Pregame: Illinois vs Missouri, Monday, December 22nd, 7:00pm CT, FS1

Status
Not open for further replies.
#54      
CDRUSN
We are in a 13 day stretch with only one scheduled game, and that was Saturday's loss to Nebraska. This is one of our last and best opportunities to heal any nagging injuries, work out rotation patterns, improve our defense, and address consistent toughness, effort, and close teamwork where we have looked disjointed and listless at times. I trust Coach Underwood and staff to elevate our play and get the most out of our very talented team as we head into the rest of the season.
 
#55      
Illinisnake
Curbelo Fanboy said:
Sad thing is 9 years in I have zero faith in Brad's ability to get guys to show up for games. Even this one. I attended in 2022 & left at the first tv timeout of 2nd half cause we were down 30. It's like the team had zero interest in playing in a big rivalry game. Just absurd lack of care.
Click to expand...
someone has to win it all every year, it eventually needs to be us because I am about to lose my mind. The rest of my teams suck constantly.
 
#56      
alaskaillini
The left cross is wicked.
Mizzou.GIF


We need to take it to these guys from the start - no quarter.
 
Last edited:
#58      
jrichisamazing
CDRUSN said:
We are in a 13 day stretch with only one scheduled game, and that was Saturday's loss to Nebraska. This is one of our last and best opportunities to heal any nagging injuries, work out rotation patterns, improve our defense, and address consistent toughness, effort, and close teamwork where we have looked disjointed and listless at times. I trust Coach Underwood and staff to elevate our play and get the most out of our very talented team as we head into the rest of the season.
Click to expand...

For a team still trying to piece some things together, this schedule the past couple weeks and next few weeks has been great.

-week off before Tenn
-week off before Miznoz
-week off before Southern
-B1G schedule goes into full swing, but our first 2 games are against PSU and Rutgers

Obviously can't overlook anyone, but we've got a chance to work on a bunch of things in practice before the B1G schedule starts getting scary.

Compare this to someone like Nebraska who has to start the 2026 with MSU, @tOSU, and @IU.
 
#60      
thefalcon5
jrichisamazing said:
For a team still trying to piece some things together, this schedule the past couple weeks and next few weeks has been great.

-week off before Tenn
-week off before Miznoz
-week off before Southern
-B1G schedule goes into full swing, but our first 2 games are against PSU and Rutgers

Obviously can't overlook anyone, but we've got a chance to work on a bunch of things in practice before the B1G schedule starts getting scary.

Compare this to someone like Nebraska who has to start the 2026 with MSU, @tOSU, and @IU.
Click to expand...
Yup. Time for underwood and the gang to figure this out. We’ve got tape, we’ve got time, get the most out of this team.
 
#62      
molinefan
I hope that we can get back to a 10 man rotation against Missouri. I am really concerned about the trend toward relying on Keaton and Bam to play all the minutes for the 2 guard spots. I know it will work for some games but I don't think it is a good situation long term. Communicating to Petrovic and Lee that they are not trusted to play at all in the rotation could become a major issue at some point and limit the ceiling of this team it seems to me. I'm not a coach and I'm sure our staff knows better than I, but that seems clear to me.
 
#63      
BalloonsTheElephant
molinefan said:
I hope that we can get back to a 10 man rotation against Missouri. I am really concerned about the trend toward relying on Keaton and Bam to play all the minutes for the 2 guard spots. I know it will work for some games but I don't think it is a good situation long term. Communicating to Petrovic and Lee that they are not trusted to play at all in the rotation could become a major issue at some point and limit the ceiling of this team it seems to me. I'm not a coach and I'm sure our staff knows better than I, but that seems clear to me.
Click to expand...
We saw the overuse before. I think we were playing Trent and Damonte about 35+ a game and you could tell at tournament time that we were just exhausted. Even Izzo said something about it after we beat them.
 
#64      
GoodePodzMelendez
molinefan said:
I hope that we can get back to a 10 man rotation against Missouri. I am really concerned about the trend toward relying on Keaton and Bam to play all the minutes for the 2 guard spots. I know it will work for some games but I don't think it is a good situation long term. Communicating to Petrovic and Lee that they are not trusted to play at all in the rotation could become a major issue at some point and limit the ceiling of this team it seems to me. I'm not a coach and I'm sure our staff knows better than I, but that seems clear to me.
Click to expand...
I want Lee to get minutes. We need a tough as nails defender who will play scrappy like Feliz did.
 
#65      
Retro62
The problem with getting Lee or Petro on the court is taking Wagler, Andrej, or Bam off it. It will be great when we can afford to give them minutes and rest the others a little, but neither one of the former are in a position to take minutes away from the latter. Maybe Lee, since he could provide some defense, but I saw Petro play against UCONN in person, and he was a mess.
 
#66      
I-L-L 1318
GoodePodzMelendez said:
I want Lee to get minutes. We need a tough as nails defender who will play scrappy like Feliz did.
Click to expand...
To me, that is what Kylan was all last year. This year he is MUCH more consistent and dangerous on the offensive end, but is much less of a dawg on the defensive end. I know the shoulder deal, but still. Need Kylan all the way back on the defensive end in a big way.
 
#67      
Fighter of the Nightman
While there are still seats available on the main tickets website, this could potentially be the first Braggin' Rights sellout in quite some time. We'll probably come up just short, but it should still be a huge crowd. For reference, the arena's capacity is "nearly 22,000" according to my web searches ... not sure if it was different before renovations, though it seems rather obvious it was 22,153 for a stretch there in the early 2000s! :ROFLMAO: Also including each team's rank to give some perspective for excitement for the game on either side and whatnot.

