. Hopefully as I said this is a learning experience and these guys work on their weaknesses. This is technically a young team since Alstork (a transfer) is our only senior.

Not that it really means anything but North Carolina's championship team (the 2005 one that beat us) actually lost their first game to UNC-Wilmington who didn't make the tournament. I know I know it doesn't mean a gosh darn thing, but it takes time for teams to develop.

Hopefully this team will look different come March....and also well come November 12 against Southern. Rather not risk a bad loss at home that would hurt us come Selection Sunday.
It was Santa Clara that UNC lost to, but otherwise I agree with you.
 
#75      
My biggest concern was the lack of individual growth we seemed to see from finke and black. This team cannot be successful without them. They must learn to defend without fouling and be leaders on the floor.
Finke plays like he is 5-10 not 6-10 I thought Black looked like he was tired the entire game, but to me was just way to much one on one like Groce was still the coach