Watch the game again. We got A LOT of defensive stops late in both halves. This is how we tied it both times. We just didn’t get the last one we needed. Sometimes you gotta tip your hat.
Nebraska 83, Illinois 80 Postgame
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Watch the game again. We got A LOT of defensive stops late in both halves. This is how we tied it both times. We just didn’t get the last one we needed. Sometimes you gotta tip your hat.
He came out just ahead of the TV timeouts in both those instances. Coaches do it all the time, gives a player and extra few minutes of break.Maybe instead of Fletch photos, get some cardio for Andrej. A 21 year old tapping out after 3 minutes of game action? [That included 6 stops in game action]
12:42 
Andrej Stojakovic subbing in for Illinois
11:38 Official TV Timeout
8:12 Andrej Stojakovic subbing out for Illinois
I think this is a huge factor. We played the basketball IQ and shooting card with all the finesse European players + Ben and Jake. But so far the shooting and frankly basketball IQ have not been good enough.
Typically, you can rely on superior athleticism or your coach to scheme your way through these weaknesses, but we don’t have that ability right now either.
Also:
Another poster mentioned it and I do think he’s right that we should be giving Nebraska a ton of credit. But the fact of the matter is, we’ve lost these types of games so many times before and it kills us come selection Sunday.
Oh for sure. None of our guys showed a tough mental mindset yesterday. Some say they scrapped and fought their way back to tie it but we know better. Nebraska allowed us to claw back and tie it at the end of each half. Cornhuskers just wanted to give a good show to everyone. They eased up while our team just dial it in for 40 minutes.
We also have three Q1 wins thru mid December, which is among the tops in the country.
IMO, anomaly implies a degree of randomness. I don't think it's random.
For one, Nebraska has shown they can do this. They shoot a ton of threes, 5th highest 3p rate among high majors. And they've shot 50% or higher from three on two occasions this year.
Second, I believe confidence plays a not insignificant role in athletic performance, especially for shooters. We make shooters comfortable and confident. They already know coming into the game that they're going to get good looks. From there, they just have to execute and let it fly.
Now, did they make some tough shots? Sure. But those shots don't feel so tough against a defense you don't particularly respect.
A few things. I think Tomi is still hurt but maybe he is slow is because of the weight he put on. To not put Lee one of your better defenders in the game on that final possession was a mistake, if you want to use the narrative that he hadn't played all game well it is the coach's job to get him in during the flow of the game, it isn't like Nebraska was in the 1 to 1.1 points per possession during the game, the defense needed help throughout. I love Ky but man has he regressed on his on the ball defense. When we had the issues with 5 way switching a couple years ago they went the way of no switching and called switching lazy and unaccountable for mistakes. Maybe go back to that route. Finally, at least twice now Brad has gone up to the podium after the game and said we had bad practices and that is why we didn't play well. First time I get it fix it and move on. To have it happen multiple times there is definitely a coaching issue. To use that as an excuse when you lose doesn't hold water the second time around. You can't use it after a loss to UCONN and then then when you beat Tennessee and Ohio State run the narrative that you fixed those habits only to use that excuse when you lose to Nebraska, as Brad and a lot of coaches for that matter like to say, the standard is the standard and they as well as the players need to adhere to those standards and so bad practice habits are on the coaches and should not be used as an excuse why they don't play well.
GallopingGhost
- Denver, CO
Why not foul when the game is tied? Are you serious?
Exactly. What we have tried to do offensively due to “analytics” is what we are actually allowing the other teams to do to us.
We shoot quick in the shot clock (remember the comments about wanting to shoot in the first 7 seconds of the shot clock?). And by doing this we give the other teams more possessions. And our defense is bad. And our shots have too often been missed threes. Missed threes lead to run outs.
Why give the other teams more possessions when don’t defend well? It’s maddening and is not the kind of style of play that leads to deep tourney runs and a championship.
I think it is an anomaly due to it being on our home court. Lots of times you see teams who can't miss at home, but going on the road and lighting it up in that fashion is a very, very rare feet.
Also, I don't think the shots were as uncontested as some say. Just by nature I tend to look at the final shot with a lot more thought, I liked our chances if it went to OT.
They made numerous of the same kind however, in both halves.
I get the frustration with the loss and don’t want to make excuses but I do feel like we’ve gotten a little unlucky. College basketball teams usually play 4-5 games a year out of their minds/exceed their potential (our game at Oregon last year for example) and 4-5 stinkers. You can imagine before each game each team spins a wheel to see what kind of game they will play. And sometimes good teams get unlucky and land on a stinker when a bad team lands on an out of their minds and the good team loses.
Did we give Thornton an Sandfort some clean looks? Sure. But how many contested/step back/off movement 3s did they hit? When guys are hitting those kinds of shots there’s only so much you can do. And for Nebraska it was more than just Sandfort. They hit a bunch of contested, rainbow arc 3s including the game winner. I think most teams would have lost to both OSU and Nebraska based on the spin of the wheel on those particular nights. To me it’s a testament to how good we are/can be that we went 1-1, and lost on a 25 footer at the buzzer at that.
On the flip side of luck, when Purdue beat Bama, Philon had a one and one to tie the game in the last minute and he missed the front end (lucky), which also meant we were likely going to get Bama and Philon’s best game as their next opponent (unlucky). And same thing yesterday. Penn State had a 91% free throw shooter on the line to tie the game against Sparty in the last minute and missed the front end. Can’t call that anything other than luck.
