Alabama 90, Illinois 86 Postgame

[Illinisnake]

Honestly, disappointing game, expected a lot more from this team. Free throws, rebounding, this was a home game environment. Zone was working and we went away from it.

 

[drsmitty74]

Could have, should have

 

[BackThatPassUp]

We didn't play hungry enough on the boards. We let them get way too many offensive boards just by being scrappier.

We also let Philon score too much down the stretch. We should've let it be anyone but him.

 

[WeWillWhen]

Let’s see how this looks after Tomi, Dre and Petro get to practice with the rest of the squad for a couple weeks.

 

[Epsilon]

So close and yet so far. Lots to like though truth be told. That was a darn good Alabama team and we were clearly a bit dinged up and need to gel a bit more. Future is bright I still think.

 

[Illini-Rule]

Very Brad loss

What? That is not on Brad and it is not a bad loss.

 

[JSpence]

I hope that's our worst game of the year, against any team with a pulse. And there's a decent chance it will be.

Get back to practice, boys. It's not even Thanksgiving yet.

 

[ohioillini77]

Free throws and lane violation. Still need to defend better but this is a good team.

 

[Oldskoolkoach]

We cant play much worse in many key areas. If coaches can clean up toughness, free throw shooting, and cold spells, we're gonna be fine.

 

[alaskaillini]

Two very equal teams. These guys should have learned from this about having to retain your focus for the entire game.

 

[IlliniMilkMan]

Free throw shooting and three point shooting are the weaknesses I see.

 

[FloridaMan]

No Free throws, rebounds, or defense. All effort, and we didn't have nearly enough of it. That is a team we should beat. I think the most disappointing thing I saw was the body language and lack of hustle/toughness. Very disappointing and reminiscent of last year unfortunately. Hopefully we learn from it.

 

[LouHenson]

We have to start winning games like this or it simply will just leave a stain on what BU has done here. We won TT, so that was a good step, but if we really want to play for a NC these are games you need to win. It’s early, but clearly we have some warts.

 

[chief]

hats off to Alabama, they had a guy step up down the stretch

 

[GoodePodzMelendez]

Missed opportunity here. That lane violation was huge along with the missed FTs. Now we have to beat either Tennessee or UConn.

 

[purcy51]

I'd like to have won this one but, we'll be fine.

 

[Flyin' Illini]

Amazing the game was that close with poor performances from Mirkovic and the Ivisic brothers, and all the missed free throws. The team hung in there, but didn't play well enough to win.

 

[Bleedorangeandblue44]

Ben missed some open 3s. He also did some things on other end way better than his teammates and way better than Ben did last year which shows how hard he’s working at his game.

Speaking of those teammates, they also made a ton of mistakes and missed shots, missed free throws, bad turnovers, weak defense.

You think any insider here will mention that or just pile on Ben?

Just ridiculous.

I saw a lot of positives overall, we need to get healthy, we have a lot to work on, and this team can do some great things. Go Illini.

 

[illiniguy24]

Could have, should have

This

 

[Chase321]

Very Brad loss

All those free throws Brad missed cost them the game.

 

[DeeIL89]

Main takeaway: GET HEALTHY. GET HEALTHY. GET HEALTHY.

 

[Chuck Nuggets]

 

[skyIdub]

Huge tariffs on free throws.

 

[IlliniwekKDR]

Get healthy, make free throws, plenty of games against top teams this year. Alabama can shoot the ball. It'll all turn out for us come March

 

[Deacon05]

I'm at least encouraged that we have some pieces that will get healthier and some people will get some playing time with each other. Still a promising season coming up.