NCAA Tournament

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#77      
Wow! With the swelling and black/blue actually under the foot....that looks like a lot worse than a sprain. Best of luck to the kid.
The discoloration and swelling really has nothing to do with the indication of how bad a sprained ankle is.....it looks really bad, but I would bet he will be taped up and will play significant minutes come game time....if not Friday....for sure on Sunday
 
#81      
The teams that will avoid early exits are imo ones that have good defense, especially on the 3 point line where the smaller or lower seeded teams can hurt you. Illinois and Indiana should advance to the round of 32 based upon this metric. Rutgers has a bit tougher path for that, only because their offensive numbers aren't stellar. But they should beat Notre Dame and Alabama imo. On this site I make no predictions beyond the play-ins and 1st round for now.

For B1G play only, Illinois is the only team in the top 5 in both offense and defense. "Points for" minus "points against" is 8.2, which is the 3rd best in the B1G behind Iowa (12.5) and PU (11.1). That bodes well for the Illini.
 
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#82      
I have Illinois beating Seton Hall in the Sweet 16 and Loyola in the Elite 8. :)
 
#83      
Andy Katz totally loving Iowa, really liking Purdue, favoring Wisconsin to sweet 16 because of home games, and not very high on Illinois. This guy changes when the wind blows. I personally feel much better about Illinois after listening to his recent 25 minute interview.
 
#84      
Andy Katz totally loving Iowa, really liking Purdue, favoring Wisconsin to sweet 16 because of home games, and not very high on Illinois. This guy changes when the wind blows. I personally feel much better about Illinois after listening to his recent 25 minute interview.
To be fair, Illinois hasn’t been really impressive at any point this season. Everyone salivates at the pieces we have, yet we consistently seem to perform as less than the sum of our parts. Totally understandable, given what’s unfolded with injuries and such, but true nonetheless.
 
#85      
To be fair, Illinois hasn’t been really impressive at any point this season. Everyone salivates at the pieces we have, yet we consistently seem to perform as less than the sum of our parts. Totally understandable, given what’s unfolded with injuries and such, but true nonetheless.
This is why I think we could make a run. Could also exit early, but the pieces are there to make a long run in the tournament
 
#86      
Andy Katz totally loving Iowa, really liking Purdue, favoring Wisconsin to sweet 16 because of home games, and not very high on Illinois. This guy changes when the wind blows. I personally feel much better about Illinois after listening to his recent 25 minute interview.
He has been been loving Illinois all season long, with the caveat that getting healthy(a productive Curbelo)would propel them to a Final Four caliber team. At this point, you can only go on what they've been the last five weeks, which is inconsistent. Hard to fault him with his take.

I wouldn't be shocked to see them lose to whoever they play or beat whoever they play. Just going through enjoy it.
 
#87      
*Not exactly sure where to put this* If you are a someone that does not like Curbelo (or do) please watch this. I know earlier in the year there were obvious reasons fans were not happy with him. Dude was probably seeing 3 baskets. He is really coming into form now. Mike LaTulip knows more about basketball than 99.999% of this board and does a great job of breaking down what Curbelo brings. Hopefully this will change some views on him and stop some of the hate.

 
#88      

Bigtex

DFW
*Not exactly sure where to put this* If you are a someone that does not like Curbelo (or do) please watch this. I know earlier in the year there were obvious reasons fans were not happy with him. Dude was probably seeing 3 baskets. He is really coming into form now. Mike LaTulip knows more about basketball than 99.999% of this board and does a great job of breaking down what Curbelo brings. Hopefully this will change some views on him and stop some of the hate.

every illinois fan should watch those 40+ minutes. Latulip is so good with his analysis.
 
#89      
every illinois fan should watch those 40+ minutes. Latulip is so good with his analysis.
He really is. I subbed to inquirer with their xmas special. I honestly like this board better for posting, but LaTulip may keep me around over there just for his breakdowns. He has some serious basketball IQ.
 
#90      
*Not exactly sure where to put this* If you are a someone that does not like Curbelo (or do) please watch this. I know earlier in the year there were obvious reasons fans were not happy with him. Dude was probably seeing 3 baskets. He is really coming into form now. Mike LaTulip knows more about basketball than 99.999% of this board and does a great job of breaking down what Curbelo brings. Hopefully this will change some views on him and stop some of the hate.

This is excellent. Thank you.

Unfortunately, some people have their mind made up that he doesn't play the game the right way (These are probably the people who want to see four corners make a come back) and their minds are unlikely to be changed.

But hopefully this puts to rest the (incorrect) narrative that he's a bad defender. He'll be B1G All D before his time's up.
 
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#91      

Illini_1979

Oregon
*Not exactly sure where to put this* If you are a someone that does not like Curbelo (or do) please watch this. I know earlier in the year there were obvious reasons fans were not happy with him. Dude was probably seeing 3 baskets. He is really coming into form now. Mike LaTulip knows more about basketball than 99.999% of this board and does a great job of breaking down what Curbelo brings. Hopefully this will change some views on him and stop some of the hate.

Watched the whole video. Always been a Belo fan so you didn't need to change my mind but hopefully it will help convince some of his detractors. Looking forward to more of him next year (and, hopefully, for six more games this year).
 
