Illinois 95, Minnesota 68 POSTGAME

#52      
Of course the first game this season I can’t watch is by far the best one. Happy for the team, they needed it.

This is the type of game that makes me remember we still have the potential to win the B1G tourney.
 
#53      
Just finished the replay. Wow! Can we please play like that at Iowa?!?! So much fun to watch our guards actually playing downhill.
 
#55      
WOW!! I’d hoped for a win but didn’t see that blowout coming. Ayo and Giorgi are turning into quite the duo... it should be fun to see them continue to grow
 
#56      
I just saw Amir Coffey, went 2-13, Kipper and team getting better at helping on D, who was lead on him? He was averaging about 19. Samba altered a few.
 
#58      
just checked the box score & saw some highlights ( wasn't able to watch the game tonight unfortunately), VERY impressed with Ayo's performance tonight . Dude is big time.
 
#59      

haasi

New York
The next highest 12 loss team appears to be #225.

Kenpom currently has us second to last (#352) in luck. Hopefully we see ourselves go on a little run.
Illini move up 22 spots on Kenpom, now at #82. Impressive for a 5-12 team.
 
#60      
i would love to see him come back one more season for all big ten accolades and lead us to the tourney.
Ayo made mention many times pre-season he wanted to be the one to help Illinois back to the promised land. Maybe he was speaking in terms of, "I'm gonna start you up," but it seemed more to me he meant he will be here as long as it takes to actually win major games and get into and at partially through the, "Big Dance." Am I the only one hallucinating what I thought he was tweeting about before and shortly after he committed? Whatever, I knew this team could do what they did tonight...to be such a young team AND not throw towels in is quite impressive.
 
#62      
Ayo made mention many times pre-season he wanted to be the one to help Illinois back to the promised land. Maybe he was speaking in terms of, "I'm gonna start you up," but it seemed more to me he meant he will be here as long as it takes to actually win major games and get into and at partially through the, "Big Dance." Am I the only one hallucinating what I thought he was tweeting about before and shortly after he committed? Whatever, I knew this team could do what they did tonight...to be such a young team AND not throw towels in is quite impressive.

I'd wager he will be back next season. He seems to have a lot of pride playing for Illinois, and seems to really like Coach.
 
#63      
so since i’m kind of an insomniac, i decided to do some research on our team and try to answer how/why our advanced stats don’t correlate with our W/L record.

In 12 of our losses this season we had the lead or were tied going into halftime in 8 of them (Georgetown, Iowa St, Xavier, Notre Dame, Ohio State, FAU, Indiana, Northwestern). We rank 55th in the nation in 1st half PPG (37.4), and 120th in first half OPPG. Offensively, we score about 36 ppg in the second half, but give up 41 in the second half. Why is this? A lot can be answered at the free throw line. Here is the second half FTM/FTA for both the illini and their opponents in a few of their losses.

Indiana: 18/27 Illini 6/10 -12 (lost by 8)
OSU 16/20 Illini 8/8 -8 (lost by 10)
ND 13/25 Illini 7/7 -6 (lost by 2)
Gonz 15/23 Illini 9/10 -6 (lost by 6)

So pretty much, we foul more in the second half and send teams to the line a lot more than we get their, this is a major issue. Obviously some of the numbers can be skewed because the OSU, ND, Indiana game we were likely intentionally fouling, but the facts remain that we almost always foul more than the other team, even tonight.

On top of that, we get outrebounded religiously in the second half as well.

So basically, foul less,get more rebounds. If we had done that better we are probably closer to 12-5 rather than 5-12. We don’t stink, we are just young and dumb.

Not sure if this post enlightened anyone or matters at all, but even with long scoring droughts, letting up a bunch of layups etc. a lot of these losses came down to rebounding and fouling too much. It’s not necessarily a lack of talent/scoring etc. but more experience, and some athleticism. But the best part about being a young team is we can only get older (as long as we don’t purge again). Go illini.
 
#67      

sbillini

st petersburg, fl
BU was coaching them up tonight, many times saw him talking to players on way out, saw him put Griffin right back in.

Might be over-thinking this, but I felt that BU's demeanor was much calmer and subdued last night than typical. Even when the lead wasn't huge, lots of firm but calm coaching and sitting on the bench for him. More so than the past.
 
#71      
They need to show they can win more games first.

Even then, it depends on the day they start play in the BTT. No way are they winning the maximum amount of games in a row.
 
#74      
Good feeling after that! Hopefully, this team just keeps getting better and continue to progress into next season!

For now, that was a great win.

Go Illini
 
#75      

Illinivek23

Gurnee
Aside from the dribble weave on about 4-5 possessions, we looked loose and agressive on offense. Defense has looked pretty good the last 5 games. We are physical - should be our calling card. Imagine the team with youngsters in the S&C program for an off-season.