Pregame: Illinois vs Maryland, Thursday, January 6th, 6:00pm CT, ESPN2

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#51      

frozenrope9190

frozenrope9190
Aurora, IL
frozenrope9190
ChiefIllinois said:
Agree completely, I'm much more afraid of bad losses than hard games. Maybe getting more shots at the lower tier big ten teams in a year where we're on the bubble is a positive, but a freak loss to a sub 100 team is going to do more damage to a resume than a couple losses to top 25 teams. Give me pu, wisc, msu, whoever is a top flight team twice a year. Q1 losses are borderline meaningless on selection Sunday, assuming you've got a good collection of wins.

Games against MD scare me more than PU this year.
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Maryland is still pretty good, though. It's not a sub-100 loss or anything. KenPom has got them at 58, ahead of Marquette and Notre Dame. A loss would suck, but it wouldn't hang over the team like Florida losing to Texas Southern (that one still gets me).
 
#52      

Ga65

G
Ga65
Still can’t figure out how good we are. Absolutely demolished Rutgers and Minny who defeated Purdue and Michigan respectively. Are we that good or are they overrated despite having some quality wins? If we’re that good, why the close Iowa game? Think I’m underrating our defense but know we will get beat by a team I think shouldn’t be competitive. Guess that’s why we watch.
 
#53      

lstewart53x3

lstewart53x3
Scottsdale, Arizona
lstewart53x3
Ga65 said:
Still can’t figure out how good we are. Absolutely demolished Rutgers and Minny who defeated Purdue and Michigan respectively. Are we that good or are they overrated despite having some quality wins? If we’re that good, why the close Iowa game? Think I’m underrating our defense but know we will get beat by a team I think shouldn’t be competitive. Guess that’s why we watch.
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We’re #11 in KenPom, #12 in NET, #9 in Sagarin.

Which includes the stats from 3 games without Kofi + a couple flu games without multiple starters.

We’re good. And if we get Curbelo back, we’ll be even better.
 
#55      

Epsilon

Epsilon
M tipping over
Pdx
Epsilon
sacraig said:
I don't know what this comment has to do with anything I said. We shouldn't be afraid of playing anyone. If we really do expect that our team is Final Four caliber, then a tough schedule should be expected, not feared. I don't care what schedule Michigan plays as long as it's not one that games the system again.
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On that note, has the criteria been set for how the B1G title will be awarded, or is it BAU until further notice? I can’t help but think that Omicron will wreak havoc on some teams’ schedules this year. We were on break so we got pretty lucky but it might get pretty difficult to reschedule games in the heat of the B1G season if too many teams have to deal with this.
 
#56      

Epsilon

Epsilon
M tipping over
Pdx
Epsilon
lstewart53x3 said:
We’re #11 in KenPom, #12 in NET, #9 in Sagarin.

Which includes the stats from 3 games without Kofi + a couple flu games without multiple starters.

We’re good. And if we get Curbelo back, we’ll be even better.
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And we’re 7th in BPI.

www.espn.com

2023-24 Men's College Basketball Power Index - ESPN

View the 2023-24 Men's College Basketball power index on ESPN. The BPI is the best predictor of a team's performance going forward for the rest of the season.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
#57      

thehass

T
thehass
I see no problem with this game if our shooters shoot our rebounders rebound our defenders defend and our head stays in the game. We can't waver on being inconsistent at this point in the season. Either we are for real or we are for naught. G o Illini.
 
#59      

JFGsCoffeeMug

JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
Chicago
JFGsCoffeeMug
Illwinsagain said:
For those in the know.... Parking at SFC, is it parking pass or pay cash? Should we just take the bus? My daughter thinks we could park at her work, about 15 minutes away, but it will be awfully chilly. Obi Wan, I need your help!

edit: This internet thing is AMAZING (Sorry Giorgi), $15 cash. Shorter walk should be worth it.
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There are parking passes on StubHub currently listed at $7: https://www.stubhub.com/parking-pas...l-champaign-tickets-1-6-2022/event/104992159/
 
#60      

DeonThomas

DeonThomas
South Carolina
DeonThomas
KenPom: #11 (We're the 2nd ranked BigTen team, behind only Purdue)
NET: #12 (We're the highest ranked BigTen team)



Movin' On Up!!

