Minnesota 86, Illinois 75 POSTGAME

#26      
Well you know why I said that. Ayo is a potential pro after this year. If (I am being very selfish here) we can have him for one more year. I really think we could be good and tremendously fun to watch next year
Seems I was wrong. Whoops, comment stands true however
 
#28      
I'd like to see Monte and Griffin splitting minutes,until someone separates, I'm sure it's because of reliability on D.
 
#29      

illini80

Forgottonia
We are not a good shooting team. When we are off, which is most of the time, we lose. That’s not going to change. We are not physical enough for a shoving match like we had tonight. I thought it was a poorly called game. Inside we had no chance. Two hands on Giorgi every time he touched the ball. Same for AD. When he’s getting pushed off the block by smaller guys, that says something. It was a shoving match under there. Not saying we got hosed by the refs, but we just can’t play that kind of game with a mostly freshman team. Nice game by Trent offensively. Defensively this one of our poorer games recently. Could not stop the dribble penetration and couldn’t recover in time on the help defense.
 
#31      

Dan

Admin
Not sure why my post was deleted. Postgame BIG10 network show said Underwood unexpectedly wasn't going to have a press conference. Anyone catch that? Why?
Not necessary with 1 or 2 Illinois media members in attendance, BU can simply chat with them outside the locker room before the team rushes to the airport. (Underwood just had the usual radio postgame interview.)
 
#32      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
Not really bothered by the loss. "Led at the half but just ran out of juice on the road in late January" is a movie we've seen many times, and frankly, will continue to no matter how good we get in the years ahead.

Good tick for the young guys. More Kane. Even more Griffin, please.

We have a clue on offense and have - at times - settled in a bit on the defensive end. I like that we're not afraid to try multiple looks on D - you can make the argument we should've tinkered with some zone even sooner given how cold Minnesota was from outside.
 
#33      
Im not even that upset by that loss cause I think Minnesota is good. Like really really good. Size, shooting, length, athleticism, they should be a top 10 team. And if there were anyone beside lil Pit sitting on that stool in Minnesota, I think they would be.

But the thing is they can’t shoot....

We’ve seen this story over and over. Everyone else in the conference clogs up the lane and forces Minny to shoot jumpers. We press way too high and let them run wild in the paint. They shoot a crazy percentage from inside the arc. Leads to kick out threes that they can step into with confidence.
 
#34      
I do have to say, Its Nice going in to games again thinking we're going to win! I think I can get used to this.
 
#35      
Not upset about this game. Frazier showed a couple right handed lay ups. Obviously shot it well. I liked the lineup of Trent, Ayo, Jones, Kipper and Giorgi..I know, everyone dogs on Kipper, but if he could be a role player, I think the pressure would be off him.

Jones shot was off but the run out assist to Ayo only has me salivating for more...didn't expect to win. Thought we played well in the first half...they just couldnt miss in the second half.

I'm usually super negative after a loss, but this one reall didn't bother me.
 
#36      
Minn bugs and guards played well this game...pitini made major changes from last game, as he stated. Not enough ball denial from our guards, lots of bad switching in D, their bigs were in good position underneath.
The first 10 mins won the game for Minny, poor O and bad def. couldn’t find a spark off the bench until Tev came in the second time in 2nd half, then team played even.
Thought a good play was Minny PG bringing up ball and initiating right away, instead of passing it off then getting it back later. Good counter for ILL ball denial defense. Their wings made plays this game too.
Seems like their bigs were in perfect position all game, just like we were the previous game.
 
#37      
Not upset about this game. Frazier showed a couple right handed lay ups. Obviously shot it well. I liked the lineup of Trent, Ayo, Jones, Kipper and Giorgi..I know, everyone dogs on Kipper, but if he could be a role player, I think the pressure would be off him.

Jones shot was off but the run out assist to Ayo only has me salivating for more...didn't expect to win. Thought we played well in the first half...they just couldnt miss in the second half.

I'm usually super negative after a loss, but this one reall didn't bother me.

