Purdue 96, Illinois 88 2OT Postgame

[CubsIlliniFan]

Yesterday was a hell of a game and we learned a lot from this game. Can Ben sustain and be the full time back up to Kofi? Possibly. He needed his moment and he came to play. Payne may have F1’d his way to the bench. Belo after sitting out all those games may have learned something by watching. He played without the recklessness and was more controlled as the offense was he best we have played all year with the motoon and passing. That being said, Friday is another day and lets see how we respond. I do not see another loss until we get to West Lafayette. That will be another war and hopefully Sasha wont have the game of his life and we can game plan better. There is nothing to be upset about as we found ways to compete without Kofi.

 

[CubsIlliniFan]

The fact you think that flagrant was questionable shows that you've got orange tinted glasses on. It was 100% a flagrant, and a dumb move. There's a reason Omar didn't see much PT after that

Omar just got passed on the depth chart. He might not see much clock the rest of the year if BBV plays the way he did the rest of the year.

 

[RockfordIllini]

Omar just got passed on the depth chart. He might not see much clock the rest of the year if BBV plays the way he did the rest of the year.

Eh, I think he will still get tick. He was doing a great job on Williams before the flagrant/technical. I think that put him in the dog house the rest of the game.

Underwood seems to have gone to Payne when we need to match length (think Koloko) and BBV when we need to match beef (think Garza).

Guessing we will see a different Omar now that Belo is back. Thinking he would have finished several of those feeds from Belo yesterday.

 

[CubsIlliniFan]

No excuse to close out in that way on Stefanovic. Sure, he flopped a bit but refs in the college and NBA game are going to call that every single time. You have to be smarter.

What annoyed me was the Sasha obviously flopped on that play and RJ gets shoved in the Michigan game and gets a flop call on him. Its inconstant as hell. That was the turning point in the second half. The ref lets that play go and we Most likely win.

 

[the juiceman cometh]

Omar just got passed on the depth chart. He might not see much clock the rest of the year if BBV plays the way he did the rest of the year.

Possible. It seemed like BBV had jumped him earlier in the year too though, but Payne earned his role back. I think it's going to depend on whether BBV can perform consistently, and who does better getting on the same page with Belo (because let's face it, both are a huge step down from Kofi offensively). BU has shown a willingness to let players earn back his trust in the past, so I'm sure Payne will have that chance in practice.

 

[Govoner Vaugn Fan]

Thing I noticed about BBV yesterday, was that Edey couldn't move him back. Kofi guarded Purdue's bigs standing straight up, and Edey esp at 290lb was able back up bumping Kofi back a half step or so each bump. that got Edey close enough for his little jump hook. BBV leaned into Edey, keeping his feet well behind him kind of forming a triangle. Eddy bumped back but BBV dint move an inch forcing Edey to pass out instead of getting off a close shot. Triangles are geometrically about as strong as it gets.

 

[Bigtex]

Eh, I think he will still get tick. He was doing a great job on Williams before the flagrant/technical. I think that put him in the dog house the rest of the game.

Underwood seems to have gone to Payne when we need to match length (think Koloko) and BBV when we need to match beef (think Garza).

Guessing we will see a different Omar now that Belo is back. Thinking he would have finished several of those feeds from Belo yesterday.

I agree the bigs will benefit from the return of curbelo.

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

Yeah, not sure BBV passed Payne just based on one game. Payne helped bail us out against Nebraska just a few days before. Payne had 4 fouls and BBV was holding his own. OP is definitely on a shorter leash. BU might give them both a few minutes and play the hot hand.

It's really nice to go from, "OMG we have no depth at the 5" to "Which of these decent options deserves it more?".

 

[Roundball Sage]

We grew today.

And one of the ways that the Illini grew was that they found out (if they didn't already know) that they can find a way to win 'elite' games even without The Big Man being heavily involved.

No Illini fan wanted Kofi to struggle and get into foul trouble. But this opened the door to a different style of play and more responsibility on other players. And there still is all that young talent on the Illini bench that didn't get much (or any) floor time yesterday that can push the Illini ceiling even higher.

