This was what I saw too. Specifically, we have a team that lacks the athleticism to match a team like Alabama. If we're not shooting lights out from three, which we rarely do, we will have a very hard time winning against teams like this.
Alabama 90, Illinois 86 Postgame
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This was what I saw too. Specifically, we have a team that lacks the athleticism to match a team like Alabama. If we're not shooting lights out from three, which we rarely do, we will have a very hard time winning against teams like this.
Goillinikobd
- Southeastern US
Well, I’ve seen almost a dozen of the top teams in college basketball so far this year and it looks like a real dog fight to me. I don’t see anyone as the obvious best team in America, certainly not Purdue. And I also don’t think we’ve seen Illinois yet. We got what, 30 minutes and six points total out of our twins last night. That certainly is not what we expect to see in January and February.
Haven't gone through the whole thread, but this was my take-away. They didn't execute well enough to stop them, but they didn't shy away from the moment and kept battling. I expect there to be some sloppiness when you have a different line-up and guys coming back. I also think that there's value in a close loss to a good team early in the year as a motivator. Have to see how they handle it, but they have several more opportunities coming up.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Hopefully that gets it out of their system! I have little optimism for UConn (though I actually think there will be a solid Illini turnout; we had about 35-40% of the crowd at MSG vs. Duke last year), but I am cautiously optimistic that we’ll take down Tennessee. We shouldn’t underestimate how much more battle tested we’ll be heading to Nashville than we were two days ago.
They’re one of the more athletic teams you’ll see, that is for sure. I still didn’t feel completely outclassed here, though (ie “have a very hard time winning”), as I feel like we had every opportunity to win this one, and just didn’t. Coulda woulda shoulda and all of that, of course. I think Texas Tech is really athletic as well.
There it is. That is absolutely spot on.
And to have better motion,
to kick the ball out when you're stuck underneath,
to call out the last 7 secs of clock for your teammates,
to dunk the ball with violence instead of going for the bunny and risk missing cuz you are nervous or tired or whatever
There were only a couple of each of the above, so what am I complaining about, right?
In spite of the missed FT's (they are FT's cuz they sure weren't free last night),
this was still a 1-2 possession game, so fixing only a couple of the above would have won the game.
I am confident Coach and the players will address all of the above, and more, in the very near future.
Looking forward to the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, kudos to Coach Oates and Bama for bringing it and showing us some very good team play.
Well, that's justyour opinion.
Very frustrating loss for some reason for me. Maybe it's because I'm so excited about this team, losing a game like that really sticks in the craw. Not just the missed free throws, but not being competitive enough on loose balls and rebounds. It also seems like Brad played into Alabama's hands with the lineup in the second half, going with the small lineup- I thought the zone worked well to stymy that - but we went away from it. We also never took advantage of our size downlow in certain matchups.
All in all - it felt like a game we should have one against a team we should beat, but we definitely didn't deserve to win the game, even if we make our free throws in the second half and someone won, it would have felt like we stole one vs. outplayed them. It didn't help trying to integrated two new guys into the lineup during this big of game, while neither played overly poorly it seemed to impact our offensive flow and roles. We likely would have had a better chance just playing the seven guys we have been
All in all - it felt like a game we should have one against a team we should beat, but we definitely didn't deserve to win the game, even if we make our free throws in the second half and someone won, it would have felt like we stole one vs. outplayed them. It didn't help trying to integrated two new guys into the lineup during this big of game, while neither played overly poorly it seemed to impact our offensive flow and roles. We likely would have had a better chance just playing the seven guys we have been
I don't think Bama got the benefit of the call but they did try hard to even out the foul calls in the middle of the 2nd half
Great game and big missed opportunity. Especially since I believe this team can be in contention for a 1- seed and having this win would've been huge. So that's a big miss.
Having said that, I love how we played. When you play an elite coached team like Alabama, they gonna do things that throw us off. And they did that. And if we just made fts we win. With a hobbled Z, Tomi on limited mins and Petrovic rusty.
So I don't see any alarming trends coming out of this game. I am getting a better understanding of lineup combos. We need to trash any lineup that has either Ben or Jake Davis playing at the 3 and honestly entertain the idea of going extremely small at times.
Best Lineup: Boswell, Wagler, Andrej, Mirkovic, Tomi
Go small for stretches: Petrovic, Boswell, Wagler, Andrej and Tomi/Mirkovic
Never want to see any lineup with these 3 on the floor together: Davis/Ben, Mirkovic, and either Ivisics
Also Having Ty to play at the 4 for small lineups would have been fun.
Having said that, I love how we played. When you play an elite coached team like Alabama, they gonna do things that throw us off. And they did that. And if we just made fts we win. With a hobbled Z, Tomi on limited mins and Petrovic rusty.
So I don't see any alarming trends coming out of this game. I am getting a better understanding of lineup combos. We need to trash any lineup that has either Ben or Jake Davis playing at the 3 and honestly entertain the idea of going extremely small at times.
