Sweet 16 would be in Indy ?!
Pregame: Illinois vs Kentucky, Sunday, March 23rd, 4:15pm CT, CBS
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mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
Vegas is Rileypilled, love to see it
Going through the myriad of NCAA team statistics, there is not much separating the Illini and KY when it comes to scoring offense and defense, field goal percentage, FT percentage, blocked shots. If you take the midpoint of each team's scoring offense vs. the other team's scoring defense...the game would end up 80-80. Both teams are underwater in turnover margin, KY at -0.9 TOs/game and the Illini at -2.5.
Kentucky's big advantages are fast-break points (14-7) and (unsurprisingly) 3-point % (38%-31%). The Illini's big advantage is rebound margin (+8-+3).
Illini 83, KY 80?
Kentucky's big advantages are fast-break points (14-7) and (unsurprisingly) 3-point % (38%-31%). The Illini's big advantage is rebound margin (+8-+3).
Illini 83, KY 80?
So Underwood has decided to go older with his staff?
madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
Tickets purchased. I-L-L!!!
-Tomi’s passing could be the key to this game. Foul trouble for him concerns me in regards to guarding Williams.
-If UK decides to play 2 bigs when Trey is at the “4” then, well, good luck with that. Ben has to shoot well and make Carr guard the perimeter. My guess is that they will sag off and pack in when ball swings to him. He has to relax and be ready.
-We have multiple guys playing their best basketball of the season right now. Confidence is high.
-KJ is back…keep it under 4.5 turnovers
-DGL, Ben…give me something off the bench boys..please
-If UK decides to play 2 bigs when Trey is at the “4” then, well, good luck with that. Ben has to shoot well and make Carr guard the perimeter. My guess is that they will sag off and pack in when ball swings to him. He has to relax and be ready.
-We have multiple guys playing their best basketball of the season right now. Confidence is high.
-KJ is back…keep it under 4.5 turnovers
-DGL, Ben…give me something off the bench boys..please
The kid is paid with Chicken Nuggets…when we make 2 in a row
We will forever change how we think about this team with a win over U.K. to get to the S16!!
Not to mention everybody in the arena who’s not a UK fan will be rooting for us.
I’m going out on a limb and saying Ben will get refocused and have a very good game. Kid can stroke it and just needs to see the ball go through the net then game on. Sending good energy Ben’s way.
Probably a true statement with the others being Ole Miss and Iowa State fans.
Play like last night but cut down the TO’s. KJ has averaged 6 per game for the last 3 games.
sacraig
- The desert
As long as Riley remains Rileypilled, then I'm all for it.
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
Goes without saying, but if you can, get there. Make it a near-payback for the Rupp game by turning it into SFC North.
Let’s go “Baby Illini” !
Amari Williams (7-0 grad student) is a load inside (10.9 pts on 56% FG shooting in the paint/8.6 reb) but is no outside threat (1 3-pointer in 4 attempts all year, so naturally look for him to make 3 or 4
). Seems like a game in which Tomi can stay close to the rim on defense and Morez could be effective. Williams is second on the team with 106 assists, so double-teaming him consistently would not seem to be a good idea, especially the way KY makes three's.
At 6-4 and 215 pounds, Oweh (16.4 ppg) would seem like the guy Kylan will hound. Oweh has almost as many turnovers (52) as assists (60). He hits 37% of his 3's, but usually attempts only 3 or 4. At 6-7, Brea (11.5 ppg) would seem to be a matchup for White. Brea is their top 3-point threat, hitting 44% on a team-high 202 attempts. If he starts to go off, we might even see Kylan take him. A lot of their 3-point success was provided by Jaxson Robinson, who made 62 (38%) before he was injured.
Their top defensive player is Lamont Butler, a 6-2 guard who usually pesters the PG. KJ has a considerable height advantage (if that's the matchup), but Butler is quick and has 38 steals. Oweh leads with 54 steals. Butler has injured his shoulder twice, most recently a couple weeks ago, and plays with it taped up. Williams does have 41 blocked shots inside.
Captain Obvious here says limit the turnovers -- especially the kind that lead to runouts -- make Williams beat you with contested two's, and do what we do best (rebound, rebound, rebound) and the Illini should have a decent chance to advance.
). Seems like a game in which Tomi can stay close to the rim on defense and Morez could be effective. Williams is second on the team with 106 assists, so double-teaming him consistently would not seem to be a good idea, especially the way KY makes three's.At 6-4 and 215 pounds, Oweh (16.4 ppg) would seem like the guy Kylan will hound. Oweh has almost as many turnovers (52) as assists (60). He hits 37% of his 3's, but usually attempts only 3 or 4. At 6-7, Brea (11.5 ppg) would seem to be a matchup for White. Brea is their top 3-point threat, hitting 44% on a team-high 202 attempts. If he starts to go off, we might even see Kylan take him. A lot of their 3-point success was provided by Jaxson Robinson, who made 62 (38%) before he was injured.
Their top defensive player is Lamont Butler, a 6-2 guard who usually pesters the PG. KJ has a considerable height advantage (if that's the matchup), but Butler is quick and has 38 steals. Oweh leads with 54 steals. Butler has injured his shoulder twice, most recently a couple weeks ago, and plays with it taped up. Williams does have 41 blocked shots inside.
Captain Obvious here says limit the turnovers -- especially the kind that lead to runouts -- make Williams beat you with contested two's, and do what we do best (rebound, rebound, rebound) and the Illini should have a decent chance to advance.
Can he coach a defense?
Only FT defense. He is training the players to chant "Nuggets! Nuggets! Nuggets!" when the other guys are at the line.
No, 10-15 minutes is about right. Sometimes we simply need his size on the floor including his rebounding, screens, and defense. When he is cold though, we can't wait for him to shoot his way out of it. He needs to fill his role.
From a publicity point, yes. From metrics perspective, I feel like we are very equal to Uk like last year versus ISU but this is game to sweet 16 instead of elite 8. I think Brad will be officially an elite coach if he wins it.
and Tomi getting healthy
I assuming that Williams will be face up on Tomi. So Brad will have to use him down low. They are a tall team. UK will want to run with Oweh. We just have to hit our shots. Butler should not be a threat because of his shoulder. Go ILLINI.
Tomi makes a big difference when he’s able to spread the floor like he did yesterday.
Kylan has improved every part of his game...and his defense was always great. Now he is taking care of the ball, which takes a load off of KJ, he is finishing at the rim, and he is being very selective in his 3-point attempts...and now is making them at his career rate, which is pretty good.
I think I'd try to pull Williams away from the rim on defense, opening up lanes for KJ, Kylan, White and especially Will to get to the basket. KY is going to have to pick its poison.
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