Michigan State 81, Illinois 72 Postgame

[Deleted member 747802]

Brad's got to play it closer to the chest than that. He has to keep this one inside the locker room. Underwood really needs to do two things imho. First, they have to improve from the line... A lot. Kofi has to improve from the line... A lot. It's an unguarded shot for gawdsakes. Second, and I really believe this to be more critical, they have to remember to have some FUN while still playing disciplined basketball. We play tight and nervous, we make mistakes, and easy (super easy) shots don't fall. The other team smells blood in the water and the opponents suddenly look better. Our kids gotta loosen up. Izzo talked about it in the pre-Illinois presser. His team is feeling down and Izzo tells them to just play. Play solid defense. Get a rebound. Go down the court and set a good screen. Now maybe that shot falls and you get some confidence. Success leads to more success. Start small and build on it. That's it right there. We beat ourselves and opponents take advantage. We've got the talent. Just play. imho of course.

I agree here. Like I've said repeatedly, this team is very immature or fragile as far as confidence goes. I think Underwood has had to handle this team with kid gloves big time this year. Many of our guys, probably with the exception of Ayo, just do not handle adversity or success well at all and tend to either get way too confident and come out uninterested or with less than maximum intensity, or they literally get punched in the mouth and immediately want to fight in some cases or crawl into a hole in other cases. Has to be extremely frustrating for a coach, I know it sure is for a fan. That's why he gets paid the big bucks, and we will see if he can earn them in the next 4-5 weeks.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

to be fair, 3 of the fts misses were directly after taking an elbow straight to the front of the dome from a big man. You ever remember ayo missing 2 in a row? let alone 3?

Not a coincidence. I hoep he isnt concussed honestly

Plus did he hit a shot from the floor after that flagrant? He wasn’t having a good game prior to the foul, but did nothing after. Like you said, hopefully not concussed.

 

[Orange Wave]

Damonte's only shot 6 three pointer in his last 8 games. Almost feels like he's trying to protect his percentage or something. He's passing up shots that he should be firing.

He’s become an offensive liability again

 

[LostinNebraska]

One last thing...MSU had a #4 ranking back in December. They have not had a smooth year but they are way too talented for us to shoot that poorly from the line and expect to win. I know BU says it over and over but this league is a freaking minefield. Illinois is more talented but the defensive effort was mediocre for 30 minutes and we couldn't throw the ball in the ocean from the line. Time to take it out on Nebraska and run it down their throats.

 

[Johnny Lawrence]

We didn't stop the floater all night.

We have to be able to flush those.

 

[Deleted member 186590]

We’re clearly not getting the best out of the team on a consistent basis- not just the losses but the close calls against weak teams, losing at home to teams we have no business losing to- just when you thought maybe something clicked, this happens

The fact that we are capable of losing to just about anybody and can’t string many good games together does not bode well at all for the Tournament

 

[illiniguy]

Plus did he hit a shot from the floor after that flagrant? He wasn’t having a good game prior to the foul, but did nothing after. Like you said, hopefully not concussed.

Actually, Ayo stole the ball from Aaron Henry with 2 seconds left and made layup. Wasn't shown on tv because Fox was too busy showing BU and Izzo.

 

[illini80]

I don't know, the game vs Ohio is still pretty fresh. We were down with what....a minute to go? When a team misses a ton of free throws, has turnover issues and can be prone to long scoring droughts....that's generally the recipe for disaster.

Yep. Inconsistent play is not conducive to a long run in the tourney. Poor FT shooting is not conducive to a long tourney run.

 

[LvilleILL]

We are fine, as much as people overreact. We win Thursday and Saturday and we lock up a top 2-3 seed with a chance to bolster our resume big time. Also, this team is more than capable of winning the big ten tourney and getting a one seed

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

Actually, Ayo stole the ball from Aaron Henry with 2 seconds left and made layup. Wasn't shown on tv because Fox was too busy showing BU and Izzo.

