Penn State 79, Illinois 76 Postgame

[Illini_1979]

I think this has been BU's hardest team to coach. We learned a lot about portal roster construction.

You brought 2 hired guns trying to improve draft stock into a team full of freshmen and a total player leadership void.

The older players haven't been listening to BU and the freshmen played their a$$es off at times.

Just stretch after stretch of wretched play on offense with enough defensive lapses to seal our fate.

Onward and upward.

I'm 100% with you on this. Taking portal players is just very hit and miss. TSJ and MM just didn't ever seem to fit in. Encouraged by the freshmen and incoming recruits. It would be so much better to build a team the old fashioned way, through recruiting and avoid the portal when possible unless absolutely necessary.

 

[Noblesville Illini]

I think we just have a couple of upperclassmen playing hero ball trying to make the league and taking too many poor shots.

That's my hot take.

The ball movement was non-existent. Hand offs are not ball movement. This is a spread offense without movement. How is that possible?

 

[AyoDos11]

I don't understand all these "fans" who quit on the team after a few losses. These people have obviously never faced any adversity in their lives, as they expect everything to come easy; in this case every basketball game. If you can't handle losing a few games, then simply become a Gonzaga fan. I don't know what else to tell you.

 

[pruman91]

User name doesn't check out.

 

[Amelot]

So....how many guys from the 2022-23 team will be on the 2023-24 team?

 

[PNWIllini]

Honestly I'd be ecstatic to match up against this team if I were an opposing team.

Not sure I’d go quite that far. We are still a team thats loaded with talent that could manage to figure it out and be dangerous.

 

[GallopingGhost]

I’m struggling to think of any team seeded 7-9 we could beat. We may slip to a 10 seed. Hell we might Even skip to first 4 depending on how the other teams do.

Maybe Auburn , or FAU. Pray for that draw I guess.

 

[Manual3for4peat]

So....how many guys from the 2022-23 team will be on the 2023-24 team?

Also, what’s going to be the next powerball numbers?

 

[PassingBy]

I am predicting, right now, that the next time we meet PSU, WE WIN!!!

Take that PSU

 

[blife]

That’s fine. I just look at is a year where we lost

A two time all American center and probably the most dominant player we’ve ever had.

A fan favorite guard that many, not me, but many liked as much as dee brown.

One of the best shooters I’ve ever seen

The son of a legend here, that won a crap ton of games

And 85 percent of our scoring.

For 90 percent of college basketball fan bases that means you have a terrible season.

We really didn’t have as good as year as we thought we might, but we don’t have much shooting and we don’t have a true point guard on the roster.

Brad squeezed out a lot out of this roster and I enjoyed it.

The years I didn’t enjoy were when we were playing the first day, we’re missing on every recruit, and it felt like maybe we’d never get back to Illinois basketball.

POTD

 

[LvilleILL]

So....how many guys from the 2022-23 team will be on the 2023-24 team?

6 would be my guess

 

[IllinialuminAZ]

I sincerely don't know what would make this trainwreck of a season worth it for me anymore. Maybe a Final Four? I came in wanting a Sweet Sixteen, but two wins is not enough to make up for the frustration anymore.

 

[Manual3for4peat]

I’m struggling to think of any team seeded 7-9 we could beat. We may slip to a 10 seed. Hell we might Even skip to first 4 depending on how the other teams do.

Maybe Auburn , or FAU. Pray for that draw I guess.

Ok. That’s cool. I also struggle to see a team that I can’t see us beating. We are a very, very weird team.

 

[hiberto]

We need shooters. Period. End of story.

We will never know, but I honestly think a healthy Goode all season and we win 2-3 more games and get a 1st round bye.

Not just bc of his production, but because of its mere threat and bc others around him probably aren't taking as many "bad" shots.

