Notre Dame 76, Illinois 74 POSTGAME

[Truffaut]

Was there time for a put back to tie the game after Trent's attempted 3? It looked like Kipper and Damonte both went for it, one of them got a hand on it, but they collided and weren't able to do anything.

I should have just hit rewind, but I was too pissed off.

Originally, I thought Trent shot a little too soon, as he could have gotten closer to the paint before shooting. But shooting when he did left at least a chance of a rebound and a quick putback. That did not happen, but it was within the realm of the possible.

Given the talent on the team, I think that final shot was handled about as well as possible.

 

[Truffaut]

Question is did we play for the win or OT? 5.8 seconds with TF is an eternity and he easily gets to the hole.

The same "hole" where we had ten shots blocked in this game.

 

[Spoon House]

I don't mind the final shot at all.

TF was absolutely the correct person to have the ball under the circumstances, and his decision-making was not faulty. It was the execution.

 

[Greensboro]

It is time for Frazier to become a more consistent player. If he wants to get to the next level that he is capable of he needs to be a more consistent player within games and also from game to game. It is hard for this team to overcome 6 points from him and win on the road. Hopefully as the season progresses he will become more consistent on a nightly basis. .

Other than tonight his worst game was 15 pts. He tweaked his ankle early and also played a few less minutes, but Frazier isn't the problem.

 

[goillini30]

What concerns me is the high number of excuses this board has come up with..

You think 13/5/3 with 50% from 3 for Ayo was the floor for expectations? I think those are pretty darn good numbers for freshman guard. Now, if you want to say that you thought his on ball D would be better, I can get behind that a little.

 

[Greensboro]

Not good, Bob.

meh, we haven't been that good and we are going to lose close games until we get better. Last year we lacked the the upperclass scorer that can get you a bucket, we lacked a reliable big man that you can feed the ball to in the post and count on to score or draw a foul. The most talented team can ramp it up for the one final push...that hasn't been and still isn't us.

 

[Greensboro]

Question is did we play for the win or OT? 5.8 seconds with TF is an eternity and he easily gets to the hole.

With 5 seconds and a full court you take a decent shot when it comes, that was a decent shot. Could he have gotten to the hole maybe, would it have been a better shot, who knows, he possibly eats it. He kicks it out does someone even have time to get there shot off? maybe. You put the ball in Trent's hands and take your chances with that shot every time. IMO

If you want better odds than that, you don't play flat early in the 2nd half and have to overcome double digits deficits at the end of the game.

 

[Illinoise]

I know part of being a fan is having a hopeful outlook for your team but why do so many place unrealistic expectations based on what we have right now. The players just aren’t good enough. Every preseason prediction had Illinois near the basement of the Big 10. That is where they will finish. Brad Underwood is a good coach. The recruiting has been disappointing to me so far and is the cause of the teams record. The best players on this team are two freshman and a sophomore. I believe it will get better but at some point if you want to compete with the top of the Big 10 you have to have the players to do it. The narrative that with Ayo and Trent we have this fantastic backcourt just isn’t true. They are good and will get better but they aren’t going to carry this team through a brutal Big 10 schedule.

 

[alaskaillini]

What concerns me is the high number of excuses..

Given the current record, I think it is safe to say we are all concerned, even those of us who are supportive of BU. Some of us find comfort in the "excuses" you list above that things will improve. You apparently choose to be a glass half empty guy. Guess that makes for interesting discussion on the board, but I have a problem with people trying to predict doom and then hoping for it so they can feel good about being right. Personally, I would choose to be hopeful and wrong, rather than pessimistic and right. That said, I hope to be hopeful and right.

 

[eMitch]

Question is did we play for the win or OT? 5.8 seconds with TF is an eternity and he easily gets to the hole.

How do you think we'd fare in OT with Giorgi and AJ already fouled out? Going for the win was the right way, esp on the road.

 

[PtownIllini8]

ND is not good, just as I predicted. We just managed to be worse. Unexpected by me. Lotta soft fouls didn't help. Wish Jordan could have shot the last shot, he had the hot hand. But Trent got so close. Did not appreciate ND moving me from the front row 4 minutes before tip off after I had been there 40 minutes cause I was wearing orange, but they pay my paycheck so I won't complain.

I can tell you from inside the student section, Giorgi is definitely the most hated player. Which is good.

Jordan fouled out. Kinda tough to take the last shot from the bench, lol.

 

[PtownIllini8]

The refs did not decide this game. The game was decided when our performance dropped and we let the game escape to 10+ points in the second half. That segment of the game decided the outcome.

It is easy in retrospect to question Frazier taking the last shot, but independent on who is in the game, Trent should be taking that shot. It was the right decision. Kudos to Giorgi and AJ for really good games, but this team needs a talent infusion in the frontcourt to become successful. All the offseason positionless talk, where our guards would dominate the other teams at will and just kick out for easy shots is wishful thinking. Without more frontcourt/inside help, defenses just extend out and focus on backcourt (especially Frazier). Even a great game by Giorgi (as last night) was not enough.

The most concerning issue is still recruiting IMO. That has not been going well and inheriting a player like Frazier was an extra boost for current coaching staff, which has been unable to capitalize on.

