He is the only player we have, who will apparently dress for the game, who would make a difference by putting a body on Wolf. Hummer doesn't get a lot of rebounds, but he has blocked out an opposing power forward many times on the defensive end. He doesn't get the rebound or build a stat sheet, but we have seen many of our guards rebound while Hummer has a body on somebody. With a smaller player trying to block out Wolf, it won't matter and Wolf will randomly collect a lot of small change around the basket. You see, it's not like you try to deny Wolf the ball. You would, however, like to try to keep him off of the offensive glass.
Pregame: Illinois at Michigan, Sunday, March 2nd, 2:45pm CT, CBS
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We haven't a good defensive matchup for Wolf. And the Wolverine's haven't good defensive matchups for some of our guys either: spindly Will with fastest spin move in D1 basketball (open your eyes, ye skeptics), Tomi behind the three-point line, KJ should our gameplan on offense (hopefully not offensive) unleash him.
Michigan is a challenging matchup; so is our squad.
Michigan is a challenging matchup; so is our squad.
What Illinois is gonna need for the game on Sunday:
And proof positive that Underwood is a great coach.
Pretty sure I won’t get much backing for this post. But I do believe Underwood has been extremely successful with less talent than he has this year.
We need a miracle for Morez! Sure would be nice to have his rebounding and physicality to bang on one of the 7 footers
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Definitely a nice perk, but their student section and home court advantage in general is comparatively weak compared to the likes of Illinois, Purdue, MSU, etc.
Each of Michigan's last 9 wins have been by 4 pts or less. That's insane, gotta think the luck stops at some point.
I definitely don’t trust Michigan in the NCAA tourney. They play way too many close games against teams they should hammer.
The Illini have been outrebounded in games without Rez. I don't think that changes. Getting to the basket will be a challenge with Goldin in the middle. 3 point shooting is a major challenge for us. Michigan has played a lot of close games against teams that play hard for 40 minutes. Illinois has it's long stretches of scoring droughts.
Michigan will get their first win in a long time by more than 4-5 points.
Michigan 84-Illinois 68
Michigan will get their first win in a long time by more than 4-5 points.
Michigan 84-Illinois 68
Big Jack
- Decatur
So @illini0440 @LvilleILL1 any truth to the rumor I heard last night that Morez is back practicing with the team? Is the wrist good enough to play spot minutes against Michigan if he is needed?
I can tell ya I don't want him playing spot minutes if there's a risk he's gonna screw up that wrist. I can't help but fear that Tomi playing (gallantly, but not effectively) when he was injured delayed his own recovery.
He's doing cardio and stuff like that. I could see him doing non contact stuff like working post moves and footwork with O
Homecoming 2019
- Chicago
Put a club on it and give me 5 good hard fouls, oh wait they don't have dickinson anymore, carry on.
illinoisgrad1990
- Bloomington, IL
It was interesting watching the UM-Rutgers game last night, you could hear the PA announcer being very active in trying to hype up the crowd in a way we don't really do. It sounded kind of cringey, to be honest, but... our home crowd has gotten pretty lazy on the whole so maybe we should be doing it too. I don't know how many times I've seen the "Get Loud" message blaring from the screens in SFC at a big game moment and literally no reaction from the crowd.
Tre on Wolf - Wolf is not the ball handler Donaldson is.
Boswell on Donaldson - need a big guard who has quickness to slow down Donaldson, cannot let him get downhill.
Yeah that's not really even a rumor. Brad said as much on post-game that Morez was doing some workouts.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
RIP Gene Hackman. Another one of the greats exits stage left.
Win Sunday for Popeye Doyle. And Royal Tenenbaum. Like our squad, deeply flawed but ultimately home team.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
I despise Michigan, but I have to go with option B. As a program we really need to handle the home court better, and with a loss vs Purdue, the Illini would finish the home schedule at 12-5. 13-4 at home, while not optimal, is so much better than a 5th home loss.
I of course want both of these games, but I want to beat Purdue slightly more.
So your take is that Tre White can keep Wolf off of the offensive glass? Sorry that I'm not sure of that and see Tre possibly in foul trouble, too.
I agree with you on Boswell's D, but never have seen him cover a 7 footer like Wolf. And Tre White may do better covering a guard like Donaldson.
Bottom line, IMHO, Hummer still is a big part of the rotation for the Michigan game to try to block out Wolf. Like you, I'm not too concerned about Wolf as a ball handler, and I'm less concerned about Wolf playing "booty ball" against Hummer than anyone not named Morez on our roster of thin guys.
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