Wisconsin 69, Illinois 60 POSTGAME

[CoalCity]

If anything, this game tells me that we can play with these guys, and most of the teams in the B10. We're not that far off from being a player. Get this season out of our systems, and come back next year with all of our guys in tact, plus TJL and Kipper and LB (who I think will be back).

There's definitely talent here. The trick is getting them all playing up to their top level (or near it) the whole game. We can score and run with anybody in short spurts but when we quit scoring we can't do anything right it seems. Then we come back alive in the last few minutes when it's too late and make the game seem closer than it was.

I'd sure like to see them put together 35 or 40 minutes of good basketball.

 

[Moneybreaks]

Yes we were not good in the second half but we had solid momentum at the 3:00 mark when they reversed that charge call and hit Finke instead. They don't go to the monitor to be sure and then Wisky gets two free throws. Finke was not behind the arc. Plain and simple. We could have been 3 down and instead we went down 7. Game changing moment where yes, JFG should have ripped off his jacket, tie, shirt and undershirt and thrown a temper tantrum at center court. Valentine then called a phantom foul on Mav, then AJ, and then Finke. The refs and the fans at the Kohl center get this win. NOT the Badgers.

 

[CoalCity]

Game changing moment where yes, JFG should have ripped off his jacket, tie, shirt and undershirt and thrown a temper tantrum at center court.

LOL at the mental picture of this would be epic meltdown...

 

[Bomb Squad 217]

LOL at the mental picture of this would be epic meltdown...

Sometimes I would just love to see, any coach really, just go beyond Bob Knight, and pick up a chair and go WWE on a ref. No one makes me more upset than refs.

 

[Deleted member 16340]

Can anyone tell me when the last time Groce got A) warned by the refs to calm down or B) literally T'd up by a ref?

The way the refs were calling this game, it just blows my mind that he didn't at least get warned. I would have been at least T'd up if not thrown out.

Groce needs to get a T when his players are getting mobbed by these $#!&y Big Ten officials. This game was a travesty. While I want to watch Illini Basketball forever. The insanity of this year needs to come to an end.

 

[Deleted member 16340]

Illinois covered the spread

They did not lose due to the refs - they lost to poor offense execution and bad defense.

It's hard to have an offense with a 'll those whistles blowing I. Your ear!

 

[bleedsorangenblue]

Another tough loss in a winnable game. Lots of reasons why. We are seeing some overall improvement in incremental steps and that is the best we can take out of this.

 

[UIUC1867]

Sometimes I would just love to see, any coach really, just go beyond Bob Knight, and pick up a chair and go WWE on a ref. No one makes me more upset than refs.

If I was a coach, I would just hand the ref a condom. That way, when asked about why you did that in the press conference, I would say, "Considering what he was doing to our team, I figured he could use some protection".

I choose clever humiliation over hitting every time.

 

[Bomb Squad 217]

Why does it honestly seen like its just Big ten officials too? I mean, is it? It seems like ACC and Big 12 games are routinely much higher scoring, not hampered down by the refs every night. I dont think its because their defenses are any worse. With todays rules, no one can play physical D any more so... Granted I dont see as many of those games as I do our conference games, but is that just me?

 

[Swamp Donkey]

For the people calling for Groce to get T'd up in this game, put yourself in his shoes. He just got a new boss, his job status is on shaky ground, and he just had a player arrested. Is it really in his best interest to cause a scene on the court when you are being so heavily scrutinized?
I agree that this tactic can be useful but when you are in the position Groce is, is it wise to do? I believe it would be viewed negatively at this point. If you are 20-8 or have a solid footing, by all means get T'd up.

 

[westcoastillini]

good effort

good fight by the boys. for a moment there i thought we could ride that 13 point lead to the end. we got shafted by Valentine, but i still think Wisky just tightened up the perimeter D and bulldozed us at the end. we need post presence in the worst way.

love our fight; just not enough horses....

 

[icengineer]

good fight by the boys. for a moment there i thought we could ride that 13 point lead to the end. we got shafted by Valentine, but i still think Wisky just tightened up the perimeter D and bulldozed us at the end. we need post presence in the worst way.

love our fight; just not enough horses....

