I disagree with this take... Giorgi was absolutely fantastic against IU and pretty good against Wisconsin. I think he gets his role. He wasn’t the the only one to leave his A game back in Champaign last night. Luckily we snatched away the win.
Illinois 77, Nebraska 72 OT Postgame
I'm wondering myself how Hamlin doesn't even see the floor .A 7 footer can definitely give the team a few minutes here and there . Hell he can't be any worse then GB . And we definitely need another point guard to back up Trent . AC keeps doing the same crap almost every game . Yes he is young .Yes he will learn eventually . But he needs to stop the circus shots and turnovers. I know everyone is dazzled by a few passes and assists and the fact that he dribbles tennis balls . Underwood needs to reel him in a little when he starts acting like he is a Globetrotter . The kid can be unbelievably good at times .
Makes sense. Thanks.
that about sums it up.
RedRocksIllini
- Morrison, CO
That one still stings. Funny I was just thinking about that game while watching the game last night. This year's team has all of zero games of tourney experience to understand that you can't take any team lightly at the dance. I think this year's team can have a really special run IF they survive the first weekend.
As if there is no home cooking in NCAA? Please.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Not only this...but again, let's all step back just a bit from the single game hot takes about individuals that have a bad game (or even a couple bad plays) during this insanity. Specifically Giorgi. Go watch his B1G spotlight video of his lockdown/family talk. That will stick with me forever. That dudes commitment for the last year? C'mon.
The same with Trent, DMFW, Ayo, Kofi, Ace....all of them busting their arses to bring us/them something special this year.
This is one of the most special teams we've ever had at Illinois. Full stop. Two POY candidates. Two kids (Trent, DMFW) that never wavered through some of the worst years of this program. I'm on this ride until it crashes, no matter how spectacularly good, or bad.
Ride or die b@#ches!
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FeelYourPaign
- So Cal
Agreed. I only saw the last few minutes, but watching Kofi clang the front of the rim on FT's, I couldn't imagine why he would be on the floor in a must foul situation.
texillwek
🔶🔹🔸🔷
Well said, DubNot only this...but again, let's all step back just a bit from the single game hot takes about individuals that have a bad game during this insanity. Specifically Giorgi. Go watch his B1G spotlight video of his lockdown/family talk. That will stick with me forever. That dudes commitment for the last year? C'mon.
The same with Trent, DMFW, Ayo, Kofi, Ace....all of them busting their arses to bring us/them something special this year.
This is one of the most special teams we've ever had at Illinois. Full stop. Two POY candidates. Two kids (Trent, DMFW) that never wavered through some of the worst years of this program. I'm on this ride until it crashes, no matter how spectacularly good, or bad.
Ride or die b@#ches!
FYI, we were down 9-0 and lifeless when Curbelo came in and made things happen to get us turned around. That contribution may have saved us. I don’t like when he is going like a bat out of hell, but you have to take the good with the bad. As his game matures and his teammates play into his game, goods will be more and bads will be less.
A win is a win particularly on the road, but the continued inconsistant play of this team is disturbing. One miss step in the tourney will send this team home.
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TheFameProtector
- Champaign
Did anybody get the sense that Miller was pretty frustrated last night? Saw what *appeared* to be some tough talk coming his way from Ayo late in the game too. Can't tell if it was just heat of the game stuff, if he was down on himself for missing plays/shots, if that's just how they communicate and push each other, or if there was a bit of internal strife. I've always thought it might be tough for him to feel like he's back to being Ayo's little brother after stepping outside his shadow at MP the last two years, but perhaps I am reading into things that don't -- and hopefully don't -- exist.
Giorgi was far from fantastic against Indiana, he fouled out in less than 15 minutes (got to be some kind of record). He was at best average against Bucky. He has had exactly 3 decent games this year, Duke, Baylor and @ Rutgers. The rest of the season has been below average. In fact Torvik has now dropped him out of the top 90 players in the BIG....not good. And the trash talking to the refs and other players is hurting us. . I can't think of one Illini player in my 45 years of fandom that has dropped from All Big Freshman and all world to totally non relevant. We need the "good Giorgi" but time is running out.
A lot of talk about how well Nebraska shot last night. They shot 36.9% from the field. Their season average is 40.6%. I will concede, their 35% from 3 was an improvement over their season average of 31.1%, but still, they were largely the poor shooting team they usually are. They beat us on the boards, and nabbed 15 offensive rebounds. Outhustled just like in prior games we've underperformed. Luckily the talent difference was (barely) enough to bridge the effort gap this time.
Retro62
- North Bethesda, Maryland
This is not only an important point, but it also may be part of Curbelo’s mindset, “I need to be the sparkplug,” which may be why he forces things sometimes. I think it will different when he is called on to manage the game as the lead PG.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I made it a point to wait until today to comment much on the game, but here are some thoughts of mine:
1) Thank GOD Ayo and Kofi chose to come here and especially to return for this season. Nothing against our other players (the gratitude we owe to Frazier's YEARS of contribution or Williams' defense, for example, can't be overstated), but those decisions catapulted us back into the status we enjoyed for most of this program's modern history. I don't need to spell out just what Ayo meant during crunch time last night, obviously, but the announcers pointed out several times some great moves that Kofi made to make those drives possible. It goes against our romantic ideas of things like the movie Hoosiers, but at the end of the day ... it's imperative that you have more talent than the other team. You can work on the other stuff.