FWIW, the tickets website would indicate sales are significantly over 21,000 or so.

2024-25: 18,497 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2023-24: 18,485 for #13 Illinois vs. Missouri
2022-23: 18,452 for #16 Illinois vs. Missouri
2021-22*: 14,953 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2020-21: N/A (played in Columbia with no fans due to COVID)
2019-20: 15,259 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2018-19: 16,397 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2017-18**: 21,289 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2016-17: 12,409 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2015-16: 14,456 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2014-15: 20,079 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2013-14: 21,987 for Illinois vs. #23 Missouri
2012-13: 21,933 for #10 Illinois vs. #12 Missouri
2011-12: 22,087 for #25 Illinois vs. #10 Missouri
2010-11: 21,906 for #21 Illinois vs. #9 Missouri
2009-10: 20,497 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2008-09: 19,586 for Illinois vs. #25 Missouri
2007-08: 21,941 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2006-07: 22,153 for Illinois vs. Missouri
2005-06: 22,153 for #6 Illinois vs. Missouri
2004-05: 22,153 for #1 Illinois vs. Missouri
2003-04: 22,153 for #21 Illinois vs. #11 Missouri
2002-03: 22,153 for #12 Illinois vs. #11 Missouri
2001-02: 22,153 for #9 Illinois vs. #8 Missouri
2000-01: 22,089 for #5 Illinois vs. Missouri
1999-00: 22,484 for #15 Illinois vs. Missouri

* By the way, I was at the 2021-22 Braggin' Rights for my first trip to this game, and it was sort of doomed from an attendance standpoint. There was still some lingering COVID-related hesitancy from some, Mizzou would finish 12-21 that year in Cuonzo's fifth and final season AND it was literally during Missouri's bowl game, lmao. Still, we had an absolute blast ... I would say the Illini side was still 80%+ full.

** If anyone is wondering why there was a seemingly random spike here, this was Brad's first year and it was right after all of the decommitments from Illinois to Missouri after Groce's firing (e.g., Tilmon). So, while neither team was really good, there was extra hype around this one.
 
#68      
EmeraldCityIllini
Retro62 said:
The problem with getting Lee or Petro on the court is taking Wagler, Andrej, or Bam off it. It will be great when we can afford to give them minutes and rest the others a little, but neither one of the former are in a position to take minutes away from the latter. Maybe Lee, since he could provide some defense, but I saw Petro play against UCONN in person, and he was a mess.
Click to expand...

the offense, as discussed at length, is not the issue. But I really wouldn’t mind inserting Lee or even Petro, at times and putting Andrej at the 4.

I think we can unlock some speed there. Get some stuff in transition but maybe fly around a little bit defensively.

Lee looks like Feliz to me in everything he does and swag, so I’m irrationally all in.
 
#69      
Emerson Bigguns
Retro62 said:
The problem with getting Lee or Petro on the court is taking Wagler, Andrej, or Bam off it. It will be great when we can afford to give them minutes and rest the others a little, but neither one of the former are in a position to take minutes away from the latter. Maybe Lee, since he could provide some defense, but I saw Petro play against UCONN in person, and he was a mess.
Click to expand...
In the already brief time Lee and Petro have been with the team, they have both missed a lot of practice due to injuries. There is no way for us to know the extent to which those issues continue to factor into their playing time, but you can bet the loss of practice reps has eroded Brad's trust in them. It's a big week for those two to try to carve out a consistent role.
Defensive communication has been an issue for guys who have been healthy and playing... I think we are definitely going through some growing pains regarding the new scheme.
My untrained eye is picking up a LOT more switching than we used to do. If our timing and communication is off, everything goes off the rails pretty fast, especially against teams that execute offense as efficiently as Nebraska has been recently.
We may be able to simply out-talent the next few foes, but the little things add up and we have to get them fixed. It's especially glaring after a buzzer-beater loss.
 
#70      
Brosky
He'll be fine. Kylan is our sure thing. Relax. If you find something about him that worries you, you're not going to have much fun all season.
 
#71      
Theponyred
I don’t know why we don’t go inside to David or Tomi. They have ok post presence and David usually draws a double team. That said, if the double comes we can’t keep bricking up 3’s if they aren’t falling. Gotta adapt at some point
 
#74      
ColSLU69
I wish that Brad and Tyler would watch the film of the Nebraska at Illinois game. In particular, watch the Nebraska offense and the Illinois offense. Compare the two offenses. Nebraska sets more picks, makes more passes, and has a LOT more movement. And then... Brad and Tyler should copy/implement that offense for the Illini. JMHO.
 
#75      
hoopsfan47
Having seen almost every one of these Braggin Rights games, there is one thing that stands out. The winner generally comes out firing on all cylinders, rushing to get shots off from the arc knowing every one is going in, grabbing every rebound possible and every free ball, and playing defense with an energy hardly imaginable. More often than not, that team has been Mizzou...and yet the Illini have won the majority due to talent and execution.

It is my fondest hope that the frenzy to win belongs to the Illini next Monday....but I do not expect them to lead the way from the opening tip. We just don't have a Sincere Harris or TSJr. to spark that fire. But I would like to see a huge focus on perimeter defense, boxing out on every shot, and quick ball movement the entire game. This should be a dog fight from the opening tip, but for the biggest dog to win, he will have to fight. Not sure the Balkans understand the requirement...but hope they learn quickly and respond accordingly.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back