We’ve got plenty to clean up defensively, sure. But sometimes you just have an unlucky spin of the wheel, and we got Nebraska’s A+ spin while we probably got a B. And they still needed a borderline miracle shot to beat us (I think the momentum had shifted to where if it had gone to OT I think we would have won). Still optimistic about this year.
Did we give Thornton an Sandfort some clean looks? Sure. But how many contested/step back/off movement 3s did they hit? When guys are hitting those kinds of shots there’s only so much you can do. And for Nebraska it was more than just Sandfort. They hit a bunch of contested, rainbow arc 3s including the game winner. I think most teams would have lost to both OSU and Nebraska based on the spin of the wheel on those particular nights. To me it’s a testament to how good we are/can be that we went 1-1, and lost on a 25 footer at the buzzer at that.
On the flip side of luck, when Purdue beat Bama, Philon had a one and one to tie the game in the last minute and he missed the front end (lucky), which also meant we were likely going to get Bama and Philon’s best game as their next opponent (unlucky). And same thing yesterday. Penn State had a 91% free throw shooter on the line to tie the game against Sparty in the last minute and missed the front end. Can’t call that anything other than luck.
We’ve got plenty to clean up defensively, sure. But sometimes you just have an unlucky spin of the wheel, and we got Nebraska’s A+ spin while we probably got a B. And they still needed a borderline miracle shot to beat us (I think the momentum had shifted to where if it had gone to OT I think we would have won). Still optimistic about this year.
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He was -11 in the 23 minutes he was in the game.
4 points
2 rebounds
1 assist
3 turnovers
-11
That's 100% unsatisfactory from a starter. He was a net negative factor.
The commentary was spot on.
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
Yeah, that's a completely different post than:
defending outside the paint. His lateral quickness is a problem, as is his explosiveness. He's most effective on the perimeter and is damn hard to stop.....when hitting the three.
Critiquing his bad game is not lazy with regard to a "technical game" standpoint.
Trying to tell us that he most effective on the perimeter, while being slow and clumsy, with a lateral quickness problem is what I was referring to.
His statistics don't even remotely tell us that. And logic would dictate that if you are slow, clumsy, and lack lateral quickness...you are not going to be most effective on the perimeter.
I don’t think it’s an anomaly in any high major game, but it is an anomaly in a high major road game.
I just don’t think there’s enough said for the fact that teams just not fear the thought of having to come to our place. There just isn’t that “advantage” of the Self years at Assembly Hall.
I did catch it...I'm just saying that sometimes the other team outplays you, and I don't think this game should be an indictment on this group of players as a whole, just like the box score I shared really represents that Trent/Ayo/Damonte team. I don't remember that game terribly well, but I remember it having a similar vibe. We couldn't guard Donta Scott, Maryland shot 40% from 3, we shot 33% from 3, and there were some big missed FTs (Damonte missed 2 FTs late that would have given us the lead).
I just don't think today was really about lack of effort or desire to win...and its incredibly rare to go undefeated at home in a season.
I don’t know of this long post is rationalization or justification or what. But the loss yesterday likely drops us a line in the tourney and makes a 3 seed look out of the picture. Maybe we will turn it around but history suggests that the issues plaguing previous Illini teams continue to exist.
If Tomi truly is as bad as he’s been, then I’m more concerned about making the tournament. He has been terrible. Totally out of shape and simply can’t do anything on the floor. Either it is injury or he just is no longer the same player.
After sleeping on it…..I’m not worried about offense. We scored 80. Im completely shocked that the defense is this pathetic. It’s horrible. We just can’t get stops and then when we do we turn the ball over. We are just immature on defense, signs of that are missed switched (poor communication) and biting on pump fakes.
We will get killed by Michigan and Purdue if we don’t tighten up on that side
We will get killed by Michigan and Purdue if we don’t tighten up on that side
I feel our best 5 players are Tomi, Z, AS, Wags and Bam. Thats your starting lineup, Lee, Ben, Mirk and Davis should be the 4 subs until we figure out Petro’s issue. Lee needs minutes. How much of a difference would the game have been if at the 16 minute TO, put Lee in on Sandfort and gone with a smaller quicker lineup? Take out either T or Z and go smaller. I believe we would have slowed down Nebby and we could have taken the game over. Brad is not an elite coach. Josh really needs to look at the future with this Program. It’s not where we want it in 9 years. If it weren’for TSJ and Domask carrying us into the EE, we would be 0-9.
Get what you are saying but at this point I fathom not making the tourney.
Lol here the come the “we’re gonna miss the tourney” posts. Classic
“We just can’t get stops and THEN WHEN WE DO…”
Yeah. I Was thinking the same thing. The sky is surely falling.
So far this season, Nebraska is shooting 36% from 3. Sandfort 39%, Mast 43%, Lawrence 43%, Hoiberg 42%. If your scouting report didn't realize they're good 3pt shooters, then whomever scouted the game should be fired.
It is just simply not a coincidence that guys routinely go off against us. It's directly related to our bad defense. So I don't think there's luck involved. Sure individual shots may be lucky, but it's not like none of our shots were lucky to offset theirs.
To me, our problem is pretty clear, we're slow. Mirkovic is very skilled, but he needs to drop 10-20 lbs and improve his quickness. Tomi and Big Z are good athletes for their size, but they're not going up against guys only their size. Their height allows them to get a lot of blocks when guys get by them, but guys can get by them and they can't block everything. Andrej is at least a half a step slow, which is why he has to make so many circus shots on his drives, good thing for him, he's really good at them. Boswell and Wagler are the only 2 guys that have the level of athleticism you'd want. So to make up for that we need to play smart team defense. We're clearly not.
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