Illinois 77, Tennessee-Martin 74 POSTGAME

[FeelYourPaign]

The zone'd the entire game as well...we I didn't see much of the spread offense. It will be interesting to see if more teams play zone just to keep us out of that.

Yes, I was pretty disappointed that all that time that I spent watching BU instructional video was wasted, as we never got into a spread offense at all.

But seriously, it did not happen. And that surprised me somewhat. I'm still adapting to a new staff and a new system. Maybe like the team a little bit on that point, eh?

 

[icengineer]

I agree, but rebounding and loose balls weren't a problem earlier in the game. Finke and Black were gassed.

And BU would say, "That's no excuse!"

 

[FeelYourPaign]

They are not comfortable with their passing yet. You can see them pause and hold the ball to long and then they are not decisive with their pass. Once they get in a rhythm and the passes come quicker and crisper, this offense is going to be awesome. We've only seen glimpses.

Agree 100% and yet even so, it looks so much better than the Groce pace. I was enjoying watching the ball move. Surprised that we didn't get it inside more, but we were definitely moving the ball around faster and better than last year, even though its only the second game.

 

[TALKTOCHUCK]

Enjoyable game. Mark Smith is going to be one the best we have seen in years. DaMonte played well. Alstork plays good defense but hasn't shown me the offense. TeJon played well. We are obviously going to be exploited down low. I agree that Finke and Black played too much and were gassed. If a team running his defense is gassed, it is in trouble.
Good Win. ILL

 

[illinibballfan]

Glad we won. Last year if we would have held on for a win or two in a game like this, we'd probably have made the tourney. No one will care at selection time how much we won this game by as long as we won. If we lost, we'd already have our first bad loss of the season on our resume.

 

[jrichisamazing]

Unfortunately, Kipper was not on his game tonight to give them a break and if Ebo or Vesel would have been inserted for any length of time, we probably lose this game, thus a weakness that may not be corrected this year.

I think Kipper will be fine. BU knows he has the potential to be really good, and is trying to teach him a lesson to do the little things. A lesson that almost cost us a W. But it's nice to be able to teach and win at the same time.

 

[illinitiger]

I dont know what game everyone else is watching but there are a ton of times when Smith is "WIDE OPEN" and Alstork and TJL wont pass him the ball..that sorta mentality will and did come back to haunt this team..... not room for small punitive things like that the TO TJL has Smith was wide open on the left wing.......just me observation

Agree. Seemed like there was more pressing to get ball low. Sometimes forced. Whenever they drove aggressively...got to the line. MS did that and AJ did also. would have liked to see more of that.

 

[illinibballfan]

"Underwood: Ball has to be ours late. If we've got to go to the parking lot to learn how to fight, we have to get those rebounds."

I heart this quote from BU.

Pretty funny that Underwood is talking about fighting in the parking lot and your response is "I heart this quote." With a response like that, Brad may need to teach you how to fight in the parking lot also.

I kid I kid.

 

[mattcoldagelli]

Is it weird if I feel outcomes like this are the optimal result between now and 11/28? We've got four more home games before going to WF. Let's hope for seeing new things (like zone tonight), let's hope it's a little tighter than you'd expect so we get a taste of some pressure and of taking care of business when the chips are down, all the while avoiding a resume-poisoning loss.

 

[Obelix]

Is it weird if I feel outcomes like this are the optimal result between now and 11/28? We've got four more home games before going to WF. Let's hope for seeing new things (like zone tonight), let's hope it's a little tighter than you'd expect so we get a taste of some pressure and of taking care of business when the chips are down, all the while avoiding a resume-poisoning loss.

You play with fire, you'll get burned.

 

[practispractispractice]

and if you don't play with fire you might not learn

 

[Orange]

and if you don't play with fire you might not learn

 

[BMo79]

JCL was one of the best 3 pt shooters we've ever had. His ball handling and Groce's offense hindered his production.

your joking right ?

 

[illinitiger]

your joking right ?

On JCL 3p....I think he set the Illini Freshmen record , if not mistaken. I think we have some good shooters but they have to relax and get in game confidence.

AJ seems to have taken a Junior leap.

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[Deleted member 631370]

Is it weird if I feel outcomes like this are the optimal result between now and 11/28? We've got four more home games before going to WF. Let's hope for seeing new things (like zone tonight), let's hope it's a little tighter than you'd expect so we get a taste of some pressure and of taking care of business when the chips are down, all the while avoiding a resume-poisoning loss.

In some sense, I agree. More lessons are learned in a close-call win in which the team allows the opponent back into the game than in a game in which we win by 50.

There's no doubt the kids felt some pressure last night. No doubt they dealt with some adversity. They need to be able to cope with that, because that'll become the norm come conference play.

Problem is, those lessons-learned games need to be the exception rather than the rule in these early games. Because as others have said, when you play with fire, you're going to get burned eventually.