The Illini didn't just grow for themselves. They showed the Nation... any maybe even the Coaches... something special in their character and response to changing how they played their game when Kofi left the floor. Since Kofi can often get into foul trouble, this is very good news for Madness Time.

Teams are not fixed in cement. They are always growing and changing and evolving.

 

[Brosky]

This will be the first time and probably the last I take a shot at the refs, I normally hating blaming officiating for anything but that was just atrocious. Curbelo was amazing to come in and play in a tournament like atmosphere against a top 10 team after such a long layoff. Let's hope this continues. Verdonk, was a joy to watch. Let's hope this isn't a one time thing, I imagine he gained a ton of confidence after this performance. Another great sign was the lack of turnovers compared to where we were at early in the year. My only real criticism if I had to offer one is that I wish Plummer was a little better with shot selection. There are times he takes some bad shots at inopportune times. Not saying it’s why we lost or anything but every possession is crucial in a game like this.

As a guy who was an IHSA ref for 12 years, I don't get involved with criticizing officials. The job is incredibly difficult and you never get a chance to reflect on your call; it has to come immediately. Loren Tate used to say "The game of basketball can't be officiated." I wouldn't go that far, but every time down the floor you're confronted with "should I blow the whistle or not?" You scarcely even get a split second. The college game is much faster and more physical, so it's even more difficult than what I had to do.

 

[RAM 77]

As a guy who was an IHSA ref for 12 years, I don't get involved with criticizing officials. The job is incredibly difficult and you never get a chance to reflect on your call; it has to come immediately. Loren Tate used to say "The game of basketball can't be officiated." I wouldn't go that far, but every time down the floor you're confronted with "should I blow the whistle or not?" You scarcely even get a split second. The college game is much faster and more physical, so it's even more difficult than what I had to do.

I agree that it is a very difficult job made even more difficult by the size of the players and the speed of the game. My issue is that Kofi is fouled nearly every time he touches the ball and the refs make a conscious effort not to blow the whistle. Therefore, the only time a foul should be called on him is when it is absolutely necessary. This is one reason he was frustrated.

 

[21ChampaignSt]

As a guy who was an IHSA ref for 12 years, I don't get involved with criticizing officials. The job is incredibly difficult and you never get a chance to reflect on your call; it has to come immediately. Loren Tate used to say "The game of basketball can't be officiated." I wouldn't go that far, but every time down the floor you're confronted with "should I blow the whistle or not?" You scarcely even get a split second. The college game is much faster and more physical, so it's even more difficult than what I had to do.

"Brosky" sounds awfully similar to Boroski

Just kidding, Brosky. It's a tough job for sure. Don't T me up.

 

[Action10]

One more for the road here after sifting through some very polarizing posts:

My biggest issue is not with the refs blowing the whistle on Kofi (although a couple of those whistles were awful), my issue, and I imagine one shared by many, is that it didn’t go both ways. That’s reflected in the number of fouls called and the TYPE of fouls called on Purdue. They are, and always have been, an aggressive and physical team. So are we. So the foul disparity looms large in a game like this. Ivey shot more free throws than our entire team, and many of those trips to the line were of the bailout variety. He’s a star, he gets rewarded. Our star does not—game after game. Edey/Williams got to throw around their size with impunity, our star did not.

That’s my beef, and that’s why I will absolutely hold firm that it affected the outcome. Can you imagine for a moment if Kofi got the Garza treatment? Or, in the context of yesterday’s game, is there any doubt that if Ivey made the shot Plummer did to force 2OT that he’s on the line for an and 1?

On to the next one, but as some have alluded to, officiating in the B10 is a large reason why this conference doesn’t have a title in over 20 years. It’s never consistent, it’s often prejudicial, and it sets teams up for failure.

Just a random question... Don't a lot of Big Ten officials work the NCAA Tournament?