2) Yes, we had another slow start and I was as frustrated as anyone else. However, Nebraska is not the perpetual doormat their record indicates, and they have some players. Don't get me wrong, we should have won comfortably and in regulation, but we are going to get everyone's best shot when we have #6 next to our names, and Nebraska gave us their best performance of the year on their home court in a game where we were off. And we won. Let's not pretend like this hasn't happened before to plenty of teams we look back on with rose-tinted glasses, guys:
2001
#7 Illinois W 55-51 at Michigan (finished 10-18 and 4-12 in B1G)
2002
#9 Illinois L 84-74 at Purdue (finished 13-18 and 5-11 in B1G)
2004
#25 Illinois L 70-60 at Northwestern (finished 14-15 and 8-8 in B1G)
Illinois W 51-49 at Indiana (finished 14-15 and 7-9 in B1G)
#18 Illinois W 81-79 (in OT) at Purdue (finished 17-14 and 7-9 in B1G)
2005
#1 Illinois W 57-51 at Michigan (finished 13-18 and 4-12 in B1G)
Every single one of those teams not only won the Big Ten Championship but also made it to at least the Sweet Sixteen (with 2001 going to the Elite Eight and 2005 all the way to the Championship Game, obviously). As long as we pull these out and still show up for big games like Wisconsin with the energy that we do, I mean ... I can only complain so much!
1) Thank GOD Ayo and Kofi chose to come here and especially to return for this season. Nothing against our other players (the gratitude we owe to Frazier's YEARS of contribution or Williams' defense, for example, can't be overstated), but those decisions catapulted us back into the status we enjoyed for most of this program's modern history. I don't need to spell out just what Ayo meant during crunch time last night, obviously, but the announcers pointed out several times some great moves that Kofi made to make those drives possible. It goes against our romantic ideas of things like the movie Hoosiers, but at the end of the day ... it's imperative that you have more talent than the other team. You can work on the other stuff.
2) Yes, we had another slow start and I was as frustrated as anyone else. However, Nebraska is not the perpetual doormat their record indicates, and they have some players. Don't get me wrong, we should have won comfortably and in regulation, but we are going to get everyone's best shot when we have #6 next to our names, and Nebraska gave us their best performance of the year on their home court in a game where we were off. And we won. Let's not pretend like this hasn't happened before to plenty of teams we look back on with rose-tinted glasses, guys:
2001
#7 Illinois W 55-51 at Michigan (finished 10-18 and 4-12 in B1G)
2002
#9 Illinois L 84-74 at Purdue (finished 13-18 and 5-11 in B1G)
2004
#25 Illinois L 70-60 at Northwestern (finished 14-15 and 8-8 in B1G)
Illinois W 51-49 at Indiana (finished 14-15 and 7-9 in B1G)
#18 Illinois W 81-79 (in OT) at Purdue (finished 17-14 and 7-9 in B1G)
2005
#1 Illinois W 57-51 at Michigan (finished 13-18 and 4-12 in B1G)
Every single one of those teams not only won the Big Ten Championship but also made it to at least the Sweet Sixteen (with 2001 going to the Elite Eight and 2005 all the way to the Championship Game, obviously). As long as we pull these out and still show up for big games like Wisconsin with the energy that we do, I mean ... I can only complain so much!
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
They for sure out hustled us for at least the first 30 min. And some of their shots in the first half were just rolling in...with a foul even. Reminded me of the Rutgers game. Their shooting % definitely took a hit in the last 10-15 minutes of the game. They had at least one 5 min 0 fg's stretch, and we locked down on D when it mattered.
The rest of these B1G road games are not going to be easy at all. None of them. And if we make any of them look easy...that's our potential.
Underwood's substitution pattern has gotten to be very John Groce like.
Deleted member 4333
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TheFameProtector
- Champaign
Nebraska seemed to be very similar to the Maryland game. A less talented squad but lots of length. We continue to struggle against teams that have lots of length at the 2-4 spots and can get in passing lanes and disrupt drives, even if their big man is outmatched (though Walker played an awesome game). Sure hope we don't get a first weekend matchup against a similarly-styled team.
Illini92and96
- Austin, TX
Didn’t watch the game. Why did granionson (sp) only play 5 minutes?
Honestly, the NET doesn’t matter right now either with where we are and who is in front of us. Take care of business in the BIG and the rankings will work themselves out just fine.
I don’t think so. This was one of the better games Miller has played in a while.
Man, I don't know these kids personally, but I think you're reading way too much into a moment of a tight game. Both guys seem to be easily able to get over heat from a loss, and they ended up winning anyway.
Yes, AM is the younger star playing through a role change. He knew what he was signing up for and it would be weird if he didn't look for and accept leadership from Ayo. If the two start NOT talking, then we can say that there's something wrong.