I don’t know if this was mentioned elsewhere but I didn’t see Ty on the bench at Penn State. Any reason for concern? He’s always traveled with the team in the past.
Pregame: Illinois vs Rutgers, Thursday, January 8th, 7:30pm CT, BTN
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game thread hangover LOL
My issue is with the bolded part of this. We aren’t even halfway through the season, and maybe I’m an optimist, but I believe most of the flaws we have seen in this team are fixable with more practice and games. I see the flaws as things the team can work on. Sure…there is a chance that things stay the same and this team ends up what it is…a 4-5 seed and whether they make the Sweet 16 depends on whether or not our 3s fall. Or…they could implode like that Matthew Mayer squad. But, we’ve seen Underwood teams figure it out and click in February/March, as well. Despite the 2nd round loss to Loyola, that 2020-2021 team was unreal in February and March, and the TSJ Elite 8 team was one of the best 3-5 teams in the country at the end of the year, but ran into a buzz saw in UConn. If that 2020-2021 squad doesn’t get that draw against Loyola (remember how they were #9 in KP but a 9 seed?) and make an E8 or Final Four, I think our view of Underwood is different.
Anyway…its a 30+ game season, and everyone has ups and downs. I feel like this team is different than last year, and I like the character and makeup of this squad to find a way to get to the 2nd weekend. But its March Madness for a reason. We all love the upsets except for when they come at the Illini’s expense.
For all of the fans predicting the Illini’s “flaws” will catch up to them in March…you are probably correct. In fact, that prediction would turn out to be true for about 360 teams. As far as the U of I history goes, you are again correct. No Illini team has ever won it all.
In the meantime, what a fun and good team this is to watch, a game at a time.
In the meantime, what a fun and good team this is to watch, a game at a time.
I have no rebuttal to the statement our team isn't perfect.
And candidly, I've even seen perfect teams lose come March lol
Everyone remembers Virginia rolling into the NCAAs at 31-2 and then just getting blown out of the first round by the mighty UMBC Retrievers…by 20 points. March be crazy, y’all.
It took our ole buddy Bruce Weber to knock the Retrievers out in the next round, if anyone needed to be reminded. That was the only season he had at KSU that he won an NCAA game, and he went to an Elite 8, losing to Loyola. His 2 teams that tied for Big 12 regular season titles both got upset in the first round. Again, March is weird.
Would agree most teams have flaws including the Illini. But in my mind you don't need to win it all or even get to the Elite 8 or Final 4 very often. They do need to start making it to the Sweet 16 more often though.
i have to throw this out here, because it was the "Outrage of the Week" special a month ago after the Alabama game. "This team can't shoot free throws, and as the season goes on in games with brighter lights it will get worse.
www.teamrankings.com
Illinois now up to the 7th best free throw percentage in the entire sport. Number 1 in the Big Ten.
michigan down around 200 if you're looking for a potential flaw (like I know soooo many of you comb and search for)
NCAA Basketball Stats - NCAA BB Team Free Throw % | TeamRankings.com
NCAA Basketball free throw %, by team.
www.teamrankings.com
Illinois now up to the 7th best free throw percentage in the entire sport. Number 1 in the Big Ten.
michigan down around 200 if you're looking for a potential flaw (like I know soooo many of you comb and search for)
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I am a few days away from 65 years old and this will be my first game to watch in person. I am geeked! Can anyone offer any tips on parking? How early to arrive? A decent place to grab a burger or sandwich before the game? I am riding with an old friend almost my age. We are coming from and returning to Metro-East and we are old guys so not gonna by drinking. GO ILLINI!
The TSJ team had 5th year TSJ who is the best perimeter/wing player I've seen in the last 25 years. Yeah they got unlucky because they got UConn but another Shannon isn't walking through the door, the dude was a unicorn. Obviously they got going in February when Shannon returned from the injunction and got back in a rhythm.
Loyala was a bad draw in the 2nd round but there is the Illini still should have won that game and especially not lost it in that fashion where they got completely outclassed and never really had a chance at a win. Loyola went on to lose an incredible mediocre Oregon state team so it's not like when Wichita St drew an incredibly talented Kentucky team that went to the national championship.
Loyala was a bad draw in the 2nd round but there is the Illini still should have won that game and especially not lost it in that fashion where they got completely outclassed and never really had a chance at a win. Loyola went on to lose an incredible mediocre Oregon state team so it's not like when Wichita St drew an incredibly talented Kentucky team that went to the national championship.
Noticed the same thing. As a longtime Illini fan I always assume bad news…
Congrats on your first game and happy birthday!
hooraybeer
- Peoria, IL
murphys pub and black dog are my two go tos!
I think the ceiling is higher than last year for sure.
And yes, woulda coulda shoulda about the past. The 20-21 team got a tough draw but that will never excuse getting pretty easily handled by Loyola.
Our elite 8 team was final four worthy in probably any other bracket, but it was still an embarrassing loss to end the season. The game plan was to go right at Clingan and they never stopped trying. We probably lose either way but still.