Best Lineup: Boswell, Wagler, Andrej, Mirkovic, Tomi
Go small for stretches: Petrovic, Boswell, Wagler, Andrej and Tomi/Mirkovic
Never want to see any lineup with these 3 on the floor together: Davis/Ben, Mirkovic, and either Ivisics
Also Having Ty to play at the 4 for small lineups would have been fun.
Losing a game like this is okay this time of year.
Gotta be better, but the build is to peak in 3 months, not right now. Finish strong in the non-conference and compete for a big ten title.
Gotta be better, but the build is to peak in 3 months, not right now. Finish strong in the non-conference and compete for a big ten title.
Stoj also has to be better at recognizing that when he gets the hot hand and that teams are going to sag/dig when he drives and kick for the easy shot.
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I do think we played well, considering this was our first game with all the new guys on the court. We looked a little out of sync, and the guys were not ready for full game speed yet. I hope we tighten things up Saturday and get ready for UConn; that is a huge, huge game for us.
Ryllini
- Lombard
I'm still not sure why we didn't push and run more last night and was bummed by how we didnt get back on a few occasions. Bama's fast breaks were great. After makes, they don't let the ball hit the ground. They get it out it out of the net and go. The get wide and deep. They got a few fastbreak points right after we got what felt like a momentum bucket.
I love our team and makeup. Hopefully they are coachable and ready to rock. Long Island might not get a rebound Saturday.
I love our team and makeup. Hopefully they are coachable and ready to rock. Long Island might not get a rebound Saturday.
How about the basket we lost late in the game because Brad called a timeout just as we were getting a layup. We didn't score on that possession after the timeout.
And to have better motion,
to kick the ball out when you're stuck underneath,
to call out the last 7 secs of clock for your teammates,
to dunk the ball with violence instead of going for the bunny and risk missing cuz you are nervous or tired or whatever
There were only a couple of each of the above, so what am I complaining about, right?
In spite of the missed FT's (they are FT's cuz they sure weren't free last night),
this was still a 1-2 possession game, so fixing only a couple of the above would have won the game.
I am confident Coach and the players will address all of the above, and more, in the very near future.
Looking forward to the rest of the season.
Meanwhile, kudos to Coach Oates and Bama for bringing it and showing us some very good team play.
This article is straight trash.
www.chicagotribune.com
I can’t wait for AI to replace these tribune writers specifically Paul who has no skillset in writing or analyzing sports. A truly embarrassing piece of writing. Who even buys the Tribune anymore? It’s run by lunatics that can’t objectively analyze anything. Better yet, keep spreading the word so this paper finally stops printing.
Column: Illinois could make some noise in March — but it has work to do to become a championship contender
After No. 8 Illinois lost 90-86 to No. 11 Alabama on Wednesday at the United Center, some of its flaws were exposed.
www.chicagotribune.com
I can’t wait for AI to replace these tribune writers specifically Paul who has no skillset in writing or analyzing sports. A truly embarrassing piece of writing. Who even buys the Tribune anymore? It’s run by lunatics that can’t objectively analyze anything. Better yet, keep spreading the word so this paper finally stops printing.
madillini4
Ozamataz Buckshank
- Millywaukee
Yeah definitely not bad by any means, and bama is a damn good team. Still love the makeup of our squad. Just keep improving!
I think Bama got some benefit from non-calls.
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
Last night was exactly the type of opponent and environment I always want to see at the UC game. Sure, I’d love to always win that game. But you had a big-name opponent that drew an electric crowd for an 8PM Wednesday tip. I anticipate UConn will be the UC opponent next year.
Bring it on.
I also doubted coming into the season whether Ben could give us minutes at the three. That said, I actually came away from last night pretty impressed with Ben's ability to move his feet and keep in front of Bama's perimeter players, and then wall up and make them shoot over the top. He played a solid all around game yesterday against one of the quicker teams in the country. It could be that we're better with 1/2/3 being filled by some combo of Bam/Petro/Wagler/Stojakovic -- which means Ben is just the backup 4 -- but I don't rule out Ben getting spot minutes at the 3 based on last night's performance.
It wasn't just the overall percentage. Missing those front ends are effectively turnovers and compound to be missed free throws for attempts we don't even get to take. Id say we lost an additional 3 to four points from this alone.
mattcoldagelli
- Script Illinois Enthusiast
The front-end misses are absolute killers. Then throw in the two more Bama got after the lane violation miss. THEN throw in the multiple and-1s we missed which would have been massive for momentum.
Just a nightmarish FT game, in multiple ways.
Don't really agree with this. This is one we could/should have won if we do just one of the many things posters have pointed out as reasons we let it slip away.
Now, it really puts the onus on us winning at least 2 of Uconn/Tenn/Mizzou. Not an easy ask by any stretch of the imagination, so the loss last night really puts us behind the eight ball. Lose 2 or all three of those games and you're gonna struggle for a top 3 seed most likely. Another missed opportunity in a super hyped game with a chance to really vault into the tournament favorites discussion. These games matter, and they leave an impression, IMO.
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