Agreed on all accounts but this to also stuck out to me, "Jones shot was off but the run out assist to Ayo only has me salivating for more."

As we get more and more true BIG level players in Underwood's offense, this is going to get so fun again, I think as soon as next year. How different does that back door alley oop look when running it to Tev?
 
#38      

Deleted member 173571

D
Guest
Not necessary with 1 or 2 Illinois media members in attendance, BU can simply chat with them outside the locker room before the team rushes to the airport. (Underwood just had the usual radio postgame interview.)
Thanks for clearing it up Dan
 
#40      

Deleted member 746094

D
Guest
I thought if we contained Murphy and Coffey we would win. Murphy is just a scrapper and gets away with a lot of traveling and over the back. Coffey played well and is a tough matchup. He also showed why Ayo needs another year. His length really bothered Ayo tonight.

The refs got to Giorgi tonight. He was visibly upset. I feel for him a little as he definitely doesn’t get officiated fairly.

Tevian is showing his potential. Next year I think two of those drives will be and1 dunks over his defender. Threes looked a little rushed.

I may be the biggest DMW fan on this board but it may be time to slowly shift a few of his minutes to AG.

Safe to say Trent is out of his slump!

Pitino said in his postgame he likes his team and their approach. I think we lost to a better team tonight and they will finish top 5 in B10 with decent NCAA potential.

On to the next one for this young team. Game by game...
 
#41      
they went on their run and we made mistakes young teams make. not too down about this game, minnesota is a solid team and they outhustled and played us in the second half.

some signs of hope: most minutes in a game combined by AG and TJ. TJ missed some bunnies, and Griffin looked way more comfortable out there. Ayo played okay, and Giorgi missed some shots he generally makes as well. Trent finally had his game, but unfortunately no one else shot too well. The game was decided on second chance points and 50/50 balls.

Nebraska is in trouble if we can shoot better and finish better around the rim.

All in all, this staff deserves a ton of credit. This team is coming together and has showed big strides the past few weeks. Have been competitive with a lot of good teams, are developing our guys, getting buy in that i haven’t seen under Groce or Weber with young players. Have pieces for the future in Ayo, Giorgi, Feliz, Trent, Jones, Griffin, Kane, Kofi, Williams etc. I like this team and where we’re headed. 7 big ten wins, and a win in the BTT and I will he pleased and VERY excited for next year and the future.
 
#42      
Minny shoots 58.5% from 2 point and we foul 23 times, both back in school record range.
This was the difference maker in the game. Minny could have blown us out if they weren’t such a poor 3 point shooting team. We just didn’t make any shots hard for them, like good teams do.
 
#44      

KrushCow31

Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
Turns out not scoring more than a point or two for 6 game time minutes isn't conducive to winning a game. Weird.
 
#46      

illini80

Forgottonia
Incredible that we have only won back to back games one time this season. This was a tough game and I’m not saying we should have won, but at some point you have to find a way to finish these games. I’m ready to see some bigger steps.
 
#47      

SycIllini

Sycamore, Illinois
H@lluva defensive effort. Too many easy lay-ups and dunks. No reason for Kane not to be playing more. in the back up role. I would have liked to seen Griffin play a little more , too. He seems to be getting more comfortable on the floor.

Kane got a brief appearance at the end. Got in a bad position and fouled. Then yanked. Not sure what it would hurt to let him play at that point.
 
#48      

Deleted member 645583

D
Guest
Back to normal. I'm not upset either; I guess I'm just to used to Illini losing. But can't wait until cavalry shows up next season (I hope) in the form of wide-bodies. This season: just show improvement from here on. As always, GO ILLINI!
 
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#50      

Retro62

North Bethesda, Maryland
We've got more tools in the box on offense, agree on GB, seems like he was frustrated.

I could be mistaken, but it looked like he was being jawed at a bit. Classic way to throw off a freshman who's not used to it and maybe he lost a little focus. Not saying he wouldn't stand up to it, just that he may have been pressing instead of playing his game. Speculation only, and I think he will be as fun to watch as Lucas Johnson going forward.