Michigan State 81, Illinois 72 Postgame

[Champaignheat]

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

Sorry to disagree but I think this statement is way overblown. I understand we lost. We also have had close games. But so has everyone else in the country other than Gonzaga and Baylor (until last night). Remember, Ohio St. lost to Northwestern, Michigan lost to Minnesota by 17.

Your statement that we can’t string many good games together is funny as we just had a SEVEN game winning streak snapped of which 5 were consider Quad 1 or 2 wins.

I am as disappointed as everyone that we lost, but the team has been pretty good against an incredibly tough schedule.

 

[pruman91]

I agree wholeheartedly on the poorly called game. The plays you mentioned plus the one flop call on Trent was a no contact call.
Kofi was assaulted under the basket several times and there was no call. All that being said, Illinois still could have pulled it out if they had shot better from the line.
This really is a glaring weakness of this team. Especially Kofi. He has regressed in that department from last year. Granted he is probably getting more attempts this year, but that was to be expected. From the looks of it, his form is pretty good. He just needs to shoot 500 more in practice than he does now. If a team knows if they can foul him and it’s essentially a 50/50 chance he makes the top end of a 1/1 then keep fouling him. If they got them to give. But better teams will have them to give due to depth. The rest of the team is a toss up. Ayo and Trent are usually pretty good. The rest, just seems to be up and down. In the Minnesota game they all seemed to shoot above there avg. I could be wrong but without pulling up the stats, they did score over 90 points. Last night was the polar opposite. And they lost. Free throws are going to be crucial. I hope they can clean that part up. Go Illini!!!

watched some of kofi shooting fts last year and compared it to this year....last year he always bounced the ball 3 times before shooting....this year he is only bouncing the ball once and on occasion twice before shooting ...don't know if that really matters but the majority of his ft misses are when he releases the shot flat footed....when his release is smooth he usually raises his heel up and follows thru completely thru the shot...
probably due to fatigue and its why Brad 90 % of the time subs kofi out within one to one and a half minutes before a media timeout to give him as much rest as possible...
Last nite was an abortion of an exciting basketball game as the 3 blind mice lost control of whatever mental capacity they ever had to call a proper game...
msu would have fouled out their entire team if called properly ...hand checking like purdont and thuggery like old piston team makes for a mucked up game, but i would change the first letter of mucked to a different letter......

Trying to understand B1G refs is perplexing at best and infuriating at worst

I'm pruman91 and I approve this message !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[I11ini82]

Nebraska and Northwestern are terrible. Alot of teams with great talent, can play horribly and still beat them, which is what Illinois did. Nebraska is 1-12 in the conference. You really think a top 5 team in the nation, that gets taken to OT against them, is playing anything but bad?

If you think we played average vs Nebraska, then we're not a top 5 team. Because an top 5 team playing average ball should beat a Nebraska team by 20+

The spread was like 12. The bold statement is just patently false.

 

[Gregjacksonfan]

Besides the poor shooting and weak rebounding which we have seen before, the most glaring weakness I see on this team is the lack of an additional scoring threat. It's too bad Miller is so inconsistent because it would really make it tougher to defend us. Maybe someone will step up but if not it really puts the pressure on the ones we have that can score.

Scoring is not the problem. We are averaging over 80 points per game. Top 15 in the nation. Being able to stop a talented 6’7 wing seems to me to be the bigger issue

 

[rtbritt]

Does Belo need to launch five 3's per game? Of course not. We need him to avoid the Jaylon Tate treatment where it's 5 on 4 out there. Thankfully he can break almost anyone down with the dribble, but less bodies in the paint around Kofi is a plus.

He doesn't really need to shoot 3's this year. The chances of Belo making a 3 are a whole lot less than him getting in the lane for a layup, draw the foul, layup for someone else, or kick out to a shooter with a better chance of making that 3!

Jaylon Tate didn't have a skill set on offense that was playable in the Big Ten. He didn't have a weapon, at all. Belo is a threat on the court on offense even without the 3 pt shot this year.

 

[Chillinini]

Watching the repeat of last night’s KSU/Okie game. Would love to see an early season tournament next year hosted by us with KSU, Okie, KU, Akron, SMU, Tarleton St, UTSA, Wright st.