#92      

Steelyunk

Tobacco Road
He really is. I subbed to inquirer with their xmas special. I honestly like this board better for posting, but LaTulip may keep me around over there just for his breakdowns. He has some serious basketball IQ.
The subscription is worth it. You also get Paramount + streaming. LaTulip analysis is absolutely worth it. Piper, Werner and Wagner are also great to read - and listen to.

Also sick of what I can only assume are mostly adults bashing these kids - especially Curbelo. He's been an absolute joy to watch and the sky's the limit for him.
 
#93      
To be fair, Illinois hasn’t been really impressive at any point this season. Everyone salivates at the pieces we have, yet we consistently seem to perform as less than the sum of our parts. Totally understandable, given what’s unfolded with injuries and such, but true nonetheless.
I personally found the first (ok, really second) Big Ten Season Championship since 2005 quite impressive.
 
#94      
10 years of champs prior to last years... unpleasantness... only 2 failed to make it out of the first weekend. I think last year had much more to do with us playing a bad game against a good team than some sort of systemic disadvantage we had because of playing 3 games in a row a week earlier.

2019 - MSU (2 seed) - Final 4
2018 - MSU (3 seed) - 2nd Round
2017 - Purdue (4 seed) - Sweet 16
2016 - MSU (2 seed) - 1st round (MTSU...)
2015 - Wisconsin (1 seed) - Championship game
2014 - MSU (4 seed) - Elite 8
2013 - OSU (2 seed) - Elite 8
2012 - MUS (1 seed) - Sweet 16
2011 - OSU (1 seed) - Sweet 16
2010 - OSU (2 seed) - Sweet 16

To bolster your point even more Michigan won the BTT in 2018 (not MSU) and went on to the national title game. The theory that winning your conference tournament can be a negative sure is a doozy.
 
#95      
This is excellent. Thank you.

Unfortunately, some people have their mind made up that he doesn't play the game the right way (These are probably the people who want to see four corners make a come back) and their minds are unlikely to be changed.

But hopefully this puts to rest the (incorrect) narrative that he's a bad defender. He'll be B1G All D before his time's up.
I guess you have to agree with LaTulip. I think we can win some games with Curbelo making enough shots. He has not been doing that consistently this year though due to the injury. I hope the first game helps him warm up.
 
#96      
I guess you have to agree with LaTulip. I think we can win some games with Curbelo making enough shots. He has not been doing that consistently this year though due to the injury. I hope the first game helps him warm up.
If we could clone that BB IQ and pass it to Omar I would really be optimistic about next year. Belo will find his shot 104/188 from 2 pt last year. It’s just a question of when and now would be a good time.
 
#97      
I guess you have to agree with LaTulip. I think we can win some games with Curbelo making enough shots. He has not been doing that consistently this year though due to the injury. I hope the first game helps him warm up.
Fair. And the looks that he gets for himself are good enough that you would expect him to start making them more consistently.

For me, scoring is way down on the list of things I want from Andre. I want him facilitating, playing defense, pushing the tempo, rebounding, and then if the defense gives him an open lane or an open jumper, take it. I also think he has to force the issue once or twice a game to keep the defense honest and cause some havoc. Like Batman, the threat of Andre can be a more powerful tool than anything that actually materializes in the stat sheet.
 
#98      
To be fair, Illinois hasn’t been really impressive at any point this season. Everyone salivates at the pieces we have, yet we consistently seem to perform as less than the sum of our parts. Totally understandable, given what’s unfolded with injuries and such, but true nonetheless.
Lol, this just isn’t true. There have been a few different points this season where we’ve been highly impressive. We had Arizona on the ropes in the first half. I get we didn’t pull it out, but there was a stretch in that first half where they looked like they could have been ran out of the gym. We absolutely dominated Wisconsin. One might say what Kofi did against their bigs was impressive. Pounding IU at Assembly Hall in the 2nd half was impressive. Forcing OT against Purdue without Kofi was impressive. Beating Rutgers by 35 was impressive. Idc who’s playing, beating ANY Michigan team in Ann Arbor by 15 is not easy to do. Get out here with this take
 
#99      

The Galloping Ghost

Washington, DC
*Not exactly sure where to put this* If you are a someone that does not like Curbelo (or do) please watch this. I know earlier in the year there were obvious reasons fans were not happy with him. Dude was probably seeing 3 baskets. He is really coming into form now. Mike LaTulip knows more about basketball than 99.999% of this board and does a great job of breaking down what Curbelo brings. Hopefully this will change some views on him and stop some of the hate.

If you type "Andre Curbelo" on here, before you hit the post reply button you should be forced to watch this video. It perfectly encapsulates why the Belo discourse is so maddening.

Please enjoy every second he's with us because there's never gonna be another player like him.
 
#100      
If you type "Andre Curbelo" on here, before you hit the post reply button you should be forced to watch this video. It perfectly encapsulates why the Belo discourse is so maddening.

Please enjoy every second he's with us because there's never gonna be another player like him.
As infuriating as he can be at times, I just hope we get 1 more full season with him
 
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