Pregame: Illinois vs Michigan State, Wednesday, March 1st, 8:00pm CT, BTN

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#103      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
First 2,000 #illini fans tomorrow night get a Malcolm Hill toothbrush holder

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https://twitter.com/JWernerScout/status/836632551607402496
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Groce previews Sparty

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Groce: Expecting a real war, battle tomorrow vs. Michigan State. Both teams playing really well.

Groce: We understand that we got to be ready to go. The guys had a great look in their eye yesterday.

Groce: Six seniors are special guys. They've really grown as people. How they've learned to handle success, stick together.

Groce: We're on the deal where we're talking about climbing the ladder. Want to stay in bunker mode.

Groce: We'll have the seniors over for a meal when it's all finished up. Right now focused on having a practice for MSU

Groce: It's fun to be playing well. That's not a given. It's certainly not.

Groce: Malcolm and I have really challenged each other. The seniors have made me better.

Groce: We've played well. That doesn't guarantee you anything today. It's a choice that we make.

Groce: Lately, we've chose the right path. We have to continue to do that by focusing on the day to day.

Groce: MSU playing very, very well right now. Good synergy and toughness.

Groce: Gotta get back in transition. They're a load in transition, great on the glass, execute well, take care of ball.

Groce: Winston and Lucas are two young PGs playing really well. Both have elite-level vision. That's a gift.

Groce: Players have to choose to respond and be tough. Bulk of credit goes to them.

Groce: My parents instilled the fighting mentality, coaches and teammates I've had in the past. That's kind of what we do. We fight.

Groce on if he mentions NCAA Tournament: "No. We practice at 2:30 today."

Groce: The analogy of ladder comes from dad (in construction). He's skipped steps and fallen once or twice.

Groce: "We're not going to skip steps. We're going to take it one day at a time."

Groce: Will remind our players that we are still playing for something throughout the season though. Just have to get better.

Groce: Challenged fans to come, and as they always do, they responded. Want to honor seniors.

Groce: I do think fans can certainly make a difference. We hope the building has a ton of energy tomorrow night.

Groce: I remember the phone call where Malcolm said, 'I'm in.' I'm certainly glad he made that call.

https://twitter.com/JWernerScout
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#107      

SescIllini

SescIllini
SescIllini
Quick Comments

1. 6 seniors are special people, they have handled adversity and chose Illinois.
Hill is underappreciated, played at Illinois w/out a good PG for most career and when the program was influx.

2. Would love to see the Hill toothbrush holder on ebay.

3. Should Groce of had trenches and bunkers set up as motivators at the beginning of the season.

Groce has read the guys wrong before, but if they have that look in their eyes now I believe him with the defense and intensity they have right now.
 
#108      

aluma

A
aluma
Surprised we are favored right now by Vegas. I expected a pick 'em or MSU by a point or 2.
 
#109      

whovous

W
Washington, DC
whovous
Groce: We're on the deal where we're talking about climbing the ladder. Want to stay in bunker mode.

Just how does one stay in the bunker and climb the ladder at the same time?
 
#111      

IlliniInTexas

I
IlliniInTexas
aluma said:
Surprised we are favored right now by Vegas. I expected a pick 'em or MSU by a point or 2.
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Vegas odds usually start pretty close to Pomeroy's. KenPom has us small favorites at home, so line seems reasonable. Pomeroy of course doesn't take into account "hotness" or injures, so MSU's loss of Harris + recent games probably offset.

I still want to see us pound the ball inside to start. Show some physicality and try to get Ward in foul trouble. We have more horses than they do up front.
 
#113      

illiniguy24

illiniguy24
illiniguy24
Soxfreak64 said:
Living on the edge is tough, but at least it's worth watching. If you'd asked me three weeks ago, I would've laughed in your face when you told me this game would mean something.

For the first time in months, I have plans to plant my a** in front of a TV to watch a live Illini game start to finish. That's really something. Here's hoping they can make it worthwhile!
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Let's hope they give you a reason to watch until the end


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#114      

BlindLoyalty

B
FartNoiseMotivation
BlindLoyalty
IMO, Illinois should be the obvious favorite in this one and losing would be an upset. IMO, the line is off by a fair bit.