It would have been addition and addition by subtraction.

yep. can't expect us to go far in March being ranked 335 of 350 teams in the nation in 3 point %. not having legit consistent three point shooters (Mayer leads team at sub 34%) really hurts our offense and makes us a lot easier to defend. all of those misses are essentially turnovers save for a few offensive boards. hopefully we can find some complimentary perimeter shooting pieces in the portal for next season. a full season of Goode would have helped I agree

 

[LvilleILL]

We have a chance to make something out of the season next week. Who the hell knows what will happen, but maybe playing as the underdog will be good for this team

 

[CHILI1992]

Haven't read through the thread so might not be only one here but I think this was 100% on Brad you could tell mid way through 2nd half illini had tired legs and no major substitutions came in and Penn St blew it open thoughts?

ILL

 

[Mr. Roberts]

I don't understand all these "fans" who quit on the team after a few losses. These people have obviously never faced any adversity in their lives, as they expect everything to come easy; in this case every basketball game. If you can't handle losing a few games, then simply become a Gonzaga fan. I don't know what else to tell you.

Quit on the team? No. Rationally recognize the futility of expecting anything from this squad? Absolutely.

 

[PNWIllini]

This team is so under performing, they do not deserve to be in the big Dance. There are many others at even Mid Major teams that have better records and would beat this Illinois team. I will now wait for our football season this fall.

There are upsets all over every P6 tournament. Cool your jets.

 

[NEIlliniFan]

I haven't read this thread. Don't plan to read it. Don't care whether others here agree or disagree.

Read a tweet near game's end that sums up my feelings to a T.

The Illini have had many 'worse' teams than this one but I can't remember one I've enjoyed less.

 

[GallopingGhost]

So....how many guys from the 2022-23 team will be on the 2023-24 team?

That is completely anyone’s guess. But I’ll take a stab at mine:

I venture to guess we get Goode, Melendez Hawkins and Dain. That will make our starting core.

I’d like to believe we keep SH and Ty. Jayden could stay, he could go.

But our off-season has to be focused on KEEPING OUR GUYS. Then portalling a sharpshooter and PG depth.

NiL here is fantastic as is our program legacy, and our facilities and coaching staff. Huge draw for young kids.

 

[AyoDos11]

Quit on the team? No. Rationally recognize the futility of expecting anything from this squad? Absolutely.

Dude have you even read some of the things people have said in here?

 

[Manual3for4peat]

I haven't read this thread. Don't plan to read it. Don't care whether others here agree or disagree.

Read a tweet near game's end that sums up my feelings to a T.

The Illini have had many 'worse' teams than this one but I can't remember one I've enjoyed less.

And if they happen to win a first round game and then have a ucla, Texas, or Purdue performance in the second round, it’ll all be forgotten.

 

[PassingBy]

We have a chance to make something out of the season next week. Who the hell knows what will happen, but maybe playing as the underdog will be good for this team

Optimism at this time of the year indicates your team did not and is not doing well.

But, good to hear that.

 

[Miles Leonard]

2-11 vs quad 1s, and have needed some absolute late miracle comebacks in a couple other games (NW, MI). We’re better than the absolute bottom of the Big 10. That’s all you can say right now.

Were those results worth it to bring in a couple 1 year guys and forfeit building a team the traditional way? Portal ball I don’t think is going to be a long term winner.

In fairness, we had to try and fill the scoring void left by Kofi, Trent and Plummer. No easy task for any coach. The portal was the quickest way to do it.

The results were mixed to say the least, yes, but we might have been worse off had we not landed TSJ/MM.

 

[Second place is 1st loser]

Food for thought....No preseason publication in the world could have given any type of insightful prognostication for this team. We had good portal names, mixed in with very little returning production, mixed in with a good freshmen class. We lost all five starters (4 seniors and an All American) and our 6th man. How could ANYONE project anything for this team? It was a guess.

Now, the UCLA and Texas games gave the prognostications some merit and raised expectations to a level that it should have never gave been at.

This team is a byproduct of the portal and NIL.