 

[Emerson Bigguns]

I agree that it is a very difficult job made even more difficult by the size of the players and the speed of the game. My issue is that Kofi is fouled nearly every time he touches the ball and the refs make a conscious effort not to blow the whistle. Therefore, the only time a foul should be called on him is when it is absolutely necessary. This is one reason he was frustrated.

They are all fortunate he is a gentle giant. A foul is a foul. There shouldn't be a weight limit.

 

[IllGuardU]

I know it's just one game but does Bosmans-Verdonk get some more playing time? Or was this just an aberration with Kofi and Payne's foul trouble for most of the game?

I think BBV earned more time

 

[Cook]

As a guy who was an IHSA ref for 12 years, I don't get involved with criticizing officials. The job is incredibly difficult and you never get a chance to reflect on your call; it has to come immediately. Loren Tate used to say "The game of basketball can't be officiated." I wouldn't go that far, but every time down the floor you're confronted with "should I blow the whistle or not?" You scarcely even get a split second. The college game is much faster and more physical, so it's even more difficult than what I had to do.

I've officiated some as well, your points are true. However, just like we talk about the game "slowing down" with more experience for players, the same is true is for officials. These crews have a lot of experience and should really be more consistent.

 

[CoalCity]

This is the problem. He doesn’t want to sound like a homer.

He's a terrible announcer on any other game as well, hes just extra bad on Illini games

 

[Brosky]

"Brosky" sounds awfully similar to Boroski

Just kidding, Brosky. It's a tough job for sure. Don't T me up.

No T, just a flagrant foul If you don't remember Brosky, that makes you young!

 

[Brosky]

One more thought on this game.. There have been a few posts referring to this game as a "moral victory", and I don't think that's fair or accurate.

This is far from the, "We lost but I'm proud of our toughness and togetherness against a superior team. Illinois shouldn't expect to win these games when we haven't been relevant for a decade. Fans have unrealistic expectations. It was a good loss." mentality from the living breathing participation trophy that was the Groce tenure.

Purdue is a team that many consider Final Four favorites and they gave us their best shot and barely beat us while we dealt with our worst case scenario - relatively cold shooting and no Kofi. *FTR, I don't give Purdue credit for our cold shooting. We got great looks all game long and just missed.

I agree that when you have two evenly matched teams of this caliber, the home team should win 7 out of 10 times. We lost and that's disappointing but nothing in that game made me question the ceiling or trajectory of this team. Nothing made me think that Purdue is the superior team and we were just fortunate to hang around with them.

That wasn't a moral victory. That was a warning to the B1G that we're more than just Kofi and the three point chuckers. Good luck gameplanning us.

Overtime games are essentially a tie in the eyes of the pollsters, so I don't think the game will impact the rankings of either team to a significant extent. Now if we lose to Maryland, however...

 

[the national]

BU just seems too stubborn/macho to use it…confounding.

Too macho? What?

He’s using that as an opportunity to let the players learn. You may not prefer that approach but Macho?

I will point out that he does use timeouts more liberally at the end of the season, versus early or mid-season. It’s not the approach I would prefer but I get it. As fans we are often more worried about winning versus teaching.

 

[doowink]

"Brosky" sounds awfully similar to Boroski

Just kidding, Brosky. It's a tough job for sure. Don't T me up.

CASH

 

[ChiefGritty]

Just a stray observation from the Purdue perspective, given that we’ll have to fill out a bracket in not too long:

Boy they really had a hard time closing out a game they had won at least 3-4 times didn’t they?

 

[KnoxIllini2]

CASH

 

[Btpk138]

We played better without Kofi In this game

 

[dbeaverfg]

Possible. It seemed like BBV had jumped him earlier in the year too though, but Payne earned his role back. I think it's going to depend on whether BBV can perform consistently, and who does better getting on the same page with Belo (because let's face it, both are a huge step down from Kofi offensively). BU has shown a willingness to let players earn back his trust in the past, so I'm sure Payne will have that chance in practice.

Didn't Payne come back in for a short stint soon after the tech? Seems like he wasn't really in the doghouse but more in the "not performing as well as BBV" house