 

[doowink]

Inconsistency.....that's what I'm seeing from this team....no I don't expect a perfect game, nor do I expect a flop(like last night) every time out....but somewhere in between those 2 performances would be great....I realize there will be occasional good games(Miny, Purdue, Iowa) and occasional bad games( last night, Northwestern, Nebraska)...but there's a trend of us playing up then down that makes this team very suspect to an early out in the tourney...or they could win it all...who knows......take the Miny game 11-11 from ft line 1st half.....against Sparty nearly the opposite....I could go on with turnovers and some decision making skills....but imho... we're just to inconsistent to be a real lock to win the B10 tourney or make a deep run in ncaa.....gonna sit back and enjoy and try not to become too frustrated

 

[TheFameProtector]

That was a disappointing loss, and its a bummer that the Big Ten title is now out of reach (and Ayo probably just lost his shot at POY). But, it likely wouldn't have happened anyways, so...learn from it and move on. I'm not taking too much away from this in the context of the tournament. Yes, we're inconsistent, but I'll be surprised if we come out that dead right out of the gate when everybody's energy will be at an all time high. We looked frustrated and unfocused from the start and that permeated everything.

I am worried about teams zeroing in on our few glaring weaknesses and that being our death knell. In particular, forcing us to make FTs and loading up on Ayo's right and neutralizing his brilliance. Those issues aren't between the ears, and that is more worrisome.

All in all, the most important thing coming out of this game is that Ayo is alright after taking a killer blow to the dome. Now that we're out of the title race, that is all that matters moving forward.

 

[KevinC]

I can't believe all the "MSU is a good team" takes. When exactly did they become a good team? They weren't good a month ago when they put up just 37 on Rutgers. And they weren't good 10 days before they trounced us, when they got beat by 30 at home to Iowa. The Big 10 is on track to send a record number of teams to the tournament, and MSU probably isn't one of them. Their record before last night reads as mediocre at best, so maybe everything clicked just in time to beat us. Or maybe we played poorly and beat ourselves. I guess we will know after we see what MSU does going forward, but I think the explanation that the dormant giant was awakened just in time to beat us is the less likely possibility.

Most of what I see has been that MSU has some great basketball players. Until recently they had not shown the ability to replace Cassius Winston's recognition on the floor. They seem to be doing that in their last two games. Covid wiped out spring and summer so, that had to be a huge hindrance in training others to assume that role. It takes time. They only have a few games left in an exceptionally tough league so, who knows what their record will be in the end. We can't just keep acting like we out-talented them so, we should have won. There is little difference in the individual talent of the two teams. It doesn't work that way in a league as tough as the B1G.

 

[KevinC]

And that was the turdburger of a game I was expecting after a near perfect game in Minnesota.
Obviously, I don’t expect them to win every game, but what I would like to see is some consistency.
That will be the issue come tournament time.
Can they win four or five games in a row on the road against good teams???

The thing that is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
FRUSTRATING ARE THE MISSED FREE THROWS.

Jesus H. It’s essentially a fundamental of the game that every single player on that team has done from the moment the picked up a ball.
To watch players shoot well below there average at the fee throw line just makes me want to rip the tv off the wall!!!
They are going to need to pretty much run the table to get a one seed at this point.
It’s hard to say which Illinois team will show up. The one that lit Minnesota up on it home court or the one that can’t make a free throw, a layup, or a dunk under the basket??? Who knows?
But I do know this. If it is a close game and it comes down to free throws. We are as good as done. These kids can’t make them. And that is the biggest Achilles heal to this team. Foul Kofi. And it’s as good as a guarantee that he will turn two points into one 56% of the time.
I am hoping the team that showed up in Minnesota shows up from here on out. It can’t just be Ayo and Kofi. Trent has been playing well. The remaining cast needs to take a deep breath and bare down. It’s been a long time since Illinois has been this good. An even longer time since the blue bloods were this bad. And next is a big unknown. So, I hope these guys get it together because it will all be over in 6 weeks. The season is now!!!!
Go Illini!

It is amazing how many times, late in games, that we have stayed in the game or, won it, because of made free throws. Somehow though, those moments must not have been shown.

