Illinois 64, VCU 46 POSTGAME

#101      

EfremWinters84

E
S. Carolina
EfremWinters84
Nice game, Illini!

Hill and LB co-MVP's. JCL with some really nice baskets from inside the arc. And Tate was also a solid contributor today, primarily in breaking their pressure. Still don't like him controlling the ball, however, in a tight game when we know the opposition is going to foul. Get it to Hill or Abrams, please.

Hard to believe it was an 18-point margin, huh? I know I wasn't yet comfortable with 8 minutes left in the game. VCU didn't play anything like the notorious Shaka teams.
 
#102      

Deleted member 4960

D
Guest
Deleted member 4960
For all of you complaining about Tate playing too much today, did you watch Lucas at all? He was very shaky handling the ball. Who else are you going to play besides Tate? He played pretty well.
 
#103      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
Deleted member 29907
Rowdypkunk said:
Couldn't agree with this more.

Got up 11-3 and then started forcing stuff, making dumb passes, and taking ill advised shots. And Obviously the injury to Lewis in the first half hurt... and he wasn't fully the same the rest of the game.

We put up a couple of runs to get it with in 2 pts (40-38 I think it was).... and then we just forgot what got us back in the game... and it all just unraveled again.

We also tried to live & die by the 3 (just like old times)... and of course we weren't hitting & got burned. Obviously Lewis couldn't do much after the injury and they were playing cautious with him in the 2nd half. Also not going to win many games going 16-53 from the field.

As for the officiating.... the officiating was bad on both sides today.... and no I'm not trying to blame the refs for this game.... If it was a 1 possession game you coulda made a case that had certain calls gone the other way.... maybe we win.... but clearly after that 11-3 start we lost focus, momentum & our heads just weren't in the game after that.

Anyway, congrats on your win... good win for you guys... Hope you guys keep winning.
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Not sure Lewis did much before the injury - you do realize we were up by at least 8 when he tweaked his ankle right? Anyway, you can say you had a bad game or got beat. I'd pretty much say you got beat tonight. We really didn't play well the first 15 minutes either (played like crap actually). All of your reasoning basically indicates you think you just had a bad night. Perhaps, but also maybe you just got beat.
 
#104      

aluma

A
aluma
Just saw VCU barely lost to a REALLY good Baylor team. They were up by a quite a bit at halftime against them. I wonder if this VCU team is actually much better than they played today?
 
#106      

illini8507

illini8507
illini8507
Chathamillini said:
For all of you complaining about Tate playing too much today, did you watch Lucas at all? He was very shaky handling the ball. Who else are you going to play besides Tate? He played pretty well.
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I can only think of one mistake TJL made, dribbling off his foot while being pressed. He didn't play enough to make any definitive statements about being shaky with the ball. Tate a a couple shaky plays vs the press too. Most of the time he picks up his dribble in the backcourt when double teamed, and that's not good. It almost cost him several times today.

I'm not throwing shade on Tate out of pure hate or anything. I may think TJL should be getting the bulk of those minutes because he's going to need the experience for next season, but I also realize that Groce doesn't have the luxury of thinking about next season because he has to win now. That means he has to play the hot hand, and I get that. It's exactly what happened in the NC State game. I just don't think Lucas got enough time today to be able to definitively say who the hot hand was.

That being said, we got the W, so it's hard to pick nits too much.
 
#108      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
Deleted member 29907
Chathamillini said:
For all of you complaining about Tate playing too much today, did you watch Lucas at all? He was very shaky handling the ball. Who else are you going to play besides Tate? He played pretty well.
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TJL >> Tate. Tate played ok - but he's zero threat to score and you can't afford that. TJL also is gaining on D and is not that far behind IMO. While Tate managed this weaker press better, he's still third best bringing the ball up against the press.
 
#109      

Chipatsj23h

Chipatsj23h
Chipatsj23h
As far as Tate, i dont think anyone is rooting against the kid, i hope not at least. I think most of us just dont want him on the floor much. There are times when we can use him a few minutes but i think 7-10 mins max is more than enough. Offense really struggles with him in.

I thought Groce coached a good game today, great to see. Love JCL getting to the rim. Shots not falling early and finding different ways to score. Thats great to see!
 