Looks like he had another layup within last minute, but he did miss 3 jumpers prior to that.

 

[illini80]

Actually, Ayo stole the ball from Aaron Henry with 2 seconds left and made layup. Wasn't shown on tv because Fox was too busy showing BU and Izzo.

Not a big deal at all, but I didn’t think that was a great way to finish off a game you were outplayed.

 

[Deleted member 380722]

Not our night. Team got rattled on the road and Murphy’s law came into play. Wish we were more consistent but this team is going to have games like this. Most college teams do. Oklahoma lost to Kansas state tonight. I for one still think we will thrive in the tourney on a neutral floor. Learn from this one, let it sting, onto the next. I-L-L.

 

[lexwaldez]

I agree here. Like I've said repeatedly, this team is very immature or fragile as far as confidence goes. I think Underwood has had to handle this team with kid gloves big time this year. Many of our guys, probably with the exception of Ayo, just do not handle adversity or success well at all and tend to either get way too confident and come out uninterested or with less than maximum intensity, or they literally get punched in the mouth and immediately want to fight in some cases or crawl into a hole in other cases. Has to be extremely frustrating for a coach, I know it sure is for a fan. That's why he gets paid the big bucks, and we will see if he can earn them in the next 4-5 weeks.

You are so right. You see other teams get into our players head right on the court. Georgi gets baited in front of the ref and says something stupid - boom. T. They lack discipline, confidence, and mental toughness. They know what to do. They have the talent to do it. They just... don't.

 

[JSpence]

We are fine, as much as people overreact. We win Thursday and Saturday and we lock up a top 2-3 seed with a chance to bolster our resume big time. Also, this team is more than capable of winning the big ten tourney and getting a one seed

Honestly, seed hardly matters for a team capable of beating or losing to anyone. They are highly talented, but a wildcard at heart.

As much as it's EVER been true for a team, it is up to them if they make it to the Elite Eight and beyond. Everyone will have seen it coming whether they win, lose, or draw.

 

[lexwaldez]

The faster we play, the less we think. When we play fast we play loose. When we get inside our own heads we tend to implode. We've gutted it out a few times this year, which is NICE. They have shown some resiliency (credit where credit is due), but tonight it was too little too late.

 

[Deleted member 380722]

That's just it. The faster we play, the less we think. When we play fast we play loose. When we get inside our own heads we tend to implode. We've gutted it out a few times this year, which is NICE. They have shown some resiliency (credit where credit is due), but tonight it was too little too late.

If anything this team needs to slow down at times, but unfortunately our half-court offense tends to go on the fritz when we do.

 

[lexwaldez]

There have been plenty of games where we've played down to the competition. Unforced turnovers, poor shot selection, failing to block out, missing free throws... what's it take to alarm you? Like... a fire? This isn't overreacting to one loss. It's looking at a tendency to underperform in certain areas all year long. We could easily lose a first round game or make it to the final four. We're jekyl and hyde. We're the cardiac kids. I never know what to expect vs a good or bad team.

 

[POWURR]

This board seems to be buzzing when we lose. Chill

 

[JFGsCoffeeMug]

Don't disagree with BU's approach to the postgame conference. We can't dwell on this game; we have two more games to play this week. Almost everything that could go wrong, went wrong, and we still had a chance to make it competitive near the end.

The team spent 30 seconds watching film from the Minnesota game. Give this game the same treatment. Come out sharper on Thursday.

 

[BlueLeader]

We are fine, as much as people overreact. We win Thursday and Saturday and we lock up a top 2-3 seed with a chance to bolster our resume big time. Also, this team is more than capable of winning the big ten tourney and getting a one seed

Honestly I'd rather have a 4 seed and be in the MI / OSU quad than a 2 or 3 with baylor or zags.