 

[TCTORNADO]

On JCL 3p....I think he set the Illini Freshmen record , if not mistaken. I think we have some good shooters but they have to relax and get in game confidence.

AJ seems to have taken a Junior leap.

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Can we use more than 2 cupcake games as a sample size!!

 

[illinitiger]

Can we use more than 2 cupcake games as a sample size!!

Sure...anything for you TC!

The fact that he is contributing meaningful minutes and has exceeded his point total for past season.....cup cake or not, may be considered a " leap" ( realize it depends on your personal definition of "leap" though).

 

[BananaShampoo]

Sure...anything for you TC!

The fact that he is contributing meaningful minutes and has exceeded his point total for past season.....cup cake or not, may be considered a " leap" ( realize it depends on your personal definition of "leap" though).

Yes, cupcakes or not, definitely like what we're seeing from AJ. BU's system seems to be a much better fit for him.

 

[PlayAZ]

Quick thoughts:
Tale of 2 halves for sure
Black-Jordan seem to have made great strides, lets hope it continues
Finke needs to become more aggressive for 6-10
Williams seems to flow with the game, he will get his minutes
Frazier and Lucas seem to be a very very good 2 PG team so far
Smith is way more talented and engaged than most any freshman we have had for some time.
Nichols is one of the most athletic, needs more minutes
Alstork, hasn't really shown me much as of yet to be honest...for a grad transfer, if this stays the norm, I can understand why BU is not fond of taking them.

overall good win for a young team...so far peaks and valleys for games, it will be the norm this year, but it will be fun to watch for a change.

 

[IlliniJim20]

Is it weird if I feel outcomes like this are the optimal result between now and 11/28? We've got four more home games before going to WF. Let's hope for seeing new things (like zone tonight), let's hope it's a little tighter than you'd expect so we get a taste of some pressure and of taking care of business when the chips are down, all the while avoiding a resume-poisoning loss.

Good thoughts here, just as long as we don't get burned. Maybe one blowout wn or two when things working well to get the guys to realize if they do as coaches ask, execute, they will be successful


Every game, every possession needs to be a learning experience. I get the feeling Underwood and staff will do so.

 

[SescIllini]

They have not looked real comfortable against the zone yet. There is a hesitancy to pass inside and also a hesitancy to step into an open 3 pointer. Playing inside out will get them the looks they want, but they need to have confidence to knock 'em down. This early schedule gives them opportunities to work on this. Defensively they have had great intensity, just need to be consistent and not lose their man (or have better rotations) underneath. Oh well, 2-0, much better than 1-1 at this point.

A good way to beat the zone is hit 3 poimters and get the ball inside to your big men. We lack size and quick leaping big men so we better start hitting the 3 and gey cutters to the hoop.

 

[Ga65]

IMO both Smith and Alstork are scorers not shooters as opposed to JCL who was a shooter. We won some games last year with excellent shooting and got run out of games with bad shooting. This years team will not depend on three point shooting but taking it to the basket for lay ups or free throws. Mark Smith is way ahead of most freshmen in his ability to get to the rim and to finish. Ahead of some past Illini who most of us consider great players.
However if we are to beat teams like MSU we must also shoot the threes as their front court will be very good at protecting the rim.

 

[doowink]

Probably one of my biggest concerns watching last nights game was the way we handling or didn't handle UTM defensive pressure the last few minutes of the game....someone has to step up and take charge with the ball in those situations....we wilted under their half court and full court trapping pressure defense

 

[Calvin]

I long for the day we don’t have to sweat out ugly wins against sub-200 RPI no-name mid-majors. Starting to wonder if that day will ever come again.

For anyone who watched the game and was disgusted with our second half, watch the press conference. I think Underwood addressed just about every concern in a way that shows he's a student of the game and has a plan to fix it.

This team is young and prone to mental mistakes. There were a ton of them. There was an overall focus issue. Guys weren't prepared for 40 minutes of basketball. If we do that on the road, or against a better opponent, we probably lose.

Luckily, we have time to work on these things while the opposition isn't as good. Gonna be a rough ride this season. Even getting better may not be enough because the conference has lots of tourney teams.

Work in progress, but one that will get better and better....

 

[Rad]

For anyone who watched the game and was disgusted with our second half, watch the press conference. I think Underwood addressed just about every concern in a way that shows he's a student of the game and has a plan to fix it.

This team is young and prone to mental mistakes. There were a ton of them. There was an overall focus issue. Guys weren't prepared for 40 minutes of basketball. If we do that on the road, or against a better opponent, we probably lose.

Luckily, we have time to work on these things while the opposition isn't as good. Gonna be a rough ride this season. Even getting better may not be enough because the conference has lots of tourney teams.

Work in progress, but one that will get better and better....

+1