As much as I want to jump in with most others and blame the officials, and would love to see Groce to go ballistic on them, I just can't. It would feel good to go there, but I can't. I agree with you 100%. We just don't have anyone on this team with that 'do or die' mentality that is able to carry this team through the last 5-10 minutes of a game like this. I love our guys but we just don't have anyone with that 'killer instinct' who can will us to a win somehow. I do see progress though, and we are close, we just don't have the bodies......

 

[fan17]

Valentine is just a bad official. I know faces of other refs, but he is the only ref in college ball that I know his name. That is not a good thing for an official. The nunn. Ob call should be grounds for suspension. He made the wrong call with under 2 minutes. Go to the monitor and get it right.

Yes the offense got stagnant and the defense a little loose, but Valentine and crew were greatly responsible. The best way to gauge a screw job is at the end with the game decided. Hill goes to the line 4 times. Gets absolutely mugged with the game still undecided and no call, yet they make these tickie tack calls.

 

[illinitiger]

For the people calling for Groce to get T'd up in this game, put yourself in his shoes. He just got a new boss, his job status is on shaky ground, and he just had a player arrested. Is it really in his best interest to cause a scene on the court when you are being so heavily scrutinized?
I agree that this tactic can be useful but when you are in the position Groce is, is it wise to do? I believe it would be viewed negatively at this point. If you are 20-8 or have a solid footing, by all means get T'd up.

So I guess trying 1867 's condom gift to the ref would be out of the question?

 

[Se Il Illini]

The Wisky player did touch out of bounds in possession of the ball on the play.

That is the way I saw it.

 

[Ransom Stoddard]

All I wanted to see out of the O&B last night was effort and execution, and for the most part that's what they gave. Their team defense in the first 10 minutes of the game was the best I've seen all year, but Wisky made adjustments (especially after half-time) and their depth and talent took over.

Yes, there were some tough calls, and I'm ready for TV Ted to retire, but that stretch in the second half where Wisky's D stepped up, shots didn't fall, and that good lead turned into a deficit was brutal.

The guys didn't quit though, and made it a game right through to the end, even covering the spread. As others have said, next year should be significantly better if Groce can plug the roster holes.

 

[491illinois]

I thought the during the first half we played perhaps some of our best basketball of the season

What happened in the second half?


A few calls did not go our away, one expects that on the road in the Big10, certainly was not a key determinant of the outcome of the game.

 

[491illinois]

I'm tired of the Lewis "me" possession. It's easy to see coming to. It kills the flow and ends in a bad miss or blocked shot in traffic and fast break the other way. TA and TJL at the point can't come soon enough.

The idea is to drive by their big men in the lane, not stop and try to shoot over them. SMH

 

[Stevegarbs]

Sometimes I would just love to see, any coach really, just go beyond Bob Knight, and pick up a chair and go WWE on a ref. No one makes me more upset than refs.

But - and I am only saying that because I care - there's a lot of decaffeinated brands on the market that are just as tasty as the real thing.

 

[Robert Bennett]

For all the people saying it wasn't the officiating that cost us the game , what's the excuse for our home games , when have we gotten the bulk of the calls at home ? This season ? Never , yes scoring droughts happen but this was flat out ridiculous with the calls.

 

[Shane Walsh]

Jaylon Tate with zeros across his boxscore. Have the coaches moved on from him?

 

[FeelYourPaign]

Jaylon Tate with zeros across his boxscore. Have the coaches moved on from him?

I've been thinking that for about 1-2 weeks now. Wondering if they aren't letting him know that he might want to look elsewhere. When Alex Austin is playing and you aren't, that seems like a message.

 

[Foggy Notion]

There's definitely talent here. The trick is getting them all playing up to their top level (or near it) the whole game. We can score and run with anybody in short spurts but when we quit scoring we can't do anything right it seems. Then we come back alive in the last few minutes when it's too late and make the game seem closer than it was.

I'd sure like to see them put together 35 or 40 minutes of good basketball.

Lack of depth has a lot to do with this.

 

[illini8507]

good fight by the boys. for a moment there i thought we could ride that 13 point lead to the end. we got shafted by Valentine, but i still think Wisky just tightened up the perimeter D and bulldozed us at the end. we need post presence in the worst way.

love our fight; just not enough horses....

Well our only post presence was on the bench, because tv ted imagined up a play where he pushed happ out of bounds, and then made a questionable moving screen call on the very next posession.

 

[Hoppy2105]

TV Ted is the bane of my existence.