Pregame: Illinois at Michigan, Tuesday, March 2nd, 6:00pm CT, ESPN

[othawhitemeat]

If anybody needs a little extra fire for tomorrow

I love those jerseys though.

 

[Lexis20]

Can't believe I just watched the ending again. Maybe I was hoping for a different outcome? So sad.

I was there, 3rd row, sitting behind the Lakers (in town to play the Sonics) and next to Bill Walton standing in the tunnel...had long convo's with Walton throughout the game...was there to celebrate the Nat'l Title for the Illini..thought it was a sure thing after Syracuse game...so much talent with the Illini, Mich, Syracuse, Louisville teams

 

[logjam]

Correct, assault charges from his girlfriend before he played a game for the Shockers - then to a community college (where he led the nation in scoring), and then Lincoln.
The odds were never in favor of him having a long stay here. Hopefully, someday, he gets his head straight. I feel bad for him but he's running out of opportunities.
Anyway, I think the guys should play happy and free Tuesday. Michigan is a tough matchup. They're playing well, have weapons at every spot, and we're down our All American. But I expect Trent to give Mike Smith trouble initiating their offense and hopefully keeps him from going off. It's a rare case where he has a size advantage, in addition to his usual defensive tenacity. I think Grandison will take Wagner initially, with DMFW matching up on Livers. Grandison needs to body Wagner and not let him get loose inside the paint. He can get derailed by physical defense. Miller will probably take Brooks, which I think is another good matchup in our favor on both ends. Kofi and Dickinson is an interesting one. Dickinson has a pretty good mid-range game in addition to his baby hooks. Keeping him off the offensive glass is going to take multiple bodies. If we can go at him early and pickup a couple of quick fouls, we've got a punchers chance at winning this, Ayo or not. Another thought, is that Michigan really is getting very little production from their bench. Brown gets the bulk of the minutes as the sixth man, and I haven't seen enough of him to have much of an opinion. I think playing with pace (7 seconds or less) and our perimeter guys being aggressive in driving the basket and not settling for 3s early will be the key to the game. If Dickinson has to help on D, Kofi will eat him up on putbacks/lobs.

As BU said in his presser...Bring it!

 

[SuperMetroid]

If anybody needs a little extra fire for tomorrow

 

[FromTheLogo]

Another thought, is that Michigan really is getting very little production from their bench.

Bingo. Talented: yes. Deep: No. They play 6 impact guys. Livers scares me the most. IMO, I think our offense will struggle at times, but it is time for Trent to shine offensively. If he does, we have a chance.

 

[LostinNebraska]

One other thing...it's one of the rare matchups for Kofi this year where I don't expect him to have to worry about pick-and-pops by the other 5. Iowa runs that action all the time with Garza, Minnesota tried (Robbins is a pretty good 3 pt shooter when healthy), OSU with Liddell, PSU, Wisconsin with both Reuvers and Potter, MSU with Hauser, etc.
Dickinson does all his damage within 7 feet of the basket, and nearly always from the left post. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

 

[LostinNebraska]

Anyway, I think the guys should play happy and free Tuesday. Michigan is a tough matchup. They're playing well, have weapons at every spot, and we're down our All American. But I expect Trent to give Mike Smith trouble initiating their offense and hopefully keeps him from going off. It's a rare case where he has a size advantage, in addition to his usual defensive tenacity. I think Grandison will take Wagner initially, with DMFW matching up on Livers. Grandison needs to body Wagner and not let him get loose inside the paint. He can get derailed by physical defense. Miller will probably take Brooks, which I think is another good matchup in our favor on both ends. Kofi and Dickinson is an interesting one. Dickinson has a pretty good mid-range game in addition to his baby hooks. Keeping him off the offensive glass is going to take multiple bodies. If we can go at him early and pickup a couple of quick fouls, we've got a punchers chance at winning this, Ayo or not. Another thought, is that Michigan really is getting very little production from their bench. Brown gets the bulk of the minutes as the sixth man, and I haven't seen enough of him to have much of an opinion. I think playing with pace (7 seconds or less) and our perimeter guys being aggressive in driving the basket and not settling for 3s early will be the key to the game. If Dickinson has to help on D, Kofi will eat him up on putbacks/lobs.

 

[pruman91]

Michigan also lost by 18 to a Minnesota team that we annihilated twice. It's going to be all about the individual match-ups.

BINGO......common sense post.....who knows whats gonna happen till they tip off...We might shoot 80 % and make 40 straight FT'S.......
Now, stats are a reason to suspect this or that will happen, but to base anything about scUM vs. Illini happening is just a hunch.....
It will be another rockfight in the B1G between the # 3 and # 4 teams in the NATION......
I'm concerned about who the refs will be, moreso than what we did against other teams and vice versa......Anyone saying that who refs the game isn't a big deal hasn't been watching much B1G games this year.....worst fear is Larry S. , DJ bald head ref and that blind older black ref who missed the Aaron H. leg deflection and many others against Prickan U and whiny crybaby coach Ezzo......

 

[pruman91]

Lol. I know we can beat Michigan if everything falls right, but if they play the way they have been it’s going to be tough and even if Ayo plays, he’s not likely to be as sharp as he has been lately while wearing a mask and missing the last 2 games.

Trent Meachem talked on one of the post game shows about how he really likes how Michigan is playing. He got roasted pretty good. It was hilarious and he rolled with it perfectly.

Never underestimate the will of Ayo....NEVER....he came back for a reason and if he plays, I fully expect he will be as good as ever......

 

[illiniguy24]

They will decide if Ayo plays a couple of hours before the game tomorrow from what I've heard-he's 50-50 right now.
With that being said, don't be surprised to see Ayo play tomorrow night.