- MSU relies on four 18/19 y.o. freshmen to win games.
- MSU has only won 2 true road games the entire season. @Nebraska &
@Minnesota (the 1st B10 game of the season in OT...before Minny gelled),
both coming w/ a healthy Eron Harris playing.
- MSU doesn't rebound as well as Izzo team's normally do, they commit
turnovers at a high rate and they have almost no post depth.


Turning MSU over is the key to winning this game. There is a lot of pressure on the MSU freshmen in this game (double bye/still in title hunt *technically*) and I expect them (sans Bridges) to struggle at the SFC. If we force 16+ turnovers (just 2 over their average), we are going to win this game comfortably by 7+ points.
 
#115      

Illiini

Illiini
In the land of the Nittany Lion
Illiini
whovous said:
Groce: We're on the deal where we're talking about climbing the ladder. Want to stay in bunker mode.

Just how does one stay in the bunker and climb the ladder at the same time?
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It depends on how deep the hole you've dug yourself into. :eek:
 
#116      

LurkLongandProsper

L
C-U
LurkLongandProsper
BlindLoyalty said:
IMO, Illinois should be the obvious favorite in this one and losing would be an upset. IMO, the line is off by a fair bit.

- MSU relies on four 18/19 y.o. freshmen to win games.
- MSU has only won 2 true road games the entire season. @Nebraska &
@Minnesota (the 1st B10 game of the season in OT...before Minny gelled),
both coming w/ a healthy Eron Harris playing.
- MSU doesn't rebound as well as Izzo team's normally do, they commit
turnovers at a high rate and they have almost no post depth.


Turning MSU over is the key to winning this game. There is a lot of pressure on the MSU freshmen in this game (double bye/still in title hunt *technically*) and I expect them (sans Bridges) to struggle at the SFC. If we force 16+ turnovers (just 2 over their average), we are going to win this game comfortably by 7+ points.
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I don't disagree with the latter two points, but Bridges is easily one of the best freshmen in the country, and Langford/Ward/Winston have played a lot of minutes at this point. Bridges is probably an all conference first teamer, second teamer at worst, and Ward is a load. Also, we depend heavily on Te'Jon Lucas and Kipper Nichols, so we aren't free of depending on freshmen ourselves.
 
#118      

skyIdub

skyIdub
Winged Warrior
skyIdub
Play defense like the last three games and it's a W.
67-59 :illinois:
 
#119      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
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#121      

champaignchris

C
champaignchris
This is definitely the most important game in John Groce's head coaching career to this point in that it will play an oversized role in determining whether he continues to have a head coaching career.

There's a lot of pressure on this group, but I think they actually respond better when they're tight. It's when they're playing with house money that they seem to lose focus and get blown out. That's why I'm kind of in the "beat MSU, lose to Rutgers" crowd.
 
#122      

Ulysses Everett McGill

Ulysses Everett McGill
Ulysses Everett McGill
LurkLongandProsper said:
Kipper won't be guarding Ward. If Kipper is guarding Ward, we have major foul trouble.
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Agreed. KN's a strong dude but that Ward is a beast. Thinking the Mav - Ward matchup may the key one for this game. Ward will push Mav out from where other teams have been allowing him to set up. Foul trouble may decide the matchup one way or the other; let's hope Mav (and Malcolm also, matched up with Bridges) gets some respect if not home cooking from the stripe-shirts this game.
 
#123      

Adnarel

A
Adnarel
Let's hope that senior meal will be lasagna and not beans & weenies.
 
#124      

BillyBob1

BillyBob1
Champaign
BillyBob1
Remember back when this matchup was a paint the hall orange game? The place was loud and intimidating! Maybe we could return this way tomorrow night and intimidate the MSU freshman!
 
#125      

STLIlliniMike

S
STLIlliniMike
Incredibly savvy move by the athletic dept to give away free tickets to the students.Not trying to overstate things but the home crowd could definitely be the difference on senior night. The campus knows about this game. My fraternity has turned it into a brotherhood event and will be rolling in about 70 deep. I'm pretty confident that SFC is going to be LOUD.
 
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