Can’t remember the Loyola game, but I thought during the OSU game in the BTT he took some hits.
Pregame: Illinois vs Michigan State, Tuesday, January 25th, 6:00pm CT, ESPN
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Not gonna say its a must win...but if we lose this game... all 3 games coming up in early Feb. (Wisconsin-Purdue-Indiana) are absolute must win games....beating Sparty Tues. gives us a little lee way in the 3 games mentioned above...could lose 1 of these 3 and still have a chance
Agree. He is a great passer, but seems to be still learning post moves. Each of the three rotation players at the 5 are very different players. I am sure it makes it difficult to keep consistency on offense when every substitution brings a very different skill set.
I think it is a must win if we want to control our narrative for a BIG title. But MSU seems very overrated and Purdue keeps falling to bad teams. In my uneducated opinion a loss here AND everyone on Illinois staying healthy the rest of the year still leave Illinois with a slight advantage to win the BIG. But a win and everyone staying healthy makes them a clear cut front runner through my orange tinted glasses, so that's what I will be rooting for.
illini80
- Forgottonia
You may well be correct.
Is a "must"
The MD game was not an ordinary "loss". The diff in the scores made it a "bad loss"
Need to beat MSU, tOSU, WI, and PU here on out - assuming we will the others. Granted a very tall order. But, IF we are game-time healthy do not see why we do not win all but one. Doable
This was a five point game with 2:40 to go. There are very few teams in the big ten we can beat without Kofi., and there are few care going to beat us with Kofi.
sacraig
- The desert
Seems rather unlikely, but it sounds like @1970 John might go to jail if that happens.
sacraig
- The desert
I think we can beat plenty of teams without Kofi. There aren't many we can beat without at least one of Kofi and a healthy Curbelo.
Looking for a bounce back game against MSU, there is still plenty of fight left in this team. Sure hope Kofi is back and that his concussion was mild without lingering symtoms. By the way, you may be an Illini fanatic if:
1. The hood of your car is sporting a huge Chief logo.
2. Your 2 dogs are named Butkus and Grabowski
3. Your house is painted dark blue, with orange doors and windows
4. You refer to your back yard as The Quad
5. Your wedding song was the Three in One
6. Your dingy basement man cave bar is called Kam's
7. Your new triplet boys are named Kofi, Trent, and Damonte
8. When you accidentally hit your thumb with a hammer, you scream "OSKEE WOW WOW that Hurts!"
9. The only soda you will drink is orange krush
10. Your daughter's first sentence was "I hate the Squawks!"
1. The hood of your car is sporting a huge Chief logo.
2. Your 2 dogs are named Butkus and Grabowski
3. Your house is painted dark blue, with orange doors and windows
4. You refer to your back yard as The Quad
5. Your wedding song was the Three in One
6. Your dingy basement man cave bar is called Kam's
7. Your new triplet boys are named Kofi, Trent, and Damonte
8. When you accidentally hit your thumb with a hammer, you scream "OSKEE WOW WOW that Hurts!"
9. The only soda you will drink is orange krush
10. Your daughter's first sentence was "I hate the Squawks!"
My dog’s name is Chief.
My man cave in the basement is painted orange and we refer to it as the Illini Room.
One of my twin sons is named Kendal.
Do I win?
Our entrance song at my wedding was the War Chant. Does that count?
Absolutely!
My dog's name is Illy (for real).
I have a picture in my pool room titled "Paint the Hall Orange", IL vs IN, Assembly Hall, Champaign, attendance: 16,618, 2/19/2006
I have a University of Illinois hat, t-shirt, and sweater
I attended many Class AA IHSA basketball final games in Champaign
I have a U of I orange and blue toothbrush
Do I win?
I have a picture in my pool room titled "Paint the Hall Orange", IL vs IN, Assembly Hall, Champaign, attendance: 16,618, 2/19/2006
I have a University of Illinois hat, t-shirt, and sweater
I attended many Class AA IHSA basketball final games in Champaign
I have a U of I orange and blue toothbrush
Do I win?
You've got a good head start
Did he really come as an outside shooter or was that just more BU hyperbole? He was well under a 40% shooter entering this season, and other than one game early freshman year never showed much shooting ability. Granted he hasn’t played a lot prior to this year either. I think he’s turned into a decent back up. Ideally probably shouldn’t be used for more than 10-12 mpg, But he showed against Purdue he can sometimes be effective in longer stints. Certainly not a guy we want starting either this year or next IMO.
Any news on Kofi?
I remember he went a pretty smooth like 3-4 from 3 in his first exhibition game his freshman year. Then he basically didn’t play until the Purdue game.
