Pregame: Illinois vs Illinois Wesleyan (Exhibition), Friday, November 2nd, 7:00pm CT, BTN Plus

[Dan]

Illinois vs Illinois Wesleyan (Exhibition Game)
Friday, November 2nd
7:00pm CT
BTN Plus

Please direct all questions/comments about BTN Plus to the BTN Plus Thread

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

Looking forward to exhibition games is how I know I'm crazy. But it's my first real chance to see the freshman in action!

 

[Illinisteve25]

We aint talkin bout practice no more.....

 

[Illiniguy13]

Remind me -- was last year's exhibition the game vs EUI where we barely escaped with a victory? I remember a lot of posters looking back at that game saying it should have been a measuring stick for last season's expectations. So cheers to an emphatic win.

 

[ChiefGritty]

Remind me -- was last year's exhibition the game vs EUI where we barely escaped with a victory? I remember a lot of posters looking back at that game saying it should have been a measuring stick for last season's expectations. So cheers to an emphatic win.

We didn't escape, we lost by 13.

But EIU is a D1 team, Wesleyan is D3. And that was a true road game in Charleston. This should be a walkover in which our whole roster gets a chance to see a good amount of floor time.

 

[foby]

The time has come to start showing some leg. Less than 30+ margin and 80+ scored = Meh.

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

I mean, at the end of the day I couldn't care less what happens in an exhibition game. I think I remember Syracuse losing one when I was younger and then making the Elite Eight or something, LOL. However, I really want to blow the doors off of Evansville that first game so that we have a tad extra confidence going into the Georgetown matchup. I don't know how good Georgetown is supposed to be, but with three Maui dates coming up and then two road games at Notre Dame and Nebraska soon after, it would do wonders to start 2-0.

 

[doowink]

To me Maui will be very important games....play well, be competitive in every game and win 1 or 2 and that's great....play well, be competitive lose 3 and we're ok....don't play well, not competitive (blown out a couple games) and this could be worse than last year....we need to come out of the gates this season strong

 

[foby]

win 1 or 2

We win 2 and the season is off to a GREAT start.

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

We win 2 and the season is off to a GREAT start.

Yep. Assuming we lose to Gonzaga, we will play the loser of Iowa State/Arizona State. Either one is a neutral court win over a BCS team, and Arizona State is receiving votes in the first AP Poll. Regardless of if we win that game or not, I am guessing we play our third game vs. either Xavier or San Diego State, two teams also receiving votes in the AP Poll. If we managed to win one of those games, we come out of Maui happy, IMO. If we go 2-1 in Maui (hopefully after beating Evansville and Georgetown), we are sitting about as pretty as can be expected. Assuming we could then beat Mississippi Valley State that Saturday, we would go into the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Notre Dame with a 5-1 record and these results...

W vs. Evansville
W vs. Georgetown (Gavitt Tipoff Games)
L vs. #3 Gonzaga (Maui)
W vs. Arizona State/Iowa State (Maui)
W vs. San Diego State/Xavier (Maui)
W vs. Mississippi Valley State (Maui)

Every fan alive should be ECSTATIC with that. However, that will be pretty tough for this team early. I predict we win 1 in Maui.

 

[jrichisamazing]

Yep. Assuming we lose to Gonzaga, we will play the loser of Iowa State/Arizona State. Either one is a neutral court win over a BCS team, and Arizona State is receiving votes in the first AP Poll. Regardless of if we win that game or not, I am guessing we play our third game vs. either Xavier or San Diego State, two teams also receiving votes in the AP Poll. If we managed to win one of those games, we come out of Maui happy, IMO. If we go 2-1 in Maui (hopefully after beating Evansville and Georgetown), we are sitting about as pretty as can be expected. Assuming we could then beat Mississippi Valley State that Saturday, we would go into the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Notre Dame with a 5-1 record and these results...

W vs. Evansville
W vs. Georgetown (Gavitt Tipoff Games)
L vs. #3 Gonzaga (Maui)
W vs. Arizona State/Iowa State (Maui)
W vs. San Diego State/Xavier (Maui)
W vs. Mississippi Valley State (Maui)

Every fan alive should be ECSTATIC with that. However, that will be pretty tough for this team early. I predict we win 1 in Maui.

With all the newcomers, I don’t really have any expectations about the non-con. I just want to see improvement/competitiveness towards the end of the year. If we go 4-9 in non con but finish .500 in the B1G I’ll be ecstatic.

Last thing we need right now is to get pummeled again in conference and have rumors of guys wanting to transfer and more roster turnover. Momentum heading into next year is a must, because we’re not getting any momentum from recruiting.

 

[Illwinsagain]

With all the newcomers, I don’t really have any expectations about the non-con. I just want to see improvement/competitiveness towards the end of the year. If we go 4-9 in non con but finish .500 in the B1G I’ll be ecstatic.

Last thing we need right now is to get pummeled again in conference and have rumors of guys wanting to transfer and more roster turnover. Momentum heading into next year is a must, because we’re not getting any momentum from recruiting.

I think I would lose some faith with a 4-9 start (yes, I know, UNeb and UMary are mixed in).

 

[ChiefIllini]

I think theres something to be said about recruiting winners and high motor guys. Of course, you want those freak athletes, the gifted passes, and the lights out shooters, but we've seen it up close and personal that if guys are actively involved in wanting to win games and give it 100% constantly, you can be a great player, but the results aren't going in the win column.

My hope is that at the very least, the team plays scrappy and hard for 40 mins every game. Every offseason seems long, but this one really sucked, not much positive news (though alternatively nothing extremely bad either). I'm just ready to finally watch illini basketball again.

