Pregame: Illinois vs Rutgers, Saturday, February 9th, 3:00pm CT, BTN

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#76      

breadman

Herndon, VA
I'm all for giving the selection committee a nice problem to have. Win'em all!!
 
#77      
We have done enough this season to see things moving forward. I win against Rutgers can be the start of ending this season at a very high level. Going 5-3 the rest of the way and winning at least 1 in the BTT are reasonable goals imo
 
#78      

Deleted member 645583

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Look into my orange.....

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If you can put a navy blue Halas "I" in the center, then you will really hypnotize me. But as it is: "Your wish is my command, Master."

I love all things "Twilight Zone", "2001". Great work!
 
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#80      
Rutgers turns the ball over as often as MSU does. While MSU was willing to play at our tempo, Rutgers likely won't. So don't expect a huge number of turnovers, but a good TO%. Speeding them up will play into our favor a lot.
 
#81      

Deleted member 643761

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I almost failed statistics (hardest class ever)....but I think there is just as much of a chance we win out vs. winning the B1G Tourney. Maybe not statistically, but as I said, I suck at that.

If we win out and win one in the BTT , 17-15.....we are last four in. PROVE ME WRONG!
Yea. You suck at stats.

8-0. Four road games. Two road games against top 20 teams.

Vs. Four wins on a neutral court.
 
#82      
Did a very quick check on TOs. We LEAD in the B10 with 393. Closest I could find and I need to do better research, is Nebraska at 309.

I expect Illinois to get a whole lot of TOs on Rutgers. Bet they are practicing just how to protect the ball. And if they play slow that much better for us.

IL: 95
RU. 60
 
#83      
Rutgers is going to be a different kind of big test for the kids on Saturday. I don't think the staff is going to let the kids get cocky, but I do think we'll see some confidence. We haven't earned swagger yet. We're building an identity and we've hit a couple key milestones but we're not there yet. You gotta love the determination and commitment though. I think we string our third win together this weekend. Maybe we go 5-3 for the stretch? I think that'd be massive progress and would top my expectations for this year. I'd like to see us get two wins in the B1G tourney up in Chicago though. That'd be icing on the cake. I really love the team I've been seeing of late. I think we even shoot well this weekend.
 
#85      
I don't think the staff is going to let the kids get cocky...

I think the kids learned a lot from the second half of the MSU game. They learned that they can have a 14 point lead dwindle to trailing by five points by stepping out of your game. And they learned that by getting back into your game, you can turn that five point deficit into a five point lead. And more, if the clock didn't run out. This team had the Spoortans going away.

Did you see how discombobulated the MSU players were coming off the court. Winston, I believe, did everything but kick the cat, and that's only because they left the cat at home. Izzo knew his team was beat by a better team. He couldn't say that, just pablum like "we beat ourselves." Yeah, your team could have won if they wanted to. Yeah, bull droppings. The Spoortans knew they had to protect the ball, but they were so worried about protecting the ball they got out of their rhythm and--voila--turnovers from bad passes, broken plays, you name it. They were always listening for footsteps behind them. Our guys were simply creating havoc. There were some breakdowns on our part. And there's a lot of talent at MSU. But their best were just getting shut out. Sure, they had stars sitting on the bench. But stuff happens. We were the better team.

Gong against Rutgers... They have some bigs with power? I think we've learned how to handle that. It's going to be, as coaches keep pointing out, hard to prepare fort he Illini. Their practice players can't create the kind of havoc that our guys will dish out. I know I'm drinking the Orange Koolaid. It's what I do best. But I think this team knows what it has to do, and I think they have the skill to do it on a regular basis. I-L-L-
 
#86      
Did a very quick check on TOs. We LEAD in the B10 with 393. Closest I could find and I need to do better research, is Nebraska at 309.

I expect Illinois to get a whole lot of TOs on Rutgers. Bet they are practicing just how to protect the ball. And if they play slow that much better for us.

IL: 95
RU. 60

I disagree with "if they play slow that much better for us". Our games are much more uptempo than Rutgers' games. We'll be pushing the pace and trying to get them to play faster, which should lead to them turning the ball over more. They'll want to slow the game down and protect the ball.
Our defense's goal is to get the turnover - when the other team shoots, they generally do ok. MSU had an eFG% of nearly 60. They didn't lose because they missed shots, they lost because they didn't get to shot the ball. Same with Maryland.

If Rutgers successfully slows us down, we won't generate as much turnovers, they will get shots off, and they'll make them. We do not want a slow, half court slugfest.
 
#87      
I disagree with "if they play slow that much better for us". Our games are much more uptempo than Rutgers' games. We'll be pushing the pace and trying to get them to play faster, which should lead to them turning the ball over more. They'll want to slow the game down and protect the ball.
Our defense's goal is to get the turnover - when the other team shoots, they generally do ok. MSU had an eFG% of nearly 60. They didn't lose because they missed shots, they lost because they didn't get to shot the ball. Same with Maryland.

