sacraig
- The desert
That sounds exhausting.Anyone who has YTTV and happened to set the record feature for all NCAA men’s games should be able to go back and watch recent games by Morehead State, BYU, etc.
That sounds exhausting.Anyone who has YTTV and happened to set the record feature for all NCAA men’s games should be able to go back and watch recent games by Morehead State, BYU, etc.
Chuck Norris couldn't handle Shannon or Domask.Illini don't play their best but prevail 83-70. Moorhead can't handle Shannon or Domask
We can have off nights, but I don't worry about "bad" shooting nights. We get a lot of offensive rebounds and put backs; we have Domask shooting from layup range and very short jumpers; we have TSJ in transition. These are high enough percentage shots and we will score 70+ on a bad shooting night. We don't let games get away from us - our D steps up when needed (wish it was always tough). We didn't lose a game by more than 10 all season. There is a reason to be comfortable with this team in the tourney. We are always going to believe we are in the game no matter the score and keep pushing.They are a 7 deep team. Minix is a problem down low. He just scores. These guys give us issues. They shoot a lot of threes and they also make a lot of threes, as they convert at a good clip. They move the ball around a lot and have a TRUE point guard to run an offense. However, they can also be a bit turnover happy They LOVE to play a slow pace and they rebound extremely well, which means you either push them out of their comfort zone or you play locked in every possession. This is not the game to be sloppy. While Minix makes his free throws, their other rotational players struggle a bit.
Area of concern is that there is not much separating their offense from our defense. Defending for an entire possession and making it tough for Minix to get his touches and potentially turning him over can be a key. On the offensive side, there is no reason Illinois should not have a massive advantage when they have the ball. Where Morehead will try to make it interesting is limit the total of number of possessions and turn it into a high variance game. Their strength is their two point field goal percentage against defense, in large part due to Minix, but they also don't see Illinois level Terrence Shannon and Marcus Domask players regularly in their schedule.
Teams with Illinois's profile of elite offense/bad defense can sometimes struggle in this lopsided seed matchups precisely because you can beat yourself much easier in the sense of you can always have a bad shooting night/be sloppy on turnovers and even if the opposing team doesn't go "off", your defense sometimes isn't good enough to carry you through a game.
Marcus wasn't Marcus yet.We said that about fellow 14 seed Oakland. And we struggled in that game.
Dain wasn't Dain yet as a solid backup, either.Marcus wasn't Marcus yet.
Looking at kenpom, and comparing the highest 5 seed vs. lowest 12 seed, and then lowest 5 seed and highest 12 seed, The games are expected to be within 7pts and 4 pts respectively. Things spread out a bit if one compares 4 seeds and 13 seeds. Then the margins are expected to be 6.5-13pts. Those are close enough to expect at least one upset if not two.16 seeded Fairleigh Dickinson beat 1 seeded Purdue last year.
There have been three straight years of a 15 over 2 upset (3-9 in last three seasons). There hasn't been much in the way of 14 over 3 recently, but that's just variance.
You are 100% correct that Illinois "should" crush Morehead, but recent tournament history shows the gap amongst teams in college basketball has never been closer. Super Seniors, transfer portals... they aren't going to come in and be happy to be there, they're going to give it their all and Illinois will need to be better.
Big “talk to the manager” energyThe very last question last night was a guy with a high-and-mighty tone sort of aggressively like "I WOULD REALLY LIKE AN ANSWER TO THIS" asking about TJ's media availability.
Hopefully we don't get "charge happy" refs. Shannon eating those blocks barreling towards the basket is like a cheat code, and I always worry non-Big Ten refs will view some of those plays differently.
Couldn't agree with you more. Illini need to bring their A game. I think a Dain/Hawk combo could be a great combo against this team. Shannon just needs to be relentless with pressure to the rim. I also like our chances of dominating the offensive glass and getting some easy put backs or 3's.16 seeded Fairleigh Dickinson beat 1 seeded Purdue last year.
There have been three straight years of a 15 over 2 upset (3-9 in last three seasons). There hasn't been much in the way of 14 over 3 recently, but that's just variance.
You are 100% correct that Illinois "should" crush Morehead, but recent tournament history shows the gap amongst teams in college basketball has never been closer. Super Seniors, transfer portals... they aren't going to come in and be happy to be there, they're going to give it their all and Illinois will need to be better.
Yep, Dain is the biggest surprise of the season to me.Dain wasn't Dain yet as a solid backup, either.
We were a collection of good parts that hadn't yet assembled into a whole. That's why you play the cupcake games.
True. Then again Chuck is 84 now.Chuck Norris couldn't handle Shannon or Domask.
On this similar note, for those down in the dumps that a potentially hot Illini team that finds itself in the Elite Eight will run into a brick wall in UConn ... these are the last #1 seed defending champs in the NCAA Tournament, FWIW:16 seeded Fairleigh Dickinson beat 1 seeded Purdue last year.
There have been three straight years of a 15 over 2 upset (3-9 in last three seasons). There hasn't been much in the way of 14 over 3 recently, but that's just variance.
You are 100% correct that Illinois "should" crush Morehead, but recent tournament history shows the gap amongst teams in college basketball has never been closer. Super Seniors, transfer portals... they aren't going to come in and be happy to be there, they're going to give it their all and Illinois will need to be better.
This isn't pro sports. He isn't required to do anything.Do you guys think that Terrence will be required to do media availability interviews for the NCAA tournament or will the Illini do their best to continue to shield him?
Won't know until after games are over on Thursday but my guess is probably early evening (5-6) or later being that we are playing in Omaha. Tournament usually has the eastern site games early in the day for the second round. Those two sites are Charlotte and Pittsburgh.Does anyone know what time we might play Saturday after we win Thursday?
Trying to make some plans..
Edey must have had 36 of thoseSmall Sample Size Alert:
Morehead State played four games against Power 5 schools at the beginning of the year (Alabama, Purdue, Penn State, Indiana). In those four games their opponents totalled 138 FTs (34.5/game).
This is not the game to settle for jump shots. Work it to the basket and let athleticism take over. I don't think Morehead can keep up with our speed (specifically TSJ) and we should be able to get them in foul trouble and dictate pace of play as a result (which I agree could be an issue if we let them have their way speed of the game).
Won’t be posted until Thursday nightDoes anyone know what time we might play Saturday after we win Thursday?
Trying to make some plans..
There’s only 2 games before 4pm CST (based on every other year). Very likely 4pm or later but as stated above, won’t know until very late Thursday. It was always interesting to me they stack a bunch later instead of spread out more - guess the thought is people are more busy in the morning/early afternoon.Won’t be posted until Thursday night
Me too. Was thinking about that today and how a couple of quick fouls could take TSJ out of the game similar to what happened vs Purdue.Hopefully we don't get "charge happy" refs. Shannon eating those blocks barreling towards the basket is like a cheat code, and I always worry non-Big Ten refs will view some of those plays differently.