Pregame: Illinois at Ohio State, Thursday, March 5th, 6:00pm CT, ESPN

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#128      
Well....if you want MHO...outside of Kenny Battle...he is likely the best. Certainly the most unique at using his skills to the max. Never seen a player like him and would love to have him as a starter forever. It will be a long time before we see another player do what he does every night.
 
#129      

JFGsCoffeeMug

BU:1 Trash cans:0
Chicago
Probably worthy of its own thread but where will Andres Feliz fall on the all-time list of Illini transfers?
Feliz has been off the charts for us this year. He has provided offense, rebounding, defense, poise in late-game situations, and leadership for an otherwise fairly young squad. He has contributed so many of the tangibles and intangibles that have helped take us to the next level. I am happiest for Ayo to experience our current success after all of the hard work and disappointment. But Feliz is a close second for me. I'm glad he transferred over and now I want him to be amply rewarded for it.

I have to believe Ayo and Feliz moving on is one of the things on our minds when we encounter adversity. Ayo and Feliz are fighting hard for wins every night, and I think the team is following their lead.
 
#131      

kiwanegarris22

South Carolina
Well....if you want MHO...outside of Kenny Battle...he is likely the best. Certainly the most unique at using his skills to the max. Never seen a player like him and would love to have him as a starter forever. It will be a long time before we see another player do what he does every night.
Does Kenny Norman count --- given his one year at Wabash Valley? He was clearly a better player than Feliz and got drafted in the first round. Along with Kendall Gill, he also qualifies on the Top 3 list of "Most Improved Illini" from year 1 to year 2 in the program.
 
#132      

kiwanegarris22

South Carolina
OK -- I said I had to wait for some of this week's games to be played before weighing-in. After the way things played out last night (Tues), I'm going all-ORANGE.

ILL 73
OSU 70

I'm all-in with our pursuit of another Big 10 title!!

I hope Underwood comes up with some type of defensive strategy that equates to the approach he used against Indiana (with DMW and Georgi taking the big guy and keeping Kofi with one foot in the lane to swat away shots). I don't think that exact strategy is going to work on Thursday against Wesson and the 3-point shooters, so let's see what the coaches come up with.......
 
#133      

POWURR

From Downtown
Roadkill #6
98EE43D1-1BDE-4925-80B2-E6C204021E57.jpeg
 
#134      

Dan

Admin
Ohio State -6.5
 
#136      
This has been driving me crazy all day, what is the word used to describe winning a championship without ties? I keep wanting to say unanimous but that isn't right. Any help? In 2005, Illinois was the (insert word) Big Ten Champion.
 
#142      
Winning a B1G championship is bigger than winning a round of 32 game IMO.

I respectfully, straight up could not disagree more. I don't give a rat's about the title, take me to the S16 or E8. Turn this into a program who make it to the second weekend consistently
 
#143      

haasi

New York
I’d trade sweet 16 for league title every time. But league title definitely still a major accomplishment.
 
#144      
Winning the B10 tourney would be a huge + for recruiting.....I really think the conference tourneys garner almost if not more interest and hype as the nc2a tourney....I mean the Sat. and Sun games of the B10 tourney are carried by CBS and lead into the selection show on Sunday evening....to win the B10 tourney would be very beneficial in many ways other than obviously making the nc2a
 
#145      
I really think the conference tourneys garner almost if not more interest and hype as the nc2a tourney....

I disagree completely. I don't even want to play the BTT because the title isn't even worth the small chance of injury. NCAAT is everything.
 
#146      
Winning the B10 tourney would be a huge + for recruiting.....I really think the conference tourneys garner almost if not more interest and hype as the nc2a tourney....I mean the Sat. and Sun games of the B10 tourney are carried by CBS and lead into the selection show on Sunday evening....to win the B10 tourney would be very beneficial in many ways other than obviously making the nc2a
The BTT is useless for teams that are already locks.
 
#147      
Well then we must agree to disagree....the interest of the conference tourneys for those teams that may not make the tourney otherwise,,,plus those winning their conference tourney title (that may already be in) improving their seed and the momentum going into the ncaa
 
#148      
I’d trade sweet 16 for league title every time. But league title definitely still a major accomplishment.

Being crowned Big Ten champion this year is SO tied with our chances increasing to make a Sweet Sixteen run, though. Plus, you just never know what's going to happen in the Tournament, and hanging another banner would do wonders for recruiting. As for this game, we have split our last four with OSU, with Underwood being 1-2 vs. the Buckeyes:

2018-19: W 63-56 at Ohio State
2018-19: L 77-67 vs. #19 Ohio State (Chicago, IL)
2017-18: L 75-67 at #17 Ohio State
2016-17: W 75-70 vs. Ohio State

However, we are 1-0 vs. OSU in our last 1 games in Columbus, soooooo ... :cool: This might surprise some people, but we actually lead the all-time series vs. OSU 106-78, including a very impressive 42-48 record in Columbus. Before Dee left campus, those numbers were 100-61 and 40-39. :oops:
 
#149      
I'm going to disagree here. We win out and win the BTT, we could be as high as a 3 seed. We lose to one of these next two and then lose early in BTT, we're probably 8ish seed. Not to mention all the momentum and confidence we'd gain by knocking off a bunch of tourney teams in a row. You want to get hot this time of year especially with a relatively young team especially if we get the double bye and only have to win 3. Still a ton for this team to play for.
The BTT is useless for teams that are already locks.
 
#150      

haasi

New York
Yup, it’s a totally strange question given that the two can and often would go together. But just saying - if I’m forced to rank accomplishments, I put tournament success above all else.
Being crowned Big Ten champion this year is SO tied with our chances increasing to make a Sweet Sixteen run, though. Plus, you just never know what's going to happen in the Tournament, and hanging another banner would do wonders for recruiting. As for this game, we have split our last four with OSU, with Underwood being 1-2 vs. the Buckeyes:

2018-19: W 63-56 at Ohio State
2018-19: L 77-67 vs. #19 Ohio State (Chicago, IL)
2017-18: L 75-67 at #17 Ohio State
2016-17: W 75-70 vs. Ohio State

However, we are 1-0 vs. OSU in our last 1 games in Columbus, soooooo ... :cool: This might surprise some people, but we actually lead the all-time series vs. OSU 106-78, including a very impressive 42-48 record in Columbus. Before Dee left campus, those numbers were 100-61 and 40-39. :oops:
 
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