2/7 Polls & Bracketology - Illinois #13 in AP Poll

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#126      
RockfordIllini
Looking at the rest of the top 25ish teams, I was looking for teams that might give us matchup problems. In my opinion teams with either 1. Length on the perimeter or 2. A way to neutralize Kofi, either with long, twitchy athletes (ala Koloko) or beef (Edey). I actually don’t see a ton of teams that I’m super worried about.

Auburn, Kessler is pretty mobile and might give Kofi some trouble on defense and their 6’10 lottery pick would be tough for us, unless the lightbulb turns on for Coleman late.

Gonzaga has some length on the perimeter, Timme vs Kofi is an interesting matchup and of course Holmgren is a unicorn and could disrupt some shots with his length, but I don’t see how they can stop Kofi without selling out and leaving our shooters

Kentucky doesn’t have a ton of size on the perimeter and I think Kofi is at least a wash with Oscar T.

Duke isn’t excessively long.

USC and UCLA both have good length but nobody really scares me.

Ironically I think the 2 teams we match up worst against are teams we’ve already played, namely AZ (have both length and Kofi neutralizers) and Purdue (Kofi neutralizers + great offense).

Point being, if we can get everyone healthy and humming I think we can be a really dangerous team. Very few guys where I say “how would we stop him” whereas everyone will be asking that about Kofi.
 
#127      
DeonThomas
RockfordIllini said:
Looking at the rest of the top 25ish teams, I was looking for teams that might give us matchup problems. In my opinion teams with either 1. Length on the perimeter or 2. A way to neutralize Kofi, either with long, twitchy athletes (ala Koloko) or beef (Edey). I actually don’t see a ton of teams that I’m super worried about.

Auburn, Kessler is pretty mobile and might give Kofi some trouble on defense and their 6’10 lottery pick would be tough for us, unless the lightbulb turns on for Coleman late.

Gonzaga has some length on the perimeter, Timme vs Kofi is an interesting matchup and of course Holmgren is a unicorn and could disrupt some shots with his length, but I don’t see how they can stop Kofi without selling out and leaving our shooters

Kentucky doesn’t have a ton of size on the perimeter and I think Kofi is at least a wash with Oscar T.

Duke isn’t excessively long.

USC and UCLA both have good length but nobody really scares me.

Ironically I think the 2 teams we match up worst against are teams we’ve already played, namely AZ (have both length and Kofi neutralizers) and Purdue (Kofi neutralizers + great offense).

Point being, if we can get everyone healthy and humming I think we can be a really dangerous team. Very few guys where I say “how would we stop him” whereas everyone will be asking that about Kofi.
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Or................teams coached by Porter Moser.
 
#128      
Roundball Sage
Wherever the Illini are seeded, let’s just think good thoughts that The Beloved will be able to put out a full team of everyone available when Madness begins.

This is a special group that won’t be together after this year. They deserve a full chance to see what they can do when the Fun Season really gets going.

And Illini Nation deserves some thrills and happiness after last season’s ending.

And after everything Kofi, Trent, and Damonte have given to this program. Everybody, really.
 
#129      
Calvin
The Galloping Ghost said:
Interestingly, and somewhat hilariously, there was a poll posted on here two months after the BU hire. Given a choice of BU/Smith or Martin/Tilmon, which pair would you take? Out of 150 respondents, 144 said they'd prefer BU, and only 6 preferred Martin. Now, obviously, the poll was taken after the hire was already made, so take it with a bit of a grain of salt. And not gonna lie, I'm having a little bit of fun going back through these posts.

Coach/Player Poll

I thought this would be a fun question now. Go back two months and try and be honest. If you had a choice then, which pair would you have picked? B. Underwood/M. Smith C. Martin/J. Tilmon
www.illinoisloyalty.com www.illinoisloyalty.com
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Dayum, this is what I wrote back then in May of 2017:

"I wasn't positive or negative on Cuonzo. He seemed like a great recruiter, and there's a lot to be said for that. I was sick of Groce 2 years ago, so a lot of names sounded ok to me. When you dig a little deeper to see what Cuonzo has done with the talent he's brought in, it just doesn't look very good IMO. Not bad, but I was hoping we could do better. If I were to pick a guy to fail here, I'd choose a guy who brought in great talent and under-performed, rather than the other way around. Having talent gives you hope that the players will run the team better than the coach, and if you have turn-over, you're generally better off if you have some talent to work with.

Underwood was an unknown (for me), but within a few days it was clear to me he was a big upgrade. He has the kind of coaching chops that turns good players into a strong team, and gives talented teams a chance in any game or environment. I think his ceiling is as high as Self's, and despite the criticism of his in-game coaching, Self's done pretty well. Very different coaches, but I think Underwood will be a force here.