Frazier could've gone anywhere, just like Tilmon did. The staff didn't inherit him or Da'Monte, they had to re-recruit them.

The refs did in fact cost us the game. Touch fouls all over the place on us, fouling out Jordan and Giorgi, while allowing ND to play tough against us on D. Some of the worst reffing I've seen in years, probably since the NCAA game against Washington in '06.

 

[ChiefIllini]

Refs cost us the game in my opinion.

This is by far my least favorite take in sports. There are about 100 other tangible things we could've done to win us the game that make more sense then more than a bad call or two. Kipper essentially gave the team a 7 pt play attempt (luckily only amounted to 3) for lack of control. Limit a couple turnovers, have an extra pass or two, or not commit real fouls once or twice, and we win that game. Those are all controllable aspects of the game that we could've done better, none of which would've involved us making some huge leap in talent or luck, just execution.

Now, admittedly, there are numerous times games have been decided by refs. Honestly, you could say the refs screwed us in probably half of our losses in the last year or two, mainly because they were all so close. Its confirmation bias to believe refs are only making bad calls against your team. At the end of the day, you cant control whether your bad calls amount to more compared to the other team, but you can play better basketball. Execution cost us the game, not the refs.

 

[Obelix]

The refs did in fact cost us the game.

 

[bobbob]

Name the last scholarship Illini to non-medical RS and play 4 years here. I can't come up with anyone, which leads me to believe it probably didn't happen in this current century, or this player was essentially useless his entire career.

Finke obviously came close, but so many 5th year guys transfer now, you're hardly even guaranteed 3 years of them, let alone 4 (after the RS year of course).

Calvin Brock did. Initially declined it, but told the coaches during the first game he'd take the redshirt. It was the 04-05 season, he saw there was not playing time for a freshman guard on that team.

 

[KrushCow31]

Jordan fouled out. Kinda tough to take the last shot from the bench, lol.

Fact. My bad lol. There was some confusion in the student section cause they didn't say he fouled out or something, just that he subbed out.

 

[The Dave]

Any guesses as to why BU used the lineups he did? He's normally gone pretty deep so far this year and spread the minutes around. In this game 3 starters played 30+ minutes and only DMW played significant minutes off the bench. Kiper only got 14 (this is good) and we all know Jones is suspended, but why so few for Griffin and De La Rosa? Given that Kane finally played in the last game, I expected him to get more that 5 seconds to defend an inbounds pass.

Could exhaustion be part of the challenge in this game? The guys didn't necessarily LOOK gassed, but they may have been.

 

[ChiefIllini]

Any guesses as to why BU used the lineups he did? He's normally gone pretty deep so far this year and spread the minutes around. In this game 3 starters played 30+ minutes and only DMW played significant minutes off the bench. Kiper only got 14 (this is good) and we all know Jones is suspended, but why so few for Griffin and De La Rosa? Given that Kane finally played in the last game, I expected him to get more that 5 seconds to defend an inbounds pass.

Could exhaustion be part of the challenge in this game? The guys didn't necessarily LOOK gassed, but they may have been.

I couldn't tell if you were critizing the decision or just stating a fact, but AJ, Feliz, Ayo, Giorgi, and DMW all had plus-plus games, finding a reason for their playing time is pointless--they deserved it. Trent is Trent so he'll get his tick regardless.

Personally I think after watching Groce kills momentum his entire tenure, playing the hot hand is one of the best things about BU.

 

[Obelix]

Any guesses as to why BU used the lineups he did? He's normally gone pretty deep so far this year and spread the minutes around. In this game 3 starters played 30+ minutes and only DMW played significant minutes off the bench. Kiper only got 14 (this is good) and we all know Jones is suspended, but why so few for Griffin and De La Rosa? Given that Kane finally played in the last game, I expected him to get more that 5 seconds to defend an inbounds pass.

We have very limited quality depth and this is no different than the Gonzaga and Georgetown games. Shallow bench.

 

[illini0777]

In this game, the refs were hot garbage. Ricky tack could all over for them, not so much for us. Refs cost us the game in my opinion.

It wasnt the refs that lost us the game it was the one white haired ref that lost us the game He called everything aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaagainst us. remember one out of bounds call in particular where Giorgy and number 11 were battling for the ball and it was clear it was off of number 111111111111111111111ut he gave the ball to nd

 

[TheGMan]

number 111111111111111111111ut

That must have been tough to fit on his jersey

 

[220Illini]

This is by far my least favorite take in sports.

Agreed. Nobody remembers who the refs "costed" the game except the fans of the losing team. Not recruits, media, or the NCAA selection committee. All anyone else remembers is the W or the L. We can blame no one but ourselves for this loss.

 

[greyghost70]

Question is did we play for the win or OT? 5.8 seconds with TF is an eternity and he easily gets to the hole.

To get his shot blocked.

 

[ChocolateThunder]

Happy we did not have to play Duke

 

[Swamp Donkey]

My take on this team is that we have enough glue for the project but not enough pieces. I hope Tevian can get out of doghouse because I have watched him in pregame and he just moves differently. I would like to see if he can develop into a sorely lacking piece.