#110      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
Tate is this years version of playing Alex Austin. Groce knows what he is getting with Tate...a guy who will take care of the ball, play solid D, control the tempo, and avoid plays that can lose a game. Lucas is a wild card right now. He is going to play well at times, and other times is going to look completely lost.
 
#111      

Oldguard

O
Oldguard
JIllini said:
VCU played like crap, which is a major reason for the result. Still, very solid win.
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Fewest points VCU has scored in 11 years. It was an early afternoon game in Miami in front of a handful of people. I'm sure that played into it, but the Illini clearly wanted it more
 
#114      

idoc13

I
idoc13
Groce deserves credit for getting the team ready to play after some disappointing games.

Defense has been very good.

Offensively we are pretty flawed. A lot of players gave glaring limitations. But, if everyone accepts their role and does their job, the defense can keep us in games.
 
#115      

Illinijose

I
Illinijose
Missed the game, but sounds like VCU is who I thought they were. Not overly athletic, not deep, and not good outside shooters. I thought if we showed up and played to our capabilities and didn't wilt, we would win. I think Black provides the backbone to the team.
 
#116      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
idoc13 said:
Groce deserves credit for getting the team ready to play after some disappointing games.

Defense has been very good.

Offensively we are pretty flawed. A lot of players gave glaring limitations. But, if everyone accepts their role and does their job, the defense can keep us in games.
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Is this the first game you watched this year? Because our offense will be carrying us most of the year....
 
#118      

Illinijose

I
Illinijose
KENPOM had Illinois at 84 and VCU at 35 before the game. After we beat VCU on a neutral site by 18, it now has VCU at 43 and Illinois at 70. I guess our loss to Winthrop is going to be a ratings killer. Also North Carolina State is ahead of us as well.
 
#121      

Newman

N
Newman
jrichisamazing said:
Is this the first game you watched this year? Because our offense will be carrying us most of the year....
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Same guy that said he cringed every time Black took a jump shot. Maybe it's some weird superstition where he's purposefully trying to say the opposite as a jinx. I don't have any other logical explanation..
 
#122      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
jrichisamazing said:
Is this the first game you watched this year? Because our offense will be carrying us most of the year....
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As of now, our defense is better than the offense at least using efficiency numbers (caveat below)

Illinijose said:
KENPOM had Illinois at 84 and VCU at 35 before the game. After we beat VCU on a neutral site by 18, it now has VCU at 43 and Illinois at 70. I guess our loss to Winthrop is going to be a ratings killer. Also North Carolina State is ahead of us as well.
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He uses efficiency margins, so the WV blowout isn't helping either. Although we have to keep in mind his ratings still rely on data from previous seasons at this point. Have to wait until sometime in January for that effect to be completely gone.
 
#123      

Illini1221

I
Peru,IL
Illini1221
Illinijose said:
KENPOM had Illinois at 84 and VCU at 35 before the game. After we beat VCU on a neutral site by 18, it now has VCU at 43 and Illinois at 70. I guess our loss to Winthrop is going to be a ratings killer. Also North Carolina State is ahead of us as well.
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I think it's too early to look at that stuff. We haven't played a road game yet, and that's a big part of it
 
#124      

CAHALL15

C
Central Illinois
CAHALL15
BradleyboundIlliniFan said:
This might be a stretch, but has anybody really noticed how good Tracy has been? I mean like NBA second rounder good, especially if his jump shot is not a fluke.
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Yeah, it's quite the stretch. Look at some of the guys who were drafted in the second round or, equally eye opening, undrafted. Wayne Selden, Cat Barber, Gary Payton Jr, Van Fleet, Yogi Ferrell, Zach Auguste, Elgin Cook, Kyle Wiltjer, and others didn't get drafted last year. Plus, age is a factor valued in the NBA.

I like JCL's new mentality of not settling for jump shots. Let's win the rest of our non conference games, get some minutes to guys like DJW, solidify our rotation with Kipper coming in two weeks, and continue to play some D.
 
#125      

geneseo

G
geneseo
Didn't see the game so can't comment on today's performances of Tate and Lucas. But, one thing the Illini have done pretty well the last couple of years is take care of the ball and that is due at least in part to Tate. He had 24 turnovers in 524 minutes of playing time last year. Neither Tate nor the team got off to a good start this year in the turnover department, but he had one today in 17 minutes per espn.