 

[KevinC]

Inconsistency.....that's what I'm seeing from this team....no I don't expect a perfect game, nor do I expect a flop(like last night) every time out....but somewhere in between those 2 performances would be great....I realize there will be occasional good games(Miny, Purdue, Iowa) and occasional bad games( last night, Northwestern, Nebraska)...but there's a trend of us playing up then down that makes this team very suspect to an early out in the tourney...or they could win it all...who knows......take the Miny game 11-11 from ft line 1st half.....against Sparty nearly the opposite....I could go on with turnovers and some decision making skills....but imho... we're just to inconsistent to be a real lock to win the B10 tourney or make a deep run in ncaa.....gonna sit back and enjoy and try not to become too frustrated

Best conference in the country by far!! There are NO easy games! If we bring the same intensity and fight that we had last night, there are very few out-of-conference teams that have the same ability.

 

[Innocent Primate]

IMHO, this team has several glaring weaknesses.

(1) An inability to convert free throws at an acceptable rate.

(2) The seeming inability of Kofi to recognize when he should be looking for perimeter shooters to dish to. He also seems to only have the capability of scoring when he is right next to the basket, however, as long as he draws the defense in and evidences the willingness and ability to feed perimeter shooters I’m willing to give him a pass on this.

(3) A seeming inability or hesitancy of any 3 or 4 to put the ball on the deck and attack the basket.

(4) The seeming passive offensive nature (some might even go so far as to say timidity) of some perimeter players. As John Wooden noted, passing up a good shot is as bad as taking a bad one. This only compounds the scoring difficulties other players face on the offensive end.

(5) The seeming inability of any players other than Ayo, Kofi and Trent to consistently contribute offensively to any appreciably impactful extent.

Now, I’m willing to concede that some of these are attributable to how young this team is. Whether some or any of these can be corrected in time to impact what this team accomplishes the rest of the year is unknown.

 

[pruman91]

Good afternoon Illini nation........Chris Walken here with the Walken Warriors Weekly........
we have new lowlights just released by the BTN regarding last nights Illini-msu game........enjoy........

larry, we really need this game....you got the $$$ didn't you ?

Yeah, I got it ....don't worry Tommy....tell your team to do whatever they want to do..it's in the bag....

hey guys, look who's reffin tonight !!!!!! flagrant 2 fury on all Illini...no worries...

make sure to spread the wealth to your amigos Larry....comprenday muchacho ??..thats code here at msu

I love my yob, man !!!!

Well there you have it Illini nation....another day in B1G Basketball,,,,,,

 

[1LL1NO1S]

A question for the readers that understand the X's and O's of basketball much better than I do:

One thing I haven't noticed being mentioned here was the defense on pick and rolls. It seemed to me like we were always going over the ball screen allowing the ball carrier to drive the lane and take a lot of shots within 8 ft of the basket. To my knowledge, MSU isn't a great 3 pt shooting team (idk i could be wrong). Why wouldn't we go under the screens, dissolve the pick and roll situation, and force them to shoot from deep?

 

[pruman91]

https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/threads/the-midget-ref-at-the-end-of-the-game.180496/ report....february 2017
Here they are:
Larry Scirotto

navyrules said:


Larry Scirotto

Scirotto...asst police chief in pitt pa. Seems to like izzo a lot.

 

[LostinNebraska]

One more gripe on the officiating and then I'm going to burn this game out of my memory. Bingham scored an and-1 dunk with about 13 minutes left that looked like a clear basket interference. The ball was literally sitting, in physical contact and halfway within the cylinder of the rim, when he shoved it through the basket.

 

[Deleted member 11228]

One more gripe on the officiating and then I'm going to burn this game out of my memory. Bingham scored an and-1 dunk with about 13 minutes left that looked like a clear basket interference. The ball was literally sitting, in physical contact and halfway within the cylinder of the rim, when he shoved it through the basket.

I'm glad I wasn't the only one thinking this.

 

[LostinNebraska]

A question for the readers that understand the X's and O's of basketball much better than I do:

One thing I haven't noticed being mentioned here was the defense on pick and rolls. It seemed to me like we were always going over the ball screen allowing the ball carrier to drive the lane and take a lot of shots within 8 ft of the basket. To my knowledge, MSU isn't a great 3 pt shooting team (idk i could be wrong). Why wouldn't we go under the screens, dissolve the pick and roll situation, and force them to shoot from deep?

I really don't want to rewatch this game, but there are guys on MSU that you don't want to give open looks from 3...and there are guys you do. Langford in particular, I would think you would always want to go over the screen. Watts, not so much. MSU is not great from deep this year, but they do tend to take a lot of them. They only attempted 8 against us, which is way below normal for them.

