Illinois 81, Washington 77 Postgame

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#251      
jrichisamazing
I'm very curious to see how many teams can sweep their west coast trip. Maryland went 0-2. Michigan will sweep if they beat UCLA in 2 days.

I think by the end of the season it will prove to be a big advantage. I also think it's better to have the trip scheduled early in the season. It's going to be even harder for the teams that have to go in the middle or end of the grueling conference schedule.

FWIW, Purdue goes out West in 10 days. MSU goes at the beginning of February.
 
#252      
21ChampaignSt
BretMyBeachHouse said:
Well your IU point and OSU point have nothing to do with 2005. Big ten was a bit down that year. Definitely part of our gaudy record. Nevertheless there's never been a year in my 50 watching the Illini where road wins weren't tough. Every team can win against every team at home. Every bad team pulls off an upset or two at home. When you win as many as we did that year it's very very impressive.
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I've done a little back of the napkin analysis on early 2000s B1G vs today's B1G using KenPom.

If I remember correctly, the biggest difference is that the bottom of the conference used to be a lot worse. For example, in 2005, the worst team in the B1G was Penn St., ranked 216th in the country. This year's worst team is Minnesota who is currently ranked 119. To put it in perspective, the 18th (worst) B1G team in 2025 would be the 8th best team in 2005.

There just aren't any gimmies anymore. It's a 20 game grind.
 
#253      
PNWIllini
That was a really good showing by Illini fans. From the light rail train that was full of orange to the upper deck of Hec Ed that was hundreds of people in orange including a majority of at least one section.

UW fans were loud though. Hec Ed is a 1930s gym with a low ceiling and seating for 10,000. If UW is competitive they get loud. You heard that late in the game.

UW I had my doubts about being in the B1G but their fanbase showed up and showed out better than Oregon’s did. I talked to a row of people near me who had traveled to both games from the Midwest (!) and said UW was easily the louder venue of the two.

We got a road W in a type of game we would have lost a month ago. Great to see the maturity. The shots weren’t dropping - the reverse of the Oregon game - but we found a way to get it done.
 
#256      
OrangeBlue98
PNWIllini said:
That was a really good showing by Illini fans. From the light rail train that was full of orange to the upper deck of Hec Ed that was hundreds of people in orange including a majority of at least one section.

UW fans were loud though. Hec Ed is a 1930s gym with a low ceiling and seating for 10,000. If UW is competitive they get loud. You heard that late in the game.

UW I had my doubts about being in the B1G but their fanbase showed up and showed out better than Oregon’s did. I talked to a row of people near me who had traveled to both games from the Midwest (!) and said UW was easily the louder venue of the two.

We got a road W in a type of game we would have lost a month ago. Great to see the maturity. The shots weren’t dropping - the reverse of the Oregon game - but we found a way to get it done.
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Old school venues like “Hec Ed” are awesome. I’m a Quad Cities native and always love going to games at Wharton Field House in Moline and Marshall Gym in Davenport. Just something about those places. I’d love to go out in a couple of years when we play there again.
 
#259      
PNWIllini
TheodoreRex said:
Is Osobor really making $2 mill? If so, man alive is that a colossal waste of $-I wasn't impressed at all by him. 9 points, 4 rebounds, 4 steals is not worthy of a $2 million dude. We paid Tomi significantly less and he went for 9 points, 9 rebounds, and I thought it was one of his worst games.
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He is indeed. Not Great Osobor. Sprinkle must’ve overvalued him at Utah State and not realized how much he was getting by on just talent. He can’t do that anymore at the B1G level.

He is obviously a useful piece on a roster. But he can disappear for minutes at a time and is just not worth what they’re paying him.
 
#265      
OrangeBlue98
Nohops 73 said:
Tomi missed 3 point blank shots over a guy 5 inches shorter than he is, and a couple looked rushed. This is not the first game where this has happened either. This should be a point of emphasis in practice, or maybe he should use the backboard to give him a bigger margin for error. Would make him a much more effective player.
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Using the glass is such a lost art. I’m not kidding when I say the last player I saw consistently and intentionally use the backboard for shooting was Scottie Pippen (who was one of the two best I’ve ever seen live in using the glass-the other being Larry Bird).
 
#267      
foby
I skipped 10 pages here because I couldn't stand another "ugly win" or "a win is a win". Lol

Most road games in conference are ugly. A lot of home games are made ugly. All that matters is we fought and won, and are now 2-1 on the road in the B1G.

HUGE!!!!
 
#268      
Orangetool
PizzaHutParkingLot said:
Excited Fired Up GIF by Fighting Illini Athletics

Some hard practices are on the docket for this week…

Also, he’s a stud, but can we get some more creative late game offense than just KJ iso? Better to be critical coming off an ugly win than a loss tho
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This.
I'm uneasy seeing a bit too much of KJ hero while teammates stand around end of half and late game. This team has many scoring options.
It's a long season, room for many heroes
 
#269      
hoopsfan47
OrangeBlue98 said:
Using the glass is such a lost art. I’m not kidding when I say the last player I saw consistently and intentionally use the backboard for shooting was Scottie Pippen (who was one of the two best I’ve ever seen live in using the glass-the other being Larry Bird).
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Bill Walton tried to use the glass on every shot he possibly could....and was elite at it.
 
#272      
PapaKvells
BalloonsTheElephant said:
I love Morez probably more than most here, but he's still really raw on offense. His defense is still a half step slow against mobile bigs.

However, his off ball movement and effort are unmatched on this team. He seals off guys on drives, he is around the ball on every rebound, and does all the right things you need him to do.

He's your typical freshman. If he leaves, someone will get a gem. Also, I will lose my freaking mind. Ben has been better the last two games, but I'd rather see more Will and Morez.

This all based on some rando saying Morez's NIL will free up.

Angry Season 3 GIF by The Office
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I’ll add that coming in with KJ as a fellow freshman is probably perfect for his development. Today you saw him hustling down court knowing KJ would feed him. I bet we keep seeing this, and I bet he continues to improve his consistency finishing.
 
#275      
PepeSilvia
Tre White has been way better than I gave him credit for going into the season.

I do think that Brad needs to start trusting DGL and Morez though. Morez in an absolute monster on the boards and DGL can impact the game on both ends when he's aggressive and attacking the basket. The more minutes these guys get in the 2nd half will greatly help take some stress off the starters.

Also, don't want to panic but never thought I'd say I'd be happy the see Jake Davis getting minutes over Riley. Davis seems to be very aware of his role, crashes the boards, and can knock down a shot(somewhat similarities to Goode). Riley just doesnt look physically ready for this level of basketball.
 
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