The Jeffersons Dancing GIF
 
#64      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
Dissapointed I won't be able to attend for the Ayo banner raising but at least I got someone to take my tickets. On the plus side it seems like every Illinois/Maryland game I go to the road team wins (I did go to one game at Maryland one year 😁).
 
#67      

SescIllini

SescIllini
SescIllini
Watching Minny on Tuesday I got the Groce era Illini vibe. The no true PG, lack of outside shooting, several wings, a fake rally in the first half, undersize bigs. Some bad defensesive lapses and eventual blowout.

BU knows how to build a team. He didn't chase Tilmon, instead brought in Kofi. Same thing with Mark Smith, brought in Ayo.
 
#68      

skyIdub

skyIdub
Winged Warrior
skyIdub
Ga65 said:
Still can’t figure out how good we are. Absolutely demolished Rutgers and Minny who defeated Purdue and Michigan respectively. Are we that good or are they overrated despite having some quality wins? If we’re that good, why the close Iowa game? Think I’m underrating our defense but know we will get beat by a team I think shouldn’t be competitive. Guess that’s why we watch.
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Not meaning to be snarky at all, but I think the answer is coaching. BU. He has established a work ethic and a defensive mentality that even he alludes to it during pressers being the thing that will win games when the shots aren't falling. You see those other teams struggling and wonder about coaching and defensive intensity. Although I still think Painter is the "best" coach in the B1G (gun to my head).....I feel like BU has this team playing better than anyone in the B1G through a lot of adversity...on top of the Covid pauses...that those other teams aren't dealing with.

It says a whole lot about the culture and the buy in.
 
#69      

IllinoisssssssVarsity

I
IllinoisssssssVarsity
lstewart53x3 said:
We’re #11 in KenPom, #12 in NET, #9 in Sagarin.

Which includes the stats from 3 games without Kofi + a couple flu games without multiple starters.

We’re good. And if we get Curbelo back, we’ll be even better.
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If we take out those no kofi games, and we used our numbers from those only, I wonder where we’d land.

Just for relevance because obviously with kofi that’s the team we are, and we were just doing what we had to do those first 3.
 
#70      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
www.stltoday.com

It's a quick turnabout for Illini as Maryland comes calling

Illini get set for their second game in three days.
www.stltoday.com www.stltoday.com

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Brad Underwood is no stranger to quick turnarounds.
He and the Illinois men’s basketball team face that challenge with their second game in three days when Maryland comes to town for a 6 p.m. Thursday game at State Farm Center. The Illini beat Minnesota 76-53 on Tuesday in Minneapolis.
“To me, back-to-backs aren’t that big a deal in terms of having one-day preps,” Underwood said. “I had them every year when I was a Stephen F. Austin, (and) we had Big Monday when I was in the Big 12. I enjoy them.”

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Gonna be an emotional night with the Ayo ceremony and I don't see the Illini slowing down after the last 2 blowouts .....Illini continue on to 4-0 in the B1G

Illini 84
twerps 70

Go Illini..........................................
 
#71      

IllinoisssssssVarsity

I
IllinoisssssssVarsity
SescIllini said:
Watching Minny on Tuesday I got the Groce era Illini vibe. The no true PG, lack of outside shooting, several wings, a fake rally in the first half, undersize bigs. Some bad defensesive lapses and eventual blowout.

BU knows how to build a team. He didn't chase Tilmon, instead brought in Kofi. Same thing with Mark Smith, brought in Ayo.
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Don’t forget the onslaught of midrange pullups.
 
#72      

Brosky

B
Brosky
sacraig said:
I don't know what this comment has to do with anything I said. We shouldn't be afraid of playing anyone. If we really do expect that our team is Final Four caliber, then a tough schedule should be expected, not feared. I don't care what schedule Michigan plays as long as it's not one that games the system again.
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Northwestern won at Maryland, and took MSU into the final two minutes. OSU needed overtime to beat Nebraska. Penn State beat Indiana. There are no "easy" schedules in this league and there are no breathers. Now let's get wired up to beat the Terps; we haven't played well against them recently.
 
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