Easier said than done. At times they’ve had nba type length out there. Makes it hard for any offense to score on any defense like that.
Pregame: Illinois vs Baylor, Wednesday, December 2nd, 9:00pm CT, ESPN
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Easier said than done. At times they’ve had nba type length out there. Makes it hard for any offense to score on any defense like that.
Kofi weak with the ball still. Turnovers. The worst, the defense looked BAD today. Inability to work through telegraphed, slow developing screens. I’m all in this season, but today was alarming. Hope today provided a much needed gut check for this team to thrive.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
The defense didn't look "BAD", they just had a couple really tough matchups and a guard play off the charts. Honestly, Ayo locked him down pretty hard for the first part of the second half.
You gotta give lots of credit to Ohio.....you just can't go...overboard? Apparently?
Illini in Indiana
- Indiana
... I think he wanted them to learn to high pick and roll against good athletes. It is one of the basic plays of every team. The things we didn't do was react quickly and decisively. Ohio had a hot shooter, and a very good shot creator. It's ok to hard foul and knock the creator to the floor and make him earn it from the line. We also needed the shooting big to have to dribble to get his shot.
A lot of talk about our pick and roll coverages, including me. One thing not being discussed is the Ohio screeners reading the Illini defensive setup and flipping the screen side/angle at the last minute. A well timed adjustment on the screening angle will stress most pick and roll coverages. Giorgi, if I remember correctly, actually does this himself.
If you make the adjustment on the screen angle at the exact right time, the defense doesn’t have time to react or reset, which gives the offense the advantage they’re looking for by setting a pick and roll in the first place.
The downside is if the timing is off you’re gonna get an illegal screen on a high percentage of those angle flips. But Ohio had tremendous timing on them yesterday.
I’d be shocked if Baylor doesn’t give the Illini the late screen angle flip next game.
If you make the adjustment on the screen angle at the exact right time, the defense doesn’t have time to react or reset, which gives the offense the advantage they’re looking for by setting a pick and roll in the first place.
The downside is if the timing is off you’re gonna get an illegal screen on a high percentage of those angle flips. But Ohio had tremendous timing on them yesterday.
I’d be shocked if Baylor doesn’t give the Illini the late screen angle flip next game.
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altenberger22
- South Carolina
The only way Baylor can play a zone offense is if Underwood plays a zone defense (which is not very likely unless the Bears thoroughly burn our man-to-man).
iLL 89ers
- Dallas,TX , Born and raised in Alton,Illinois
IMHO you nailed it , two biggest takeaways from the Ohio game.
So tonight's game will be fun to watch but Teague and Butler present a hard problem for the Illini. However, I feel like we have bodies we can throw at them that are not Ayo. I think the "it" will be GB. We need him to provide minutes at the 4 and to be as good as Baylor's 4 and backup 5. Also their wildcard is Mark Vital who is 6'5'' 250lbs. If we don't lose too much downlow when Kofi goes out, I think we win.
Kofi still shoots like a brick mason.
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Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
UI shot 15-24 (62.5%) from the FT line. Ohio shot 4-9 (44.4%).
But it's nice to know Baylor won't take advantage of those TOs, or the bad pick and roll defense which exposed the inability to stop a guard from doing whatever he wants in the halfcourt, leading to easy buckets from a skilled 4. Baylor won't have any of those types. Nothing to get fixed against a national title contender. Destroy and dominate. 36-0.
Seeing Illinois +1.5 on this one — probably around what I expected, if not a bit more in our favor than I would have anticipated. Will be interested to see how Baylor plays this weekend. One of BU’s biggest weaknesses last season was actually defensive rebounding, and they lost their best rebounder (Gillepsie). They were one of the best in the nation on the offensive glass, however. I think this is a game we can win if we’re good on the boards like we have been so far. Think this is one where we REALLY need a good game out of Kofi.
That is true because they do play teams that mixes in a zone D
The thing I noticed was the Ohio guards (mainly Preston) did a good job of coming off those screens....they used a hesitation dribble, rather than coming off the screen hard to the basket, to get our guards on their hip and then made a move to the basket or put the shot up....seemed like our guards were unsure of how to defend this and were not in good defensive position
Where? That seems generous given that Baylor is getting half the #1 votes
CBS Sports App. Also thought I saw on DraftKings or something, but not a lot of spreads published yet so who knows.
I think that our guards were in great defensive position throughout the game. Preston made a lot of 6 to 8 foot floaters that were adjustments from what he originally intended. Those are tough shots to block no matter who the help is. Ayo consistently took his first shot away from him and many times his 2nd. Preston just made whatever shot he had to.
altenberger22
- South Carolina
Villanova falls to Va. Tech late Saturday night!! There's a chance that we perhaps now move up to #5 --- ahead of Villanova, Virginia and Kansas, all of whom lost this week.
1. Gonzaga
2. Baylor
3. Iowa
4. Wisconsin
5. ILLINI
Va. Tech picked to finish 11th in the ACC this year.
I like this prognostication! Crazy seeing potentially 3 B10 teams in the top 5
Gonna love seeing #5 vs #2 matchup next week!!
When’s the last time we saw 3 Big Ten teams in the top 5??
What I liked:
1) still have the ability to finish out the game. Could've folded a few times, but we made clutch shots and plays to keep them close. That's not luck anymore, it's this team and their hard work.
2) freshman are assets. This game was tough but they were still there contributing.
3) dwill is shooting the rock like he practiced and really worked hard on it all summer! Was clutch and so glad his hard work is paying off.
