Illinois 83, Duke 68 Postgame

[TheFameProtector]

Stats wrap-up from the game!

Thanks for this Daniel. LOVE seeing that we not only killed Duke but have a ton of room for improvement. If this season mirrors our previous ones under BU, with incrementally better basketball being played as the year goes on...watch out. The possible peak for this team is scary.

 

[TheFameProtector]

RE: Ayo "meh"

I think Ayo looking somewhat less than his previous self or what our naked eye might expect is the lack of pull up 12 footers that he did more of last year. There seems to be more of him trying to get to rim, which of course he did a lot last year as well. That's one observation I have from the first 5 games.

Also, in this game in particular. Ayo missed 2 extremely wide open 3's. On one of them, he took a rhythm dribble first because there was nobody even coming towards him. Maybe it's too high of a standard, but I'd expect someone of his caliber to put those down. Or at least 1 of them.

Just playing devil's advocate. I think what Ayo is doing with his assists this year is extremely good for the team. I have no bones with his game.

Interesting that his performance brought out "meh" responses -- I thought he was definitely noticeably better than Baylor (not a high bar, to be fair) and wasn't forcing the issue nearly as much. I agree too that he was going to the basket when the opportunity presented itself and I'm a fan of avoiding midrange shots unless its late in the shot clock or late in the game (when defenses clamp down). Ayo focusing on everything other than being the man every night (spacing floor, rebounding, defense, passing) is EXACTLY what we need from him -- the more we can make everybody a weapon, the more things will open up and make his life easier. Plus letting the shots slowly come and starting with the easier opportunities is a good way to get the confidence/rhythm needed so that he's on point when its nut crunching time.

 

[Efrem Winters fan]

My take on this game:

The great

I'm glad pretty much everyone is on board with this being a big win. Say what you will about Duke's fans not being there or the program being down but this is a road win against a top ten team - period. We were challenged and responded. There is a lot to be pleased about regarding this performance.

The good

Damonte continues to shoot the ball well and has become a genuine offensive threat. He is getting good looks and knocking down !!!!!. This opens things up for other slashers/drivers and spaces out the defense. I thought Miller was also excellent early knocking down !!!!! to open up a lead.

Giorgi was great and very efficient. He seems to be back on track and getting his mojo back. It was great to see him get a few minutes with Kofi in there at the same time.

I know a some posters felt Ayo had a mediocre game but the stats say otherwise. This is what a star player can do to help his team. He draws enough attention to free up opportunities for his teammates which is exactly what happened.

The not so good

Curbelo was a bit out of control at times and made quite a few unforced errors. I attribute this to trypical freshman mistakes - he is moving up in class and facing much better players. I'm glad BU let him play through it. He also made some very dynamic plays and showed flashes of the future which should excite everyone.

I thought we did a terrible job against the press and Frazier in particular.....we need to get that corrected. He played a pretty good game overall except when he was being pressed.

We need to make free throws! We have been awful this year!

 

[Ga65]

Interesting that his performance brought out "meh" responses -- I thought he was definitely noticeably better than Baylor (not a high bar, to be fair) and wasn't forcing the issue nearly as much. I agree too that he was going to the basket when the opportunity presented itself and I'm a fan of avoiding midrange shots unless its late in the shot clock or late in the game (when defenses clamp down). Ayo focusing on everything other than being the man every night (spacing floor, rebounding, defense, passing) is EXACTLY what we need from him -- the more we can make everybody a weapon, the more things will open up and make his life easier. Plus letting the shots slowly come and starting with the easier opportunities is a good way to get the confidence/rhythm needed so that he's on point when its nut crunching time.

It appears to me that Ayo is more interested in the team winning than his personal stats. Guess some fans would have it differently.

 

[Joel Goodson]

I keep coming back for Curbelo...

Overall good win, Duke isnt that good yet, they will improve and we won pretty comfortably but maaaan...

I'm over here evil grinning when I watch Curbelo. He is doing things that most players never figure out. His intangibles are outstaing, his vision and anticipation are unbelievable for a Freshman. Little things, cradling the ball through big men traffic, looking defenders off for passes, head fakes, moving defenders with his eyes, quick hands, anticipates the ball in passing lanes, VERY quick crossover, terrific passer in traffic, creative with his dribble and creating space...I just love it.

He UNDOUBTEDLY is going to turn the ball over a ton. But I think what I love the most is his short memory. He is not fazed by a mistake and I love that confidence. He is special, I think next year we have something really big with him.

This. Totally get the carping about TOs, but ~40% of them are due to his teammates not being ready to receive the ball and 2 calls were very questionable (refs are not used to some of what's in his arsenal). Yeah, he's had a few too many blunders and needs to tighten them up. But, my God!

 

[CentralILifer]

My thoughts on Curbelo:

I'm so looking forward to watching him for the next 4 years. Like, more excited than I've been about someone in the program...maybe ever. His style of play is so fun. Definitely reminds me of Frankie back in the day.

He's clearly getting into some bad spots and then either making bad turnovers or extremely miraculous plays. Seems like a high risk/high reward paradigm. From my view, I love to see it. I'll take these early mistakes because he makes me smile more than anyone else on the court.

 

[illinitiger]

I know there was talk about how we never "put them away", but I went through the play-by-play this morning and we led by double figures for 54 minutes and 51 seconds (according to my numbers). We went up 12-2 with 15:53 left in the first half and Duke only got the score within single figures 3 times after that (durations of 10 seconds, 40 seconds, and 12 seconds) and they never got closer than 8. I have to imagine that's as dominant a non-conference foe has ever played at Cameron Indoor (at least in the last 35 years).

