Illinois 54, Rutgers 51 POSTGAME

[illiniguy24]

A couple thoughts:

Thank the higher powers for our rebounding (especially Kofi)

Ayo is starting to become the closer we need

Giorgi is a shell of what he was last year, and it hurts me to see it

If we can knock down some dang shots, we can play with anybody and could be a threat come tournament time

Our boys play hard even if it isnt always pretty

 

[Deleted member 746654]

as hard as it is for me to admit, Jess Settles did a pretty good job

Very nice job. Enjoyed listening

 

[ivwilsoniv]

View attachment 5429
Woo!

Maybe OSU isn’t actually the 11th best team in the country?

 

[illiniCA]

We would also have accepted free throws and turnovers.

To me the key to the game was initiating the offense through the guards instead of the post and the 4.

 

[SycIllini]

More importantly, another quality win. The Miami and Missouri disasters are getting further and further in the review mirror.

Great win. Really enjoyed watching this back and forth game even though offense was ugly at times.

Funny how football and basketball seem to following the same pattern this year. Disappointing non-conference performance but, something clicks in conference play.

 

[lstewart53x3]

Great win. Really enjoyed watching this back and forth game even though offense was ugly at times.

Funny how football and basketball seem to following the same pattern this year. Disappointing non-conference performance but, something clicks in conference play.

Young’ish teams learning how to win.

 

[Steelyunk]

Oh, hey, Kofi had his quietest double double of the year. What a stud.

 

[IllinistuckinGopherland]

I can’t believe how good our defense has become relative to November.

I can’t believe how bad we are at three pointers and three footers.

Ayo has REALLY stepped up the last two games. More please.

Great win to lock down on a much less than perfect day. Go Illini

 

[chrisRunner7]

Anybody know what the Illini record is for lowest FG% in a win? This has to have come close.

 

[Loyalillini10]

It was good to watch a game where Illinois was in complete control the entire game and sailed to a victory...

 

[jrichisamazing]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1216077367359213571

We'll take that as a compliment.

 

[skyIdub]

First half....

Second half...

 

[Deleted member 29907]

Good thing about ugly wins, they get prettier as the season goes on.

 

[illinitiger]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1216077367359213571

I'm not sure that's a claim to fame I like....team sucked offensively worse than anyone else who have won

 

[clusterbuster75]

I

I’d give the refs a B+...thought they let them play and calls were pretty even across the board.
Giorgi....D. Love him, but man was he forcing it and bad in the 1st half

I thought we got plenty of home cooking.. That "illegal screen" late in the game was huge.

 

[Efrem Winters fan]

Great win! The team is really competing and figuring out ways to get it done. Kudos to Feliz. He had some big buckets at critical times. Some big rebounds including from Ayo and AG. Go Illini!!!

I completely agree. Dre's driving layups were at critical points when we couldn't seem to buy a basket. Ayo played great at the end for sure but credit Feliz in allowing us to hang around long enough to have a chance.

 

[OrangeAndBlueBlooded]

To me the key to the game was initiating the offense through the guards instead of the post and the 4.

In the game thread during the first half, I posted that Andres wasn't helping our cause. But man, was he good in the second half!

 

[ivwilsoniv]

Already matched last year’s win total. Go .500 rest of the way and the record is 19-12 (11-9). Win a couple games in the BTT, and that’s a 7 seed.

 

[hooraybeer]

it kind of feels like we’re relevant again in both football and basketball. and that is sweet

 

[kiwanegarris22]

as hard as it is for me to admit, Jess Settles did a pretty good job

I love having the old Big 10 guys around on BTN --- they remember playing against us in the 80's, 90's, 00's when we were a Top 10 national program. You can tell the way they show respect to our program and to our legacy. Settles, Dakich, Hummel --- they're all very strong ILLINI supporters.

Settles was fantastic today. (Plus he had done his homework before starting the broadcast.)

 

[clusterbuster75]

It was good to watch a game where Illinois was in complete control the entire game and sailed to a victory...

You lost? this is the rutgers game discussion. The Purdue game thread is elsewhere..

 

[kiwanegarris22]

Illini Crowd, Rebounding, The Killer Dosunmu - A
The bench - B
Refs - C
Giorgi - D
3 pt shooting, 2 pt shooting, layup shooting, any kind of shooting except free throws - F

Terrible game but HUGE WIN! I-L-L!

I, instead, call it a great game! Every game is different. That's basketball. The spread was 5 and we won by three. Two exceptional teams.

We earned an A+ over the last 10 minutes.......from being down 28-22 to the final buzzer.

 

[GallopingGhost]

I didn’t think I’d write this a year ago, but a great hard fought win from both teams.


Glad we beat a good Rutgers team at home to gain possession of 2nd place in conference play

but seriously. The offense struggled cause their defense is amazing. We took some questionable shots here and there but forced by great defense. I wouldn’t worry about that shooting percentage today, fellas.

 

[Poe's Law]

Was there an earthquake in Chambana? Seemed like everyone on that court missed shots to the outside of the rim today. Brick city.

Using the women’s ball again.

 

[CreepyKyle]

Early season we didn’t have that guy. Someone to step up and take control at the end of the game. Ayo has proven he’s ready to be that guy. Felt totally comfortable at the end as long as he was in the game.

Not to mention Ayo has played 37 minutes in the last two games