But it gave us hope he was a solid shooter.
Looked it up and he was actually a perfect 3 from beyond the arc that game. And don’t get me wrong, I don’t have the negative opinion of BBV that the poster who said he was an average Div III player or whatever he said. I just still don’t see a guy we want averaging 20+ mpg on a regular basis this year or next if an E8 or beyond is the goal. But he brings offensive rebounding, energy, and some good D, and I’m rooting for him to succeed. I hope the Illini bring in a big transfer next year, but if Dainja shows some things a three-headed monster of him, BBV and OP could prove to be adequate. It would put a lot of pressure on other four positions though.
Kind of a weird version of MSU this year. Just a group of solid players that play well together and know how to run what Izzo wants. But they really don't have any star power. They also have played better away from home, and they turn the ball over a lot (although they have been improving with turnovers).
By the end of the year I expect MSU to be anywhere from 3rd-5th in the conference, because of the lack of a star. But MSU is probably the deepest team in the conference so maybe that keeps them in the running. Just look at their box score against Wisconsin. Nobody scored over 14 pts and 5 different guys in double figures with another guy at 9 pts. And another guy with 7 pts but 10 rebounds.
So while nobody really scares you on this team, the scouting report is long because everybody contributes. Of course we need Belo and Kofi healthy, but I think we really need Hawkins healthy and ready to go in this one. His length would be a big factor against multiple guys.
By the end of the year I expect MSU to be anywhere from 3rd-5th in the conference, because of the lack of a star. But MSU is probably the deepest team in the conference so maybe that keeps them in the running. Just look at their box score against Wisconsin. Nobody scored over 14 pts and 5 different guys in double figures with another guy at 9 pts. And another guy with 7 pts but 10 rebounds.
So while nobody really scares you on this team, the scouting report is long because everybody contributes. Of course we need Belo and Kofi healthy, but I think we really need Hawkins healthy and ready to go in this one. His length would be a big factor against multiple guys.
I think I'm in the minority here, but I still consider Izzo to be the best coach in the country. His character has taken a hit the last 10 years or so, but from a pure basketball standpoint, I think he's the best.
Since 2003 (which is as far back as I could go on 247) Izzo has signed 7 five star recruits and has taken them to 5 Final Fours. In comparison, Coach K has signed 38 five star recruits and has taken them to 3 Final Fours. This might say more about K than Izzo, but I think it shows that Izzo is going to coach his teams up regardless of the talent on his roster. *Duke does have 2 championships in that period to MSU's 0.
I agree with the notion that this is a "must win" for a couple reasons. 1) B1G title contention and 2) At some point we need to beat a high caliber opponent if we're really as good as we think.
Going to be tough because it always is with MSU. If we have Kofi, we win. If we don't have Kofi, the conversation turns to just trying to secure a double bye in the B1G tournament. JMO, of course.
Since 2003 (which is as far back as I could go on 247) Izzo has signed 7 five star recruits and has taken them to 5 Final Fours. In comparison, Coach K has signed 38 five star recruits and has taken them to 3 Final Fours. This might say more about K than Izzo, but I think it shows that Izzo is going to coach his teams up regardless of the talent on his roster. *Duke does have 2 championships in that period to MSU's 0.
I agree with the notion that this is a "must win" for a couple reasons. 1) B1G title contention and 2) At some point we need to beat a high caliber opponent if we're really as good as we think.
Going to be tough because it always is with MSU. If we have Kofi, we win. If we don't have Kofi, the conversation turns to just trying to secure a double bye in the B1G tournament. JMO, of course.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I’ve had time to sit on the Maryland loss, and I’m now only 75% unbearably nervous/25% cautiously optimistic about tomorrow’s game … improvement!
With Wisconsin having the easiest schedule and Purdue perhaps being the best team, I have to say the other results in B1G play are helping us out … if we can beat MSU tomorrow, we are right back to controlling our own destiny, both in the W/L column and proving we can beat a team like that after a tough loss. Losing to Maryland destroyed our leeway, but we can get half of it back tomorrow.
With Wisconsin having the easiest schedule and Purdue perhaps being the best team, I have to say the other results in B1G play are helping us out … if we can beat MSU tomorrow, we are right back to controlling our own destiny, both in the W/L column and proving we can beat a team like that after a tough loss. Losing to Maryland destroyed our leeway, but we can get half of it back tomorrow.
At this point I’ll just take a post game presser without any mention of a player catching the flu, bubonic plague, rabies, or some other ailment. It has to stop at some point, right? RIGHT!?!
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