I like the character of this team as well man, and when they are clicking the can play with anyone, I’m just worried when our actions are getting blown up that we are going to shoot 20% from 3 with 35 attempts and half of them terrible looks because we have nothing else to fall back on and just keep trying all game.
You guys can paint me negative or whatever all you want. We’ve been to 2 second weekends in 20 years. I just want us to capitalize on the success we are having at the moment and all the momentum we have. I won’t apologize for calling it like I see it. I’d love to eat crow and watch us do what we’re doing now on the way to a final four.
Hello friend
I do agree with your post. I just feel, like myself, there are many of us who see our flaws and know they will catch up to us come tourney time. We may get favorable matchups or we may have a couple hot shooting nights, but that historically hasn't been the case for us come round of 32.
Winning is always better than losing though. And I certainly could be better at reminding myself how much worse we could have it. We’re starving for another deep run in March but some of us should enjoy the regular season success we’ve had lately along the way more than we do.
Is there specific teams in the country you look at right now and believe don’t have flaws that could hurt them tournament time?
I think Michigan, Arizona and UConn are the cream of the crop. I haven’t watched enough of ISU or Duke to speak on them. But it’s college ball, most teams are flawed and anything can happen when it’s just 1 game.
At the end of the day we are talking about being in the top 4 (or even 8 or 16) out of 364 in any given season. The flaws I’m talking about isn’t like a “roster build” sort of thing. This roster could use an elite wing athlete but we’re really well rounded all things considered.
Stojakovic is an elite wing athlete.
I put it this way- we're a three-loss team too early in the season. You'd have to go back to 2017 to find a champion with this many losses this early. The metrics love us, but we're surrounded by teams with 0-2 losses. If you narrow it down to just the nine teams ahead of us in NET, all of their Q1 records are better than ours, the only team that doesn't have four Q1 wins yet in the top 10 other than us is Gonzaga, whose fourth Q1 game was the blowout loss to Michigan.
The 3 main questions with this team IMO are what Tomi will we have in March, how effective will Andre be against top defenders and will we make open shots.
Of the 3 losses we have one was a bad free throw shooting game, one was a bad shooting game and one was full of boneheaded defensive lapses. Not saying the team is perfect, but having played so many top teams shows me that we can compete with anyone.
Not sure this won’t change when we play Michigan. But so we look good athletically, but also look susceptible to mental weakness at times.
Of the 3 losses we have one was a bad free throw shooting game, one was a bad shooting game and one was full of boneheaded defensive lapses. Not saying the team is perfect, but having played so many top teams shows me that we can compete with anyone.
Not sure this won’t change when we play Michigan. But so we look good athletically, but also look susceptible to mental weakness at times.
Get there early. Everyone is go ive always had to wait in line to get it.
I swear physical tickets were so much quicker
I don't think we have to worry about Andre so much because he relies on his long arms with good size and excellent body control on getting his shots. If he has an off night it's usually just him, not the defense. You have to remember he was the guy on his team last year and was always the main priority of the defense when he played.
Illini fan in Tennessee
- Eastern Tennessee
If Tennessee can beat Rutgers in basketball then Illinois should smoke them.
I haven't looked too hard into this one yet. But just going over the numbers, this is one of the worst Rutgers teams we'll have seen since they entered the Big Ten. Their best win is a toss-up between equally mediocre Penn squad and the Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn-led UNLV teams, their only win away from the RAC. They were handled at home -- and I mean handled -- by a Central Connecticut squad that is 7-6 despite no ranked opponents. Rutgers trailed the final 30 minutes of that game.
Statistically, Illinois outclasses them in every area. Rutgers barely shoots 40% as a team. They have two effective three-point shooters in Grant and Davis, but neither shoots at a high rate. Their highest rate three-point shooter hits at less than 30%. They shoot 71% as a team from the line and 31% from 3. A modicum of defensive pressure in this game should lay them low within the first ten minutes.
In the backcourt, they don't seem to have a true point guard. This is noted particularly in that the assist to turnover ratio is under 1.0 and many returning players have seen increased usage but still are seeing lower shooting percentages. That implies quality of shot is reduced despite greater experience. Davis and Francis are the leading assist men, both under 3 a game.
I expect us to feast from the outside, as Rutgers has the 323rd-ranked defensive 3P FG%. 36.3% a game on average! I expect us to rain hell on them early and often.
102-68 Good guys.
Statistically, Illinois outclasses them in every area. Rutgers barely shoots 40% as a team. They have two effective three-point shooters in Grant and Davis, but neither shoots at a high rate. Their highest rate three-point shooter hits at less than 30%. They shoot 71% as a team from the line and 31% from 3. A modicum of defensive pressure in this game should lay them low within the first ten minutes.
In the backcourt, they don't seem to have a true point guard. This is noted particularly in that the assist to turnover ratio is under 1.0 and many returning players have seen increased usage but still are seeing lower shooting percentages. That implies quality of shot is reduced despite greater experience. Davis and Francis are the leading assist men, both under 3 a game.
I expect us to feast from the outside, as Rutgers has the 323rd-ranked defensive 3P FG%. 36.3% a game on average! I expect us to rain hell on them early and often.
102-68 Good guys.
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