 

[hoopsfan47]

We’re clearly not getting the best out of the team on a consistent basis- not just the losses but the close calls against weak teams, losing at home to teams we have no business losing to- just when you thought maybe something clicked, this happens

The fact that we are capable of losing to just about anybody and can’t string many good games together does not bode well at all for the Tournament

Posted a similar conclusion on the game thread and you are spot on IMHO, Henson71. Teams that advance to the FF or CG have to be consistent and dependable. And talent level, physical and skillwise, is not as separating a factor as some would like to believe. But hoops IQ, the understanding of how to play and react quickly on both ends is huge. We often see teams come out hyped to the clouds, running and gunning, giving us a stiff neck in 5-7 minutes like those who watch a tennis match from the front row at the net. And after 5-7 minutes, neither team has reached double figures because of the turnovers, air balls, and charging fouls. But at another site, a slower, more methodical group who learned to play THE GAME, can be depended upon as a team to hit 55% from inside and 40% outside the arc, moving the ball quickly, with 6-9 turnovers a night, blocking out, always getting the weakside defender to cover, never being called for a moving pick, and a thousand other "little things" that are ingrained in their play. And they make the FF or sectional final while teams like Illinois, who could win on a given night against the very best, are home watching after getting beat by Ohio, Austin Peay, or the like. Consistency pays off big time when you have 7-8 guys who play the game right every night and play to the wire late into the dance while others are watching their own highlight dunks...at home. Now, when you have talented, athletic teams who are well coached and loaded with high hoops IQ guys, like the '76 Hoosiers and '05 Illini, they can play any style. Such teams can be beaten on cold shooting nights, which happen to every team.....but they can be depended upon to always make a considerable number of "smart" plays and keep the blunders pretty low...every game. Unfortunately, we have no idea whether this Illini team will play smart or blunder there way through 40 minutes of frustration...and that makes their NCAA future look to be a huge question mark. We all wish it were not true, but we all have also seen enough to know it is. But we all will be locked in come March Madness, wondering which end of the curve will dominate the chatter after the next game is played. And we all know that curve is as wide as they come. But we are all "Loyal to you... Illinois"!

 

[Chitownkid]

No calls but we shot 34 free throws. Got it.

And they were out toughed. Michigan state came out physical and we didn’t. Any time a team plays us rough we get frustrated and can’t hit free throws

I’d love to see you tell Ayo that he should have just been tougher on that flagrant foul.

 

[kyillinifan]

We make free throws we win the game. When Kofi missed his first set of free throws I knew it was over. Teams are going to play jack a Kofi. Ayo left free throws on the line. Andre missed. GB gets stuffed by the rim. Ayo missed a point blank bunny. What else can be said?

 

[RML]

I didn't watch the post game, but the thoughts keeping me awake are:
-Missing our first free throw did indeed foretell a jittery night. (We missed our first one in the second half, too.) I'm so tempted to check our season stats on that. For this team, I think missing that first one both shows existing jitteriness and causes continued jitteriness. In this case, some of that nervousness seemed to have been caused by MSU 's aggressiveness. Kudos to them for that.
-I thought we were pretty good defensively, EXCEPT FOR giving up offensive rebounds. Apart from those, I don't remember MSU getting much inside, and their midrange shots seemed to be pretty well defended. But they made them, so kudos again to them.
-Offensively, they were vigorously challenging everything at the rim. Good gameplan, even if it did lead to three of their bigs fouling out. You want to be able to counter that with outside shooting, Combined, Miller, Grandison, and Williams only took 2 threes (even with MSU apparently sagging off Williams), and didn't make either one.
-Would like to hope that a resurging MSU could pin a loss or two on Michigan, but they did not show that they can defend the 3, and I expect Michigan can eat them alive from deep.

 

[ChocolateThunder]

Lots of blame to go around, but I think part of it is that we aren't going to win a lot of games where Kofi both has early foul trouble and struggles to hit FTs. Basically neutralizes everything we're trying to do with him.

Agreed, KC misses 8 or 9 free throws that is really a momemtum killer, often the equivalent of a turnover. As others have suggested, kicking the ball back out when doubled and tripled needs to happen, at this point in the season I'm not overly optimist.