4) never giving up on a play. Saw a few times Ohio had a fast break off a turnover but guys sprinted back to block or alter shots to at least make it difficult.
5) when 3s weren't falling it didn't matter because we dont have to rely on that part of the game. Guys are moving more efficiently in the flow of the offense...what a contrast from a few years ago when we would spend nearly the entire shot clock probing and trying to run the offense to no avail or a terrible 3.
What I didn't like:
1) we still can't feed the post. Kofi is begging for the ball and yes they packed the paint and always seemed to have a double team waiting for him, but I saw plenty of missed opportunities as well.
2) Kofi hands. Seemed like he had Butterfingers out there at times.
3) Ace got down too deep in the paint. It's a different level and I think both freshman are seeing it. Some of those things they could do at HS level don't work as well in d1.
4) came out flat...
1) still have the ability to finish out the game. Could've folded a few times, but we made clutch shots and plays to keep them close. That's not luck anymore, it's this team and their hard work.
2) freshman are assets. This game was tough but they were still there contributing.
3) dwill is shooting the rock like he practiced and really worked hard on it all summer! Was clutch and so glad his hard work is paying off.
4) never giving up on a play. Saw a few times Ohio had a fast break off a turnover but guys sprinted back to block or alter shots to at least make it difficult.
5) when 3s weren't falling it didn't matter because we dont have to rely on that part of the game. Guys are moving more efficiently in the flow of the offense...what a contrast from a few years ago when we would spend nearly the entire shot clock probing and trying to run the offense to no avail or a terrible 3.
What I didn't like:
1) we still can't feed the post. Kofi is begging for the ball and yes they packed the paint and always seemed to have a double team waiting for him, but I saw plenty of missed opportunities as well.
2) Kofi hands. Seemed like he had Butterfingers out there at times.
3) Ace got down too deep in the paint. It's a different level and I think both freshman are seeing it. Some of those things they could do at HS level don't work as well in d1.
4) came out flat...
You do see the irony in the two things you dislike at 1 and 2? When Kofi recieves the ball high and toward the rim , he can rattle with the best of them, when recieving back to the basket he appears much more uncomfortable, to me at least. This is probably due to him not playing basketball as long as many. Giorgi is great when recieving ball back to basket in contrast. I am hoping Hamlin is being held out to allow hand to heal for the games we will need him 8 to 12 minutes due to fouls, matchups, or fingerscrossed injuries.
I am sure Ace Dub, Dre the wizard and Jacob learned major lessons from Ohio game. Trent will be Microwave at times of need, Ayo and Damonte are the solid rocks the team can look to and rely on. Kofi and Giorgi will bring much energy from the 5.
Defensive rebounding and pushing the ball will be the key to beating great teams. With 2 of our 3" 4s" with size hurt currently we will be at a disadvantage in set offenses against most tourney quality teams on the box, but strong crashing guards and help defense will be required. Fast pace tempo and the ability of Kofi and G to get back quickly on D are the plus most teams will have to worry about with the ILL squad. The kick out 3's are a tremendous weopon and our apparent improved outside shooting brings our offense more in line with what I have been expecting from BU. A huge shout out to our assistant coaches and strength coach. Should be a great ride peeps. I...L...L...
Defensive rebounding and pushing the ball will be the key to beating great teams. With 2 of our 3" 4s" with size hurt currently we will be at a disadvantage in set offenses against most tourney quality teams on the box, but strong crashing guards and help defense will be required. Fast pace tempo and the ability of Kofi and G to get back quickly on D are the plus most teams will have to worry about with the ILL squad. The kick out 3's are a tremendous weopon and our apparent improved outside shooting brings our offense more in line with what I have been expecting from BU. A huge shout out to our assistant coaches and strength coach. Should be a great ride peeps. I...L...L...
21, 17, 18 , 12, 17
These were the point totals for the Top 5 scorers for Baylor in game 1 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette.
These 5 players were the "only" ones in double figures, making up 85 of the 112 points Baylor scored.
Guess how many of those 5 top scorers are guards.
If you guessed ALL OF THEM, (if I'm understanding the box scores correctly), you would be correct!
(I'm not sure I've ever seen a box score like that.)
6'1 - 17
6'3 - 17
6'3 - 12
6'4 - 21
6'2 - 18
Baylor Box Score for Game 1
Baylor's Roster, for Reference
These were the point totals for the Top 5 scorers for Baylor in game 1 vs. Louisiana-Lafayette.
These 5 players were the "only" ones in double figures, making up 85 of the 112 points Baylor scored.
Guess how many of those 5 top scorers are guards.
If you guessed ALL OF THEM, (if I'm understanding the box scores correctly), you would be correct!
(I'm not sure I've ever seen a box score like that.)
6'1 - 17
6'3 - 17
6'3 - 12
6'4 - 21
6'2 - 18
Baylor Box Score for Game 1
Baylor's Roster, for Reference
Vital is their 6’5” defensive specialist but only played 15 mins, not sure why. From a roster make up they resemble our 2004-5 team. 6’10” Thamba, 6’5” Vital and 3 guards that shoot lights out. Doesn’t appear that our lack of size at the 4 should hurt us. As Vital not a shooter wonder if Ayo could guard him and put DaMonte on 6’4” Teague. Allows Ayo to play help defense and focus on offense. They lost their center from last year and Kentucky went inside to beat them even with him. Not sure how good defensively Thamba or JTT are. Just hope Teague doesn’t make Preston look like an amateur.
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