Curbelo is going to be scary when the game slows down for him as most of his turnovers were from just going too fast. We haven't had a pure PG that can create like him in about 15 years. Just 5 games into his collegiate career and he's already able to create shots for others and himself with the drive. It opens up so much for us on offense. I hope Trent can clean things up, maybe it's bias and overlooking Curbelo's freshman mistakes and the game moving fast, but it seemed Trent's TOs were mostly from being sloppy as a senior you shouldn't be making the same mistakes as a freshman. Regardless of his TOs, Trent is still a valuable leader for the team and like several mentioned, a lock down defender.

On Curbelo,...
game doesn't need to slow down for Him,....
He needs to Slow Down... and let the game catch up!

 

[TheFameProtector]

It appears to me that Ayo is more interested in the team winning than his personal stats. Guess some fans would have it differently.

Which I also think will help his draft stock more, semi-ironically. Hoping he keeps that mentality up.

 

[TheFameProtector]

I thought Miller was also excellent early knocking down !!!!! to open up a lead.

Startling visual.

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

Dan, can we get a gif of Underwood just saying "What are you doing?" over and over to Curbelo after one of his crazy turnovers? I was laughing so hard when it happened. Would like to relive that moment if possible.

Haha, Dan came through! *chef's kiss*

 

[Thaillini22]

Not sure if posted, but I always enjoy opposing coaches' praise, especially when they're all-time legends... here's Coach K post game (YouTube).

 

[WizardBill]

We did to Duke what Baylor did to us. Total control of the game. Frustrated their offense, pressured their guards, and leveraged our experience to limit their ability to mount any kind of comeback.

Sucks when it happens to you. But oh so satisfying when you do it to someone else.

I disagree. Baylor beat us the last ten minutes. The first 30 we were in it.

Duke was never in it. A 14-2 start and they barely got closer the entire game.

 

[logjam]

Replay of the game is on ESPNU, 1st half just ended.

 

[BRucks]

Replay of the game is on ESPNU, 1st half just ended.

Who's ahead?

 

[fulton steamer]

My first game at Assembly Hall when I was about 8 or so - a year or 2 after Dave Downey graduated. Bogie Redman, Tal Brody, Skip Thoren, Don Freeman. Wow.

Me too. Good to know some old geezers are on here with me.

 

[logjam]

Who's ahead?

Don't want to ruin it for you.

 

[BigMuddyMonster]

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Just want to say thank you to coach Underwood for letting me accompany the team to the game last night....and what a game it was !!!!!

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Chris has been such an avid supporter of our program that I wanted to repay him for his feverish actions as an Illini fan....hope to do it again

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That locker sequence was so special.....ROADKILL.....WOW......truly a team of focused lads willing to run through a brick wall for the coaching staff

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lets kick some misery butt !!!!!!!!!!

Boiiii you have the wildest posts. I love the gifs. Keep ‘em coming.

 

[BigMuddyMonster]

Correct he didnt play like a Wooden Award winner or perhaps a top draft pick, but I'll argue all day that the performance he gave last night is exactly what a national championship contending team needs.

He didn't force shots because he wanted volume, hog the ball, he played his role. When he got the ball late in the clock he worked his magic because he had to, he played within the offense the rest of the time. Defensively he was solid, albeit on a lesser opponent most of the night. He was also defended by one of the best on ball guys in D1. He managed a double double with 18 pts.

That doesn't win you POY's, but he elevated the team as much as he could today. It wont go down as his best game, but he played as well as could've been expected or wanted.

Goldwire is a good defender.

 

[Efrem Winters fan]

Startling visual.

Autocorrect is so proficient it predicts my words!!

 

[Butters]

Haha, Dan came through! *chef's kiss*

The gif is all the more amazing when you think back to Underwood's couple of seasons. I vividly remember him coming onto the floor screaming at our players at various times. I can't help but think if this had happened 2 or 3 years ago we would see a very different reaction (I think this one is better).

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

I disagree. Baylor beat us the last ten minutes. The first 30 we were in it.

Duke was never in it. A 14-2 start and they barely got closer the entire game.

Compare the win probability charts for the two games on ESPN. The idea we were in it with Baylor was an illusion. Giorgi was playing out of his mind just to keep it close. Once Baylor built a cushion, we had no ability to chip away at it. They were ruthless in maintaining the advantage they had gained and there was essentially no opportunity for us to mount a comeback.

In the Duke game, we built our advantage early on, but Duke played us even the rest of the way. Their problem was that we gave them basically no opportunity to chip away at our cushion. We methodically snuffed out any opportunity for a comeback.

Different timings, but same concept.

 

[Deleted member 29907]

The gif is all the more amazing when you think back to Underwood's couple of seasons. I vividly remember him coming onto the floor screaming at our players at various times. I can't help but think if this had happened 2 or 3 years ago we would see a very different reaction (I think this one is better).

I agree - much better approach with the players. Gets on them hard only when really needed - otherwise its stern corrections. He also has 'his type of guys' now on the team - so he player mentality is already there, just needs correction at time.

 

[JudsonFTS]

There have been very few freshmen in Illini history who could create as much offense against top level competition as Curbelo. When the game slows down for him and he gets used to the college game he will be lights out and a nightmare for all our opponents for years to come.....think Bobby Hurley, Chris Jackson, and the likes!!

Hurley is a good comparison.

 

[illinitiger]

I agree - much better approach with the players. Gets on them hard only when really needed - otherwise its stern corrections. He also has 'his type of guys' now on the team - so he player mentality is already there, just needs correction at time.

On BU ...I think he has "swagger" about this year. Like others have said glad he let Curbelo play through. Let him learn from his mistakes...

"Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever achieve greatly.” - Robert F. Kennedy

 

[Ga65]

My favorite part is Belo’s talks with coach when he comes off. Not sure whether he is explaining what they should do next, how the referees are screwing up, or asking how coach is doing.