mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
A roll to what? The NIT?
Pregame: Illinois vs NC State, Tuesday, November 29th, 8:00pm CT, ESPNU
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A roll to what? The NIT?
Keep the faith. I haven't given up on this season yet either. Not particularly hopeful but not devoid of hope either.
I like that the ILLINI have gotten all of their losses out of there system.
Now we start on the wins.
Now we start on the wins.
WestIllini
- University of Iowa
Just need time to mesh. It sucks that we couldn't hold on against Winthrop but if we'd beaten them I don't think the mood around here would be all that bad. Yes the WVU game was miserable but that's a tough team. FSU is gonna be very good in march as well. Our guys just need to mesh, along with Groce figuring out who plays well together and hopefully fixing his god awful substitution patterns. I've been saying all along this team has potential to be very very good with all these weapons we have. When and if they happen to click...watch out B1G because they could be scary. As for this game...Illini grab the W in a tough high scoring game.
GortTheRobot
- North Bethesda, Maryland
The troubling part of all our last three games was a complete lack of response to getting hit in the mouth. It was especially noticeable in the WVU game, of course, but we did not buckle down when Winthrop mounted their comeback, and we did not adjust to FSU.
Temple showed what a proper response is when WVU came back, even though it was close, they battled and held on.
I want to see us either get a lead and push to keep or extend it, our keep battling when we fall behind. We start to look desperate and/or defeated when other teams get momentum.
I hope we turn this around in our remaining non-conference games. Even if we end up losing five non-conference, as has been suggested, if we look like we are starting to gel, and we are battling every game, I will keep hope alive.
I hope to see that turnaround tonight; we can beat NC State. I think we could have beaten anyone except WVU.
Temple showed what a proper response is when WVU came back, even though it was close, they battled and held on.
I want to see us either get a lead and push to keep or extend it, our keep battling when we fall behind. We start to look desperate and/or defeated when other teams get momentum.
I hope we turn this around in our remaining non-conference games. Even if we end up losing five non-conference, as has been suggested, if we look like we are starting to gel, and we are battling every game, I will keep hope alive.
I hope to see that turnaround tonight; we can beat NC State. I think we could have beaten anyone except WVU.
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Illinifanatic4ever
- Orange & Blue Blood in my Veins
Looks like a lot of students must have jumped at the free tickets because a lot of seats on Fightingillini.com are gone from what was on there yesterday morning.
We have to be comfortable grinding out wins during close games. I believe not having a good PG the last several years has caused this loss in confidence.
Quesiton: What's the difference between saying Illinois +2 and NC State -2? It's the same right? Does the choice dictate what they project to actually be the outcome? By that I mean when they say Illinois +2 do they mean they are suggesting its more likely Illinois beats the spread and if they say NC State -2 they expect State to beat the spread?
They are the same thing, or rather represent the same point spread. If you bet on Illinois you have Illinois +2, if you bet on NC State you have NC State -2.
Money must have come in on Illinois.
Isn't Ford still doing the substitutions? .... If so, why do people keep saying Groce is doing them ? (just an honest question)..
CBB Lines in Vegas don't come in until the late morning the day of the game. I imagine they released their own lines and everyone followed suit.
Yes. The spread
In all seriousness, I hope people don't expect too much from TJL. He'll make some mistakes, and that's to be expected as a true freshman.
I know we haven't had a lot to cheer, but I wonder what's happening with JCL. .
frozenrope9190
- Aurora, IL
NC State by 10.
I've turned from optimist to pessimist after the WVU debacle. We're walking dead now.
I've turned from optimist to pessimist after the WVU debacle. We're walking dead now.
Yes. The spread
In all seriousness, I hope people don't expect too much from TJL. He'll make some mistakes, and that's to be expected as a true freshman.
I know we haven't had a lot to cheer, but I wonder what's happening with JCL. .
For me, JCL has been the biggest surprise of the season. I expected him to start and to score a ton. I also expected his handles to be greatly improved and to see him add drives to the hoop to his repertoire. I, too, wonder what is happening.
All 3 pg's need to play for us to be successful. They just don't need to be on the court in pairs for more than 2-4 combined minutes the entire game. TA has obviously lost a step maybe even two. I've seen him turn it on for a very short period, but the majority of the time it's just not there. I'd say he was dogging it if I didn't know the extent of his injuries. A lot of us were expecting him to be a better version of himself as a junior which skill wise he is, but the athleticism just isn't there which hampers his ability to play the sg role, or break a press like we saw against W. Va.
JCL, Jordan, and DJW have to be in the coaches dog house with the amount of pt they are receiving.
It's going to be a very tough game against a team that will only get better as the season progresses even if their record never indicates it bc they're in a conference where wins are not easy to come by.
JCL, Jordan, and DJW have to be in the coaches dog house with the amount of pt they are receiving.
It's going to be a very tough game against a team that will only get better as the season progresses even if their record never indicates it bc they're in a conference where wins are not easy to come by.
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Agreed, but I still think his hand/wrist is bothering him from his injury. Once he gets his sights set back to how they were, I think the rest of his play improves because teams have to start respecting him even more than they already do from 3 pt land. I wouldn't underestimate the degree to which an injury to his shooting hand can have to his whole game.I think its gonna take a game where he hits 5-7 3's for him to feel fully confident in his shot again and therefore start converting on 2's and drives.
In terms of scoring, I thought he would have recovered by now from the hand injury and he'd be in a flow. His handles may have been set back because he couldn't dribble for like a month and a half.
Even with the injury excuse, it's almost like he didn't work on his handles at all or at least not much. I hope it's only because he got rusty not dribbling during his recovery time.
Tevo
- Wilmette, IL
Who's guarding Smith? I fear that Groce still feels Tate is the best on-ball defender we have (now that Kendrick is no more), and will play him for that reason. I have no idea how Lucas will do in man defense against a good guard. And I don't know if TA still has the mobility to guard a good, quick player.
Tevo
- Wilmette, IL
This may not belong in the Illinois vs. NC State thread, but which happens more often -- a slasher develops an outside shot, or an outside shooter develops handles and skills going to the hoop? It seems, based on my faulty memory and limited exposure, that it would be a lot easier to teach a slasher (who inherently must be a decent athlete) to shoot than it would be to teach a pure shooter the skills and instincts needed to drive, avoid defenders, adjust your body, absorb contact, etc. to be effective going to the hoop. Agree?
That being said, JCL doesn't need to "go to the hoop" to effectively expand his game. He just needs to be able to sell a pump fake, take two dribbles past his man and pull up for a closer jumper. There doesn't seem to be any reason he couldn't do that, and I don't have an explanation for why he hasn't shown that at all thus far.
Must be business school
I have to agree
The only way I see any chance of our Illini winning is if our coaching staff (whoever is working lineups) plays TJL, DJW, and Black a lot more minutes.
I'm not optimistic.......
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