Another round of scotch...and I'll be right there with you....
Illinois 76, Minnesota 71 (OT) POSTGAME
Captain Bubbles
- Fairfield, IL
Finke's 16 rebounds breaks the record for the most rebounds an Illini player has had during the Groce era. The previous record was Jon Ekey's 15 rebounds back when Illinois took on Valpo.
I still do like our chances to put up a decent record (Not necessarily 21-10, but we can dream). Little solace in that, but at this point I'm rooting for our guys to at least get out of the bottom four to avoid that first day of the B1G tourney.
Good road win. Build on this.
A handful of Krush members got into the front row of the barnyard for the reveal. There is a video of it on twitter. I am not sure I am savy enough to link to it but I'll give it a go. Love the Krush.
Check out @illinifan96's Tweet: https://twitter.com/illinifan96/status/691072938511065089?s=09
Check out @illinifan96's Tweet: https://twitter.com/illinifan96/status/691072938511065089?s=09
icengineer
- Southern Illinois
Scroll down a bit on that link and check out the headshot! Pretty cool!
Two factors that really contributed to that:
1) Mav and Finke playing in the same lineup, and Mav actually probably having his best game as an Illini. Finke did get a lot of rebounds from the weak side. Good decision on Groce to play Mav and Finke together extensively versus other options (e.g., Hill or DJW at PF). Very effective. Give credit where credit is due.
2) Jordan Murphy picking 2 fouls early in the game was very critical IMO. He started very strong and after his dunk on Finke inside, I thought we were going to be in trouble. After his fouls, Minnesota had no real inside game.
And how about a recruiting blast from the past? Konate, briefly competed for his services. Not impressed.
WIN!
champions of the toilet bowl.... but i was pumped for the W nonetheless. way to get back in it. i thought we were finished when we were down 5 with about 1:30 left.
champions of the toilet bowl.... but i was pumped for the W nonetheless. way to get back in it. i thought we were finished when we were down 5 with about 1:30 left.
Yeah, if Nunn misses that 3, it's probably a loss. Clutch shot.
A win is a win is a win is a win.
Huge shot. After having a down game he really stepped up in the clutch.
I am guessing that part of the reason was the fact that we played a lot of minutes with Finke and Mav at the same time, a look we haven't seen too much of this year.
i would still rather see AJ or DJW play instead of Austin
And caught an immediate second break for a change. Right after the clutch 3, Nunn makes a terrible play and fouls a Minnesota player putting them on the line. Groce was very disappointed at the play on the sidelines. Fortunately... they miss the front end on the 1-on-1 giving us plenty of time to recover and tie the game.
Was at the game and have these notes:
1) As with everyone else, was happy to see the guts and composure at the end of regulation. Malcolm hitting two free throws was clutch because of what it likely meant if he missed either.
2) Krush was great and gave the Barnyard a run for their money, even from way in the upper deck. But I will say, even though the place was nowhere near sold out, when the Gophers are rolling, that place is easily one of the loudest in the Big Ten.
All in all, a great win that raises my record to 4-1 at the Barn!
1) As with everyone else, was happy to see the guts and composure at the end of regulation. Malcolm hitting two free throws was clutch because of what it likely meant if he missed either.
2) Krush was great and gave the Barnyard a run for their money, even from way in the upper deck. But I will say, even though the place was nowhere near sold out, when the Gophers are rolling, that place is easily one of the loudest in the Big Ten.
All in all, a great win that raises my record to 4-1 at the Barn!
LuvIlliniHoopzInVA
- Virginia
LuvIlliniHoopzInVA
- Virginia
+1. Also freed up MH to play more minutes at his natural position at the 3. Really helped our board work, and MH seemed especially motivated to play the 3.
MN is a very bad team, but this was a much-needed road win for UI. Guys showed more toughness and togetherness tonight. Glad we don't play until Thursday so MH, KN and JT can recuperate from heavy minutes.
One of the great qualities about KN is he seems to have the unconscious shooter mentality. Good shooters keep on shooting with confidence even when their shot is off.
I don't have the real reason, but I'm guessing because neither can score efficiently or defend well.
Lets face it, on any real Illini squad, these guys would be getting garbage time minutes exclusively, neither is ready for league play.
That being said, I'm pumped about any road win at this point. Lets build on this progress, tenuous as it may be, and win 5-6 more.
blackdog
- Champaign
Playing Morgan and Finke together is something we hopefully will see more of. Two true bigs to box out and hit the glass. They worked well as a random in that regard. It seemed like there were the usual amount of rebounds that got tipped around a lot but with two big guys we had x better shot at collecting them.
IlliniRon
Illini Basketball Fan Forever
- Ft Worth, Texas
Exactly, this was the key, and it also helped us outrebound the Gophers. I think this helps Malcolm Hill as well, playing at a more natural position for him.
I also think it allowed us to push the ball more. Having 2 bigs in there to eat the boards allows our guards to get up the floor a little quicker. For about the first 30 min I thought we executed almost perfectly what Groce wants to do offensively. Attack, attack, attack. We pushed the tempo, got in the paint, and got post touches. We didn't shoot that well but schematically it was a night and day difference compared to the IU game.