Honestly, Underwood has a fire in him I haven't seen in an Illini since Deron. I think that's part of why he was quick to take off from OSU --he recognized the administration was not in the right mind-set, and he could see Whitman is.

Anyone on this board can tell you I don't usually drink the kool-aid. I like this hire though, much more than I would have liked Cuonzo."
 
#130      
lstewart53x3
So far this week, we’ve seen losses by:

#7
#8
#18
#17
#22
#1
#16
#6
#25
#9

Depending on how the rest of the games shake out over the next few days, with a win on Sunday, we might stay ranked right around where we are now.
 
#132      
Zorak
lstewart53x3 said:
So far this week, we’ve seen losses by:

#7
#8
#18
#17
#22
#1
#16
#6
#25
#9

Depending on how the rest of the games shake out over the next few days, with a win on Sunday, we might stay ranked right around where we are now.
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I don't see how losing at #3 proves this isn't the 13th-best team in the country anyway.
 
#135      
the national
Does anyone have the website that summarizes out turnement resume including the quad 1,2,3 & 4 break down? I ask bc I’m curious where NW lands and if that win in Evanston was a quad 2 win.
 
#136      
lstewart53x3
the national said:
Does anyone have the website that summarizes out turnement resume including the quad 1,2,3 & 4 break down? I ask bc I’m curious where NW lands and if that win in Evanston was a quad 2 win.
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Try this:

illiniboard.com

Up To Speed - 2-7-22

One of the best gifts I can give my wife for her birthday: a weekend away from my laptop and phone. She knows that this
illiniboard.com illiniboard.com

(Robert goes over NET rankings towards the end of the article).

As of now, Northwestern was a Q1 win on the road and would be a Q2 win at home.
 
#137      
Rocky
the national said:
Does anyone have the website that summarizes out turnement resume including the quad 1,2,3 & 4 break down? I ask bc I’m curious where NW lands and if that win in Evanston was a quad 2 win.
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It just barely qualified as a Quad 2 win.

Look up Real Time RPI University of Illinois Men's Basketball. It outlines all the games, the scores, and the opponent's RPI at the time.

Quadrant one wins are those home games vs. teams RPI ranked 1-30, neutral games vs. 1-50, and away games vs. 1–75. For example, a home win against a top 30 team would qualify as a quadrant one victory.

A Quadrant 2 win are those at Home against the RPI 31–75, neutral 51–100, and away victories over the RPI 76–135.
 
#138      
Rocky
the national said:
Does anyone have the website that summarizes out turnement resume including the quad 1,2,3 & 4 break down? I ask bc I’m curious where NW lands and if that win in Evanston was a quad 2 win.
Click to expand...
I think the NET one that Istewart53x3 gave you is more accurate. It is also a much more inclusive site. RPI's are rather static, but NET's are much more dynamic. What was once a quad 2 win is now a quad 1 win in Evanston.
 
#139      
IllinoisssssssVarsity
Zorak said:
I don't see how losing at #3 proves this isn't the 13th-best team in the country anyway.
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Agreed it’s definitely understandable. But we kinda got blown out and ranking is all BS comparisons. all it takes is enough voters somewhere to think that #20(for example) might not beat Purdue at home but they wouldn’t get blown out like Illinois did. And boom, we drop.
 
#140      
pruman91
IllinoisssssssVarsity said:
Agreed it’s definitely understandable. But we kinda got blown out and ranking is all BS comparisons. all it takes is enough voters somewhere to think that #20(for example) might not beat Purdue at home but they wouldn’t get blown out like Illinois did. And boom, we drop.
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Polls are subjective in nature and only opinions by uneducated reporters at best.......................shot at the AP poll and others that reporters do as clickbait........
 
#141      
Calillini
KnoxIllini2 said:
Loyola was laughably under-seeded, and we knew that and cried foul, rightfully so, when our quadrant was released last year.

I fully expect this year’s tournament experience to be enjoyable for us, and I am looking forward to it!
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The experience and motivation to make up for last year are in place. Some key players will know that each game could be their last as an Illini.
To me Curbelo is the key. We need him to be close to where he would have been if he had been able to practice and play most of the season.
 
#145      
KnoxIllini2
Calillini said:
The experience and motivation to make up for last year are in place. Some key players will know that each game could be their last as an Illini.
To me Curbelo is the key. We need him to be close to where he would have been if he had been able to practice and play most of the season.
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These few days leading up to Northwestern are hopefully beneficial to not only Belo (conditioning mostly), but getting guys more in synch with the maestro that he is.

Curbelo has had his best offensive performances against Purdue. There’s no doubt that he will not shy away from the big moment, and that’s what March is all about.
 
#148      
madillini4
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