Would potentially work well for us if he played but kept his minutes low. Maybe 15-20 minutes, with hopefully the most important of them being the end of the game.

 

[skibdaddy]

It seems like if we make it a track meet we will have a punchers chance. If it gets slowed down, we'll be outmatched by their size. Under 7 sec scoring will be key in this one for us to win, and to tire their 6 regulars out!

 

[zentrails]

So if we have clinched 2nd place in the Big Ten Tourney, why play Ayo this week? He could use this week and most of next week to heal and avoid further injury. (Good chance Ayo might not like that, but it is an option.) It would, also, give our Ayo-less team a time to further mesh together.

Yep this where I'm at, too.
I love watching Ayo play but giving him another week to heal is more important, IMO, even if it means two losses. I think we have a good chance at beating OSU without him if we come to play. Not too sure about UM even if we did have him.

 

[BWBW]

It seems like if we make it a track meet we will have a punchers chance. If it gets slowed down, we'll be outmatched by their size. Under 7 sec scoring will be key in this one for us to win, and to tire their 6 regulars out!

Not picking on you, but what little I have seen of Michigan, they seem to run with ease. Can we tire them out?

 

[BRucks]

Bruce Douglas was BigTen defensive player of the year in back-to-back seasons, 84-85 & 85-86.

Bruce had 324 steals over his four years. No one else comes close for Illinois. Dee Brown is second at 231.

 

[BRucks]

Not picking on you, but what little I have seen of Michigan, they seem to run with ease. Can we tire them out?

I doubt it. They go 8 deep and we are only 7 deep if Ayo doesn't play.

 

[illiniapolis]

Yep this where I'm at, too.
I love watching Ayo play but giving him another week to heal is more important, IMO, even if it means two losses. I think we have a good chance at beating OSU without him if we come to play. Not too sure about UM even if we did have him.

I think having Ayo for OSU would be good just to help him get back into rhythm after being out for almost 2 weeks by then. I don't think anyone wants him rusty for the BTT or NCAA.

 

[Ga65]

Great game by Ace, then Belo. Time for Hawk.

 

[CHEEF]

If you haven’t seen, UM fans with a lot of hate speech on their boards:

Brad Underwood is losing it. | mgoblog

"No B1G championship means much". Like this guy hasn't heard about the pandemic having an impact on teams schedules. What an !!!. https://michigan.rivals.com/news/illinois-brad-underwood-no-big-ten-championship-means-much-

mgoblog.com

 

[BRucks]

If you haven’t seen, UM fans with a lot of hate speech on their boards:

Brad Underwood is losing it. | mgoblog

"No B1G championship means much". Like this guy hasn't heard about the pandemic having an impact on teams schedules. What an !!!. https://michigan.rivals.com/news/illinois-brad-underwood-no-big-ten-championship-means-much-

mgoblog.com

Goodness, makes our posters look 'reasonable'.

 

[CHEEF]

Goodness, makes our posters look 'reasonable'.

Every fan base has there fair share of embarrassments but there’s nothing better than Michigan fans who didn’t attend UM

 

[CentralILifer]

I hope someone can call game like this tomorrow night.

 

[illinihawk16]

One other thing...it's one of the rare matchups for Kofi this year where I don't expect him to have to worry about pick-and-pops by the other 5. Iowa runs that action all the time with Garza, Minnesota tried (Robbins is a pretty good 3 pt shooter when healthy), OSU with Liddell, PSU, Wisconsin with both Reuvers and Potter, MSU with Hauser, etc.
Dickinson does all his damage within 7 feet of the basket, and nearly always from the left post. It'll be interesting to see how that plays out.

This is the matchup I'm most intrigued about. They're both used to playing against bigs that like to stretch the floor, so how capable is each player at defending the post against a big bruising body without fouling. And stemming from that, how will fouls be called if the post matchup is really physical?

 

[Fanview]

If you haven’t seen, UM fans with a lot of hate speech on their boards:

Brad Underwood is losing it. | mgoblog

"No B1G championship means much". Like this guy hasn't heard about the pandemic having an impact on teams schedules. What an !!!. https://michigan.rivals.com/news/illinois-brad-underwood-no-big-ten-championship-means-much-

mgoblog.com

To be fair, I think people want to be angry. We love to adopt a village mentality of "us vs. them". Illinois fans fall to this too. (e.g. Tipton conspiracies and anti-Illinois ref bias). Really shouldn't take their bubble too seriously same way from an outsider pov, some of us would sound delusional.

I thought Coach Underwood's comments were fair, and he even acknowledged Michigan. I also understand how they could have interpreted it as whiny.

 

[illinihawk16]

To be fair, I think people want to be angry. We love to adopt a village mentality of "us vs. them". Illinois fans fall to this too. (e.g. Tipton conspiracies and anti-Illinois ref bias). Really shouldn't take their bubble too seriously same way from an outsider pov, some of us would sound delusional.

I thought Coach Underwood's comments were fair, and he even acknowledged Michigan. I also understand how they could have interpreted it as whiny.

This is one of the more rational posts on a message board.

 

[LostinNebraska]

I doubt it. They go 8 deep and we are only 7 deep if Ayo doesn't play.

I think that's depended alot on game pace. The last two games, their bench has not seen much tick. But indiana can't run and Iowa has to wait on Garza. Against OSU and Rutgers, who both really like to run, they went 7-8 deep with significant minutes. I think our chances are better playing an up tempo pace to get Dickinson off the floor for a few extra minutes. I don't think there's a magic bullet bc it's not that their bench sucks, but at least they're not their starters. Plus, Brad always says Kofi is an elite runner... Might as well test the theory against Michigan.