Michigan State 76, Illinois 56 POSTGAME

#53      
Tough to spread the court on the offensive end when you are playing 4 on 5. Defense has a huge advantage.
Well only 2 players shot over 25%...Ayo and AG. So we played 2 on 5 this game and these two shot 1 for 8 from 3p....their points were mostly inside or drives and AG was getting fouls. Not sure if that is great makeup for spread.
 
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#54      
My gosh, Tevian finally gets some minutes and some on here have come to the conclusion that he can’t shoot.after 1 poor night. We need shooters and Damonte and Kipper are not the answer. We need Tev for this team to turn the corner.
 
#57      
What happened tonight was not just a bad shooting night. The 3's they took weren't even under pressure for the most part. When your tight that's what bb looks like. The misses weren't even close. TF's last shot barely hit the front of the iron, one of Ayo's banged off the opposite backboard, AG's last barely grazed the opposite iron. That's what shooting looks like when you play tight or back in the day it was called scared basketball.
 
#59      
All you guys know the Xs and Os better than I do. I mostly like to sit back, enjoy the forum, and read what you have to say. But in my opinion, Underwood is the problem. He is not the coach we thought we were getting. This team has WAY TOO much talent to play this poorly. A bad game here and there is going to happen. With BU it's more often than not. Switch coaches for a night and there is no way this team (with these same players) loses by 20 to MSU -- if Izzo was coaching the Illini. I don't think the Illini will ever make the tournament while Underwood is the coach...Cubelo, Miller, etc. won't make any difference. That's assuming they don't decommit in the meantime. After year 2, I said the same thing about Groce and a lot of people flamed me. The only reason BU will be back next year is the amount of guaranteed dollars he is owed. If he was not owed that money, no way would (or could) Whitman bring him back.
 
#60      
My gosh, Tevian finally gets some minutes and some on here have come to the conclusion that he can’t shoot.after 1 poor night. We need shooters and Damonte and Kipper are not the answer. We need Tev for this team to turn the corner.
If Tevian is determining factor for our destiny this year,....we are in for a very depressing year. I like Tevian and have high hopes for future..but he is not our solution in 19/20.
 
#64      
Said it earlier in the season, but seems like our season will mirror the season of the Chicago Bears. I honestly think this team has the overall talent level to make the Final Four, but the team doesn't mesh well together, some guys have regressed from last year, coaching scheme isn't working and all that is leading to an underachieving year. And with the offense underperforming, this team needs to step up on D to win games.
 
#71      
All you guys know the Xs and Os better than I do. I mostly like to sit back, enjoy the forum, and read what you have to say. But in my opinion, Underwood is the problem. He is not the coach we thought we were getting. This team has WAY TOO much talent to play this poorly. A bad game here and there is going to happen. With BU it's more often than not. Switch coaches for a night and there is no way this team (with these same players) loses by 20 to MSU -- if Izzo was coaching the Illini. I don't think the Illini will ever make the tournament while Underwood is the coach...Cubelo, Miller, etc. won't make any difference. That's assuming they don't decommit in the meantime. After year 2, I said the same thing about Groce and a lot of people flamed me. The only reason BU will be back next year is the amount of guaranteed dollars he is owed. If he was not owed that money, no way would (or could) Whitman bring him back.
Here is where the disagreement comes in. I don't think they have enough talent because the talent they do have all play the same positions.

I look at this team and The closest thing they have to a 2 is Griffin. They don't have a 4 on the roster. They're trying to force GB into the role and it's not working. They have no true PG. The one guy with a PG mentality is Feliz, but he isn't very good. Ayo isn't a great distributor and he isn't a great shooter. He's a good slasher and at 6'5" probably the closest thing to a 3 on the roster.

If I'm Underwood, to heck with worrying about draft statuses and put your guys where they best fit and to me, that means taking the ball out of Ayo's hands and putting it into Frazier's. If he doesn't come to life, the season is done. There just isn't enough scoring potential on the roster. We(and I'm sure the staff) were banking on a 13 to 15 PPG average from the guy and are getting next to nothing. He was at his best when the ball was in his hands.

Starters:

1. Frazier
2. Griffin
3. Ayo
4. Nichols
5. Kofi/GB(can't be on the floor together)

They'd be undersized and I'm not a huge Nichols fan, but I think he's the best they got at the position.

I also think that Frazier's confidence is shot and it has been since Ayo's arrival and the ball was taken out of his hands. That backcourt needs to be repaired. Frazier is too good of a shooter/player for this obscene lack of production.

Some feelings(and pride) are going to get hurt, but when the offense is this bad....they have to find a combination that works and for heaven's sake....mix in some full court pressure. If you're struggling, create some turnovers that will lead to easy buckets. It's funny how the mind works when you see the ball go in the basket.

Just my thoughts from seeing the same struggles game in and game out, most notably on the road.
 
#73      
This team doesn't have a talent problem. It is about heart, either individually or collectively (chemistry)
 
#74      
As I see it.

1. Team cannot make 3s. 11% for the game. 11%. 33% and we are only 2 pts behind. I am wondering if strengthening workouts have messed their shots?
2. I seem to remember that in the past the team had practices early morning on game day. I say this as it appeared to me
many 3s were short from the very start of the game.
3. Where were the screens and 3s put up?
4. This offense just does not work. Check the good teams and one finds openings for layups, bunnies, floaters etc. Oh, that is right, MSU
did those. Why not us? Change the offense as it just does not work.
5. Giorgi did well at center considering the double teams etc. Kofi will continue to improve. Not worried about him.

Defense.

1. Still no center staying home, so layups. How many layups/bunnies did they make due to open under the bucket?
2. Where were the blockouts?

Officiating, I don't know for sure. I do know the obvious charge on the 40 footer that the ref miscalled.