Michigan 78, Illinois 68 POSTGAME
Michigan doesn't have any bad players....they are very good.
Stevegarbs
- Mokena, IL
Only agianst us , donnel is garbage 6 ppg at best and he comes and light us up but held scoreless agianst lower teams , yea right
IlliniDent
- Chicago, IL
It's simple, with the lack of depth/balanced talent our players are way more tired than theirs which leads to sloppy offense and defense by about 1/3rd the way through the second half. This puts us in a hole and makes it even harder to come back.
In my opinion, all of the vitriol directed towards Coach Groce on this board is not only coming from a lack of perspective and understanding but it is also damaging to the program. Every college basketball expert I have heard or read has praised Groce for the job he has done under tough circumstances. No, the Illini are not a good basketball team this year. When you are down 3 of your 5 starters that whole year that tends to be the case. Nothing I am seeing suggests that John Groce is a poor in-game basketball coach, simply that the Illini are going to be over matched in Big Ten play based on personnel (seriously, we have one point guard, one 4, and one 5 healthy, what do you people expect??). Firing Groce after this year would be disastrous for the program.
If he was garbage he would not have played.
CrazedUIFan
UI Fan in QC Land
Taking into consideration injuries is understandable. My issue is we are really bad defensively and we haven't improved. Getting beat off the dribble constantly and poor defensive rotation drives me batty! It wasn't fatigue because it was happening in the first half and has happened all season long.
Deleted member 9739
D
Guest
I have to agree with many of the previous posts about lack of fundamentals (defense especially), lack of passion/performance, lack of good coaching, etc. I love Illinois basketball, but this is getting to be unwatchable for me.
I know that we have injuries, but what I'm seeing is a really poor product on the floor. It is not what I expect from an Illinois basketball team.
I know that we have injuries, but what I'm seeing is a really poor product on the floor. It is not what I expect from an Illinois basketball team.
I think Groce should get one more year. Making the NCAA tournament in 2017 is not enough to secure his job IMO though. He needs to win at least one preferably two or more of the tourney games. True he didn't inherit the best program, and true that he has been dealt a number of big blows this year, but he cannot adjust for the life of him. If we're still struggling this time next year, show him the door.
Probably because other teams play defense against him
We only won 3 conference games Kruger's second year IIRC.
I think we should petition the NCAA, before the next game, to get rid of half time.
That ought to solve the problem.
That ought to solve the problem.
Serious question about this: Why didn't their players get tired? Both teams played primarily an eight man rotation.
Depth and talent are factors, but I don't know about fatigue...I could be wrong though, I admit.
My concern is that, along with the obvious lack of halftime adjustments, there may be a feeling among our team that, once they are behind, our staff has no real answers to help them regain the upper hand, and they get deflated.
Pure speculation on my part, simply a concern.
Every game it seems we play hard the first half and like we just don't give a damn the 2cnd half.I seen it coming on Michigan's first possession of the 2cnd half.No defensive intensity whatsoever. At least we're consistent.
What adjustments could he be making though?
"Hey Aaron and D.J., I'm going to need you to grow a couple inches and pack on 30 pounds so you can guard the PF position. Can you do that for me in the second half?".
Having a couple of guards defending bigger and stronger forwards is just the nature of this years Illini team, and there is nothing Groce can do about it short of maybe getting a couple of guys from the football team to walk on and just stand around being 6'7'' 250.
I still can't believe people make excuses for Groce. Just when you think he's getting indefensible, someone comes up with something. Now we have these mysterious college basketball experts praising what a good coach he is. These experts exist, I swear!
Groce said on radio that Michigan beat them in the "controllable factors": energy, effort, body language, communication.
I'm with you. Unfortunately I think he's on his way out if our yet to be named AD has any connections at all. This wasn't a season that JG could withstand much going against him. Missing the tourney last year cost him his last chip. Now the only luck he musters up is bad. Other than turning this group around quickly, his next best hope is a lack luster AD hire. I'd put his chances at 50/50 with that.
Disastrous is a little harsh, we're about to miss the dance for the 3rd year in a row. Yes we will be over-matched in most BIG games but we also just squeaked by Chicago St. and UIC. When the commentators praise him they just feel bad for him because he's a likable guy. His in game coaching has never been what most people would consider good.
I hate to say this but we're in that relationship that both people know isn't working but we let it linger on because we respect/don't want to hurt the other person. It might be best to move on.....or I could just be bitter because we stink
LuvIlliniHoopzInVA
- Virginia
This rings pretty true.
This is the most predictable basketball team I've seen in a long time. There are a lot of flaws with this team but the most obvious one is poor rebounding. The offense consists solely of 3 point shooting, Malcolm/Kendrick taking it themselves, and an occasional dump into Mav for a turn around. When the 3s are going in, we look like a somewhat competitive team (ex: first half). When the 3s are not going in, we look like garbage (ex: 2nd half). Good teams can get away with poor 3 point shooting because of offensive rebounding. If you watch our team every time a 3 pointer goes up, Finke (who is already underneath the hoop) is the only person even thinking about an offensive rebound. Not sure if Groce is telling his guys that they are so bad defensively that he'd rather have them get back and match up than crash the boards. DJW crashes the boards but he gets beat off the dribble on defense by Levert, so he immediately come back out. When you don't have Thorne and Black, the rest of the team needs to step up, and they simply aren't. That's on Groce to get on them. Until then, I can guarantee our opponents going on 1 or 2 10-0 runs each game. Every trip down the floor for us is a "one and done". And don't even get me started on poor communication and sloppy rotations on the defensive end...
Also got beat badly on the boards.