 

[jrichisamazing]

I think I would lose some faith with a 4-9 start (yes, I know, UNeb and UMary are mixed in).

We all would. But you would probably gain that faith back and be optimistic about the future if we bounced back to finish .500 in conference play, right?

 

[BillyBob1]

Remind me -- was last year's exhibition the game vs EUI where we barely escaped with a victory? I remember a lot of posters looking back at that game saying it should have been a measuring stick for last season's expectations. So cheers to an emphatic win.

That was an exhibition game not on the schedule. It was a fundraiser for hurricane victims. And they did get beat.

Think they played Augustana.

 

[alaskaillini]

My hope is that at the very least, the team plays scrappy and hard for 40 mins every game.

This is what I wanted to see last year, and I think we saw it. Pressure defense yielding a ton of turnovers (and the corollary of a lot of easy buckets). We were within a possession or two with a minute left in all but about 3 games. This year I would like to see the guys show some progress in closing out games.

 

[Illwinsagain]

We all would. But you would probably gain that faith back and be optimistic about the future if we bounced back to finish .500 in conference play, right?

It would take out some of the sting, but 4-9 may be the worst non-con record since I started watch UI hoops in the 80's.

 

[ChiefGritty]

It would take out some of the sting, but 4-9 may be the worst non-con record since I started watch UI hoops in the 80's.

This is the toughest non-conference schedule we've played in a long time. With 20 Big Ten games its the toughest schedule period in a long time. But that's good, there's no value in empty college basketball wins like there is in football.

 

[imjustsooffended]

Yep. Assuming we lose to Gonzaga, we will play the loser of Iowa State/Arizona State. Either one is a neutral court win over a BCS team, and Arizona State is receiving votes in the first AP Poll. Regardless of if we win that game or not, I am guessing we play our third game vs. either Xavier or San Diego State, two teams also receiving votes in the AP Poll. If we managed to win one of those games, we come out of Maui happy, IMO. If we go 2-1 in Maui (hopefully after beating Evansville and Georgetown), we are sitting about as pretty as can be expected. Assuming we could then beat Mississippi Valley State that Saturday, we would go into the Big Ten/ACC Challenge at Notre Dame with a 5-1 record and these results...

W vs. Evansville
W vs. Georgetown (Gavitt Tipoff Games)
L vs. #3 Gonzaga (Maui)
W vs. Arizona State/Iowa State (Maui)
W vs. San Diego State/Xavier (Maui)
W vs. Mississippi Valley State (Maui)

Every fan alive should be ECSTATIC with that. However, that will be pretty tough for this team early. I predict we win 1 in Maui.

We play either Iowa St or just Arizona in Maui, not Arizona St.

 

[The Dave]

W vs. Evansville
W vs. Georgetown (Gavitt Tipoff Games)
L vs. #3 Gonzaga (Maui)
W vs. Arizona State/Iowa State (Maui)
W vs. San Diego State/Xavier (Maui)
W vs. Mississippi Valley State (Maui)

Every fan alive should be ECSTATIC with that. However, that will be pretty tough for this team early. I predict we win 1 in Maui.

Good Lord! If what you outlined happened I'd think I had died and gone to Heaven. If we start out 4-1 (take out the Exh game) I think everyone's expectations for this season took a quantum leap forward.

That being said, I think we're 50/50 on G-Town and have little chance vs Arizona, IAST, Xavier, or San Diego State (SDSU is our most likely win). Too much youth, too much turnover. But even if we do lose all those games it should be a good growing experience for the team and help us later in the season.

 

[Captain Bubbles]

I was looking over the Illinois Wesleyan roster. Their tallest player is 6'9" Alex O'Neill, the junior from Peoria. They have eight players that are 6'4" (possibly the most 6'4" guys I've ever seen on a roster), four are 6'6" and two are 6'7".

Thought it was cool seeing Dieterich's Grant Wolfe on the roster. Only game I watched him play was Effingham vs Taylorville during his senior year. He was a stud. Think I had him down with 27 or 30 points that night. Good to see him playing college basketball.

 

[Deleted member 11311]

Does anyone have info from the 'secret' scrimmage on Saturday? I heard overall it went well, but no specifics on lineups or stand out players.

 

[Deleted member 746094]

I was looking over the Illinois Wesleyan roster. Their tallest player is 6'9" Alex O'Neill, the junior from Peoria. They have eight players that are 6'4" (possibly the most 6'4" guys I've ever seen on a roster), four are 6'6" and two are 6'7".

Thought it was cool seeing Dieterich's Grant Wolfe on the roster. Only game I watched him play was Effingham vs Taylorville during his senior year. He was a stud. Think I had him down with 27 or 30 points that night. Good to see him playing college basketball.

It’s D3 so subtract at least a full inch from each player...at least.

 

[IlliniinIowa]

With all the newcomers, I don’t really have any expectations about the non-con. I just want to see improvement/competitiveness towards the end of the year. If we go 4-9 in non con but finish .500 in the B1G I’ll be ecstatic.

Last thing we need right now is to get pummeled again in conference and have rumors of guys wanting to transfer and more roster turnover. Momentum heading into next year is a must, because we’re not getting any momentum from recruiting.

This sounds EXACTLY like my hopes for the football team this year. Look how that turned out....

Hope basketball can get the job done. And I think they can. Otherwise Whitman may be in some serious hot water.

 

[Deleted member 29907]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1022583371061501953

Kinda fun. Really hoping Kipper has a great year - bet Izzo will know his name this year (other than No. 2).