 

[Deleted member 747802]

https://iowa.forums.rivals.com/threads/the-midget-ref-at-the-end-of-the-game.180496/ report....february 2017
Here they are:
Larry Scirotto





Scirotto...asst police chief in pitt pa. Seems to like izzo a lot.

Correction: Former, "retired" asst police chief in pitt pa. He has applied for just about every semi-major city chief position that has come open but for some reason just has not been able to make the final cut. Wish he would land one as he would surely be forced to give up his "reffing" gig.

Edit: also, seems unusual that a 47 year old would retire from an asst chief position, no?

 

[Deleted member 747802]

I really don't want to rewatch this game, but there are guys on MSU that you don't want to give open looks from 3...and there are guys you do. Langford in particular, I would think you would always want to go over the screen. Watts, not so much. MSU is not great from deep this year, but they do tend to take a lot of them. They only attempted 8 against us, which is way below normal for them.

We always, without exception go over the top of screens. I assume it is to guard agains the 3, but it often results in our defensive guy being on the hip of the offensive player going to the basket. Also, although many teams employ moving screens, every other team besides us knows 1) how to set a screen and 2) how to use said screen as a ball handler. To me, this is one of my biggest complaints with the coaching staff. Poor screening fundamentals both offensively and defensively. Another example of poor attention to detail; not sure by our coaches or our players.

 

[Chieeeeeef]

Underwood's postgame has to be one of the more unexpected, bizarre interviews I have seen. I mean, maybe it's just me but I could almost sense the frustration (not anger, I think that's too strong) under the surface. Maybe I'm making something out of nothing, but his postgame attitude did not match his demeanor from the few times I saw him during the game. And the question about what he said to his boss sitting court side, that was interesting. I'm guessing his true feelings are not as simple as "it was one of those nights," and "we will get them next time." Again, maybe it's me but it seemed weird and certainly not what I expected to hear.

I agree. It was not a typical thoughtful/eloquent post game presser for BU. I think he worked very hard to mask the frustration and his true feelings about this game. He's not a "it was one of those nights" kind of guy. No praise for Izzo, and BU ALWAYS praises the opposing coach. He stated they knew MSU would "muck it up", and I do not think that's true or the Illini would have handled it better than they did. My thoughts are he was pissed about how physical (dirty?) the game was, and the "Izzo" mystique with officials. If they foul multiple times on each interior pass to Kofi, he knows they won't call every one...they can't or it will go down as one of those "ref games". Izzo was working them the entire game and it worked. I think BU was certainly surprised and possibly thought Izzo may be above that...not a chance.

 

[greyghost70]

Curbelo was a liability in the first half but at the end of the game he was bringing great energy. That was a bright spot that the rest of the team can build on.

It kills me that any Illinois fan would think Curbelo was a liability in this game.

Curbelo 12 points 4 rebounds 2 assists
Miller 2 points 0 rebounds 1 assist both points were free throws
Williams 0 points 7 rebounds 2 assists no shots for the game
Giorgi 0 points 4 rebounds 0 assists blew 1 assist for Curbelo when he pinned his dunk attempt to the rim.

I have no clue how anyone could think that Curbelo didn't bring more to the table than any of the other three. Unbelievable.

 

[Illiniguy13]

Scoring is not the problem. We are averaging over 80 points per game. Top 15 in the nation. Being able to stop a talented 6’7 wing seems to me to be the bigger issue

It’s nice knowing we have two long 6’7” athletes coming in next year.

 

[WizardBill]

Scoring is not the problem. We are averaging over 80 points per game. Top 15 in the nation. Being able to stop a talented 6’7 wing seems to me to be the bigger issue

THIS. Right here will end any final four NC hopes.

 

[KevinC]

It kills me that any Illinois fan would think Curbelo was a liability in this game.

Curbelo 12 points 4 rebounds 2 assists
Miller 2 points 0 rebounds 1 assist both points were free throws
Williams 0 points 7 rebounds 2 assists no shots for the game
Giorgi 0 points 4 rebounds 0 assists blew 1 assist for Curbelo when he pinned his dunk attempt to the rim.

I have no clue how anyone could think that Curbelo didn't bring more to the table than any of the other three. Unbelievable.

You are obviously looking only at stats to make your determinations.