If Rutgers successfully slows us down, we won't generate as much turnovers, they will get shots off, and they'll make them. We do not want a slow, half court slugfest.

Just because they play slow doesn't mean they won't turn the ball over. In fact, they go slow all the time but turn the ball over.
 
#88      

Deleted member 29907

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Tim Miles contrasted gliders and bangers in bigs. It appears to me that we can handle one banger with either Giorgi or Adonis but if they have two, we don't have an answer. Haven't watched much of Rutgers but they sure have a bunch of big men that would appear to be bangers.
Depending on the size of the banger - we could put both in at the same time - or Aj and Kipper can deal with bigger bodies... And they would be a tough matchup on the other end of the court.
 
#89      
Just because they play slow doesn't mean they won't turn the ball over. In fact, they go slow all the time but turn the ball over.
We will have a difficult time if they are able to play slow and our shooting goes cold. We will not generate much offense. We will foul and they will score from the FT line. Also if they out rebound us it will be doubly bad when our shooting goes cold. If we cannot speed up their play we will have a difficult time winning unless we are shooting well both from the field and the FT line.
 
#90      
Guys, we lost to FAU. There is no bubble. BTT is the only way.

Untrue. Win the remaining 8 and at least 2 in the BTT and we're squarely on the bubble. Yes, very, very unlikely to win at Mackey and at the Kohl center...but do it and there's a solid shot. We'd have to top wins and we'd have road/neutral wins as well. They'd have a tough time ignoring a 12 game winning streak in what is clearly the best, deepest conference in the country.
 
#91      
From https://www.ncaa.com/stats/basketball-men/d1/current/team/215

UoI:

8 steals per game (183 in 23 games)
17.09 Forced TOs per game (no 1 in the b10)


I disagree with "if they play slow that much better for us". Our games are much more uptempo than Rutgers' games. We'll be pushing the pace and trying to get them to play faster, which should lead to them turning the ball over more. They'll want to slow the game down and protect the ball.
Our defense's goal is to get the turnover - when the other team shoots, they generally do ok. MSU had an eFG% of nearly 60. They didn't lose because they missed shots, they lost because they didn't get to shot the ball. Same with Maryland.

If Rutgers successfully slows us down, we won't generate as much turnovers, they will get shots off, and they'll make them. We do not want a slow, half court slugfest.

One of the questions Izzo was asked is how can anyone replicate BU's stifling defense. I do not think, I could off some, anyone in the B10 can replicate the IL D.

If Rutgers were to play slow our D is going to have the peddle sll the way down. Against MSU we had 1 TO per minute for about 12 minutes. MSU recovered some from there on. I very much doubt Rutgers will.

Which is why I posted
IL 95
RU 60

I think the first 5 minutes will tell.
 
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#92      

mattcoldagelli

The Transfer Portal
Untrue. Win the remaining 8 and at least 2 in the BTT and we're squarely on the bubble. Yes, very, very unlikely to win at Mackey and at the Kohl center...but do it and there's a solid shot. We'd have to top wins and we'd have road/neutral wins as well. They'd have a tough time ignoring a 12 game winning streak in what is clearly the best, deepest conference in the country.

If memory serves, 14 losses is the record for an at-large berth. So you're suggesting we would have a winning streak so compelling that the committee would literally make history?
 
#94      
Just because they play slow doesn't mean they won't turn the ball over. In fact, they go slow all the time but turn the ball over.

Speeding up slow teams almost always causes them to turn the ball over more. Here's Rutger's TO% compared to tempo chart. Notice that the faster the game goes, the higher their TO% (trendline slopes up).

1549575797713.png

Yes, Rutgers will likely turn the ball over at any tempo. But they will turn it over more the faster we get them to play.
 
#95      
We have been out-shot and out-rebounded by both Maryland and Michigan State. and just edged out Nebraska
I think we are more athletic than Rutgers
If we play as consistently as we have the last 3 games I think we will be in good shape.
 
#96      

Deleted member 29907

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If memory serves, 14 losses is the record for an at-large berth. So you're suggesting we would have a winning streak so compelling that the committee would literally make history?
Everything that makes history had to make it at least once right? ;)
 
#97      
#99      
Seems a little optimistic Michigan State played a bad game, they were lethargic and never found a rhythm Ayo misses and MS makes and games could of gone either way. I hope your right :)

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Lethargic? That was our D. Nothing short. And it was our shooting draught that caused them to come back. Ayo misses? Again our D did not allow them to even take a shot.

Anyways. Let us see how these kids perform here on out.

My optimism is based on BU and Deon/Brian. They have been very:, very consistent on what they say over the air.

I think we clean the table in what remains of our schedule.

BUT let us see. I think we dance. Said that about 2 weeks ago (along with the Kofi and Brown prediction).
 
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#100      

breadman

Herndon, VA
We are currently tied with RU in the league standings at 4 -8. Which team wants to crawl over the other more? Us or them? This will be the motivation for this game.
 
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