Pregame: Illinois vs Gonzaga, Monday, November 19th, 10:30pm CT, ESPN2

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#103      

illiniswish09

Northwest Suburbs
Watching Gonzaga now and..... Just prepare yourself guys. It could get ugly. Their bigs are really really really good. Just an overall very balanced team. Game will be played at a fun pace, they like to get up and down, I hope we can hang with them for a bit. If we lose, and if we lose big I will be very interested in how we respond the following two games. I wil be thrilled if we come away with 2 from Maui.
 
#104      
Zags were dominant at home hopefully we can start strong but gonna most likely be a long night.
 
#105      

Deleted member 29907

D
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Only through the first half so far, but TA&M is not a good team - disorganized offense, missing two starters, 9 new players, picked 12th of 14 in SEC.
Zags are long and shot blocking. Liked to post up and crash the boards. The could make them susceptible to the fast break.
A&M also provided no pressure D.
If we try to take it inside and shoot we'll get rejected - if we can penetrate - which I think we can - we need to finish at the rim or kick. Will need to be able to knock down 3s.
Could change this view based on watching the 2nd half later but we'll struggle with the size unless we spread them out or effectively run our pinch post offense.
 
#106      

Captain Bubbles

Fairfield, IL
Mark Few really has it going for him at Gonzaga. Amazing what he's done with that program.

I'm thinking about this game with an open mind set. I think Illinois can hang with them. Strange things have happened in college basketball.
 
#107      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
We will need Beast Mode Kipper and a monster three point shooting night while the Zags shoot less than 40% from the field to have a chance.
It's possible!
 
#108      
I hope they're not rushing him. Corey Crawford of the Blackhawks suffered a concussion last year and missed the rest of the season. Wasn't quite ready yet even at the start of this season.
I agree with you, but there's been plenty of examples of athletes coming back a week after suffering a concussion.

Davante Adams, GB WR was knocked out cold, full fencing response (against the Bears). I would've been surprised if he played the rest of the season, but he came back the next week.

Now, there might be an argument saying he came back way too early and might have caused further harm, but in terms of athletic recovery, one week isn't unheard of by any means.
 
#109      
Ahhh yes. 2012. After that Maui trip everyone thought Groce was Bill Self 2.0...

I was one of the biggest Groce supporters FOR SURE, but I remember having such a "this is too good to be true" feeling, especially after the win at Gonzaga. However, man was that fun. We were truly riding high again for the first time in years. I'm excited to get back to that level. Giving Gonzaga a game would be a huge step.
 
#110      
Zags have the #3 team in the nation. They are 2 hours behind the CST. They have less travel time. The game would be at 8:30 their time. They have a better inside game than us. They won last night by 20+ points over TAMU. This should be a beat down for them. I think we keep it fairly close and final score will be...
Zags 84, Illini 72. But we win the consolation portion of the bracket.
 
#111      

BananaShampoo

Captain 'Paign
Phoenix, AZ
We will need Beast Mode Kipper and a monster three point shooting night while the Zags shoot less than 40% from the field to have a chance.
It's possible!
With our defense (or lack thereof), I'd be surprised if we keep almost any high D-1 team below 40% shooting this season. I just don't think we match up well with these guys. It's going to be a long night.
 
#112      
I might be wrong, but wasn't this the last time we played these fools?

Also that was the year, we won the Maui Invitational.


airguitarbro.gif
 
#113      

Deleted member 8632

D
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I might be wrong, but wasn't this the last time we played these fools?

Also that was the year, we won the Maui Invitational.


airguitarbro.gif
What is he even trying to play? A garden hose?
 
#114      

Deleted member 29907

D
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Zags have the #3 team in the nation. They are 2 hours behind the CST. They have less travel time. The game would be at 8:30 their time. They have a better inside game than us. They won last night by 20+ points over TAMU. This should be a beat down for them. I think we keep it fairly close and final score will be...
Zags 84, Illini 72. But we win the consolation portion of the bracket.
Watched the TAMU game - TAMU was TERRIBLE - the zags had something to do with that on the inside, but around the perimeter, other than Starks, they just could not dribble and chew gum at the same time. And TAMU looked to have lost interest half way thru the 2nd half. The only thing they had were athletes that could contest some inside.

We look to be a completely different team than TAMU and probably Gonzaga - so it will be an interesting matchup. We'll have to draw their bigs outside and we'll have to hit outside shots and box out. Not saying we're winning by any stretch, but I don't see disaster.
 
#115      

TownieMatt

CU Expat
Chicago
Zags have the #3 team in the nation. They are 2 hours behind the CST. They have less travel time. The game would be at 8:30 their time. They have a better inside game than us. They won last night by 20+ points over TAMU. This should be a beat down for them. I think we keep it fairly close and final score will be...
Zags 84, Illini 72. But we win the consolation portion of the bracket.
Both teams will be in Maui for several days before the game, so the time change shouldn't be an issue. Their frontcourt on the other hand...
 
#117      

Deleted member 746094

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I will gladly take the beating of “there are no moral victories” after this post.

If IL is truly competitive and plays well against Gonzaga I think it says a lot about where we are as a team. Win or lose. Few’s teams are disciplined and rarely come out flat. We will get their best shot. That being said- if we lose by 20+ and it is a beat down. I think the remainder of our games in Maui will tell us more about how our team will perform the rest of the season than drawing conclusions from a game where we are definitely out matched by both raw talent and skill.
 
#118      
Both teams will be in Maui for several days before the game, so the time change shouldn't be an issue. Their frontcourt on the other hand...
You could be right. I am 55 and even an hour time change for me takes a week or so to adjust. That could just be my age though.
 
#121      

Tevo

Wilmette, IL
Gonzaga plays Texas A&M tomorrow FYI.

With this style of play we always have a chance. It's impossible for opponents to replicate the speed and pressure of our defense in practice. Some teams do fine against it, some struggle. Hopefully Gonzaga struggles.

This was why I thought GTown would go differently. A young team, with two freshman guards, I thought would be the perfect target for our pressure D. Didn't really work out that way, as they got much more comfortable as the game went on, and eventually both had very good games. With Gonzaga's relative experience at guard, they should, on paper, have even more success than GTown.
 
#125      
Yeah, IMO this is a guaranteed loss. Zags are an elite team, FF caliber, and we match up quite poorly against them. That said, I still think this is a very important game. Having a test this hard, this early, for a young team could be an eye-opener, and give them a sense of purpose despite a beatdown. If they can rise up over the course of the season to see what elite looks like, it could help them develop. And should the unthinkable happen, it would be a huge resume boost.
Is there a FF team we would match up with? Just saying....and I bleed O & B.
 
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