Pregame: Illinois at Iowa, Sunday, January 11th, 11:00am CT, FOX

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#27      
jrichisamazing
Over the last 4 games, we are #1 on Torvik and have the #3 defense.

Obviously this has been against lower level competition. I do think the eye test shows our defense has gone up a level, but this Iowa offense will be a great litmus test for us.
 
#33      
Zorak
One way or the other this will be a huge game for Iowa - a win says they're a sleeping giant waiting for high-level competition, and a loss says they're frauds who got ranked on buy games. I'm leaning toward the latter.
 
#34      
Battle89
CV Illini said:
I will be at carver for the show. Hawkeye fans are the worst in the big10.
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Everyone's mileage may vary, I'll just say I've had the opposite experience, for both basketball and football.

Easier to be nice I suppose, when they win and I look post-game like my puppy just died. This scenario has happened all too often, I'd trade it for a jerk Hawkeye fan and an Illini win, maybe someday.
 
#35      
OB positive
Be prepared for Stirtz to go off on us. He missed to wide open threes at the end of their last game that would have sent it into overtime. I fully expect him to be motivated and come out and put up 30+.
 
#36      
Fighter of the Nightman
This doesn't have much bearing on this specific game, but it matters to us fans. In January 2020, after years in the wilderness it looked like Illini basketball was finally *back* in a real way. We traveled to Iowa City on February 2 on a 7-game winning streak and ranked #19. We lost a hard fought battle to #18 Iowa, extending Iowa's winning streak over us to 5 games and causing tempers to flare in the final seconds. This was truly the return of the Iowa/Illinois rivalry.

Since that game? We've had some real battles against good Iowa teams, and the rivalry has experienced a renaissance after being fairly "meh" for most of the Twenty-First Century ... but as far as wins and losses?? Utter domination.

March 8, 2020 - #23 Illinois 78, #18 Iowa 76 (Champaign, IL) [Kofi blocks Garza at the buzzer to earn a double bye in the BTT that never was]
Jan. 29, 2021 - #19 Illinois 80, #7 Iowa 75 (Champaign, IL)
March 13, 2021 - #3 Illinois 82, #5 Iowa 71 (BTT in Indianapolis, IN)
Dec. 6, 2021 - Illinois 87, Iowa 83 (Iowa City, IA)
March 6, 2022 - #20 Illinois 74, #24 Iowa 72 (Champaign, IL) [Fans rush the floor as Illini clinch first Big Ten title since 2005]
Feb. 4, 2023 - Iowa 81, Illinois 79 (Iowa City, IA) [Orange Krush ticket scandal adds some fuel to the fire]
Feb. 24, 2024 - #12 Illinois 95, Iowa 85 (Champaign, IL)
March 10, 2024 - #12 Illinois 73, Iowa 61 (Iowa City, IA)
Feb. 25, 2025 - Illinois 81, Iowa 61 (Champaign, IL)
March 13, 2025 - #24 Illinois 106, Iowa 94 (BTT in Indianapolis, IN)

In addition to a huge boost to our resume, a win on Sunday would mean winning 10 of the last 11 vs. Iowa, including 3 of our last 4 in Iowa City. I LOVE the sound of that! :cool: I think we bring the energy and are able to make a few essential plays late that put a tight game out of reach.

#16 Illinois 82
#19 Iowa 74
 
#38      
pruman91
I've only watched 1 idiots game this year........Stirtz seems to be a very good player and I was impressed with his passing , hitting open idiots all over the court....................we need to stay out of foul problems and hit our 3's.......
 
#40      
Fighter of the Nightman
sacraig said:
I don't know if anything can nullify the Nebraska loss for me. That was such a lost opportunity.
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Fair from a certain perspective, such as you have to win your conference home games and the infuriating hole we dug for ourselves. However, beating the #18 NET team on the road definitely sort of washes out losing to the #11 NET team at home from a "blind resume" perspective.

I also think beating Iowa here could serve as a much more valuable momentum boost. It would put us on a 5-game winning streak with Northwestern, Minnesota and Maryland on the horizon before Purdue. If we were on a potential an 8-game winning streak and rocking a 7-1 Big Ten record heading into a SUPER hyped matchup in West Lafayette, I think the Nebby loss might feel like a distant memory!
 
#42      
hoopsfan47
This is me predicting a 15 point loss to the Hawkeyes on Sunday.

If you, for some unknown reason, think that I am not a rabid Illini hoops fan, I will explain myself and then my strategy will be obvious.

After 70 years as an Illini basketball fan, it has been proven by undeniable fact that the basketball gods are fully aligned against the Illini team and me personally. This is indisputable.

But being gifted with sound logic and intellectual acumen few possess, I am using a psychological ploy to overcome the extreme bias against both my personal interests and the Illini.

By predicting a loss and betting heavily on Iowa ( my two cents), those hoops gods who would, under practically every circumstance, rule against me and my desires, will be fooled into thinking I want Iowa to win. Therefore, they will arrange for all good fortune to edge to the side of the Illini resulting in an Illinois victory in Iowa City on Sunday .

If you have followed this exalted reasoning to this point, you now understand the genius of my strategy and that it cannot fail.

And don't anyone dare call me paranoid...this is all based on 70+ years of factual data!!! How could it possibly be flawed?
 
#43      
Zorak
You just can't lose conference games at home.
 
#45      
oskeewowwowboomtime
As if there are not already more than enough reasons for wanting an ILLINI beatdown on Sunday of my least favorite NCAA Basketball team, the Iowa Hawkeyes, whose former Assistant Coach Bruce Pearl will always be at the top of my list of college basketball's most despicable people, please consider the following historical coincidence relative to Iowa's new head Coach Ben McCollum:

Ben McCollum and Bruce Pearl share a unique connection: Pearl coached McCollum at a youth basketball camp when Pearl was an assistant at Iowa, telling McCollum's mother he saw himself in the young player, a story McCollum recounted upon becoming Iowa's head coach, linking his own coaching journey to Pearl's early influence. This early interaction foreshadowed McCollum's later success, culminating in him taking over the Iowa head coaching role years later, where Pearl had once served.

The more things change, the more they stay the same in Iowa City. Imagine a head coach who is PROUD of his "link" to Pearl's early influence.

I can think of at least one ILLINI legend who has a different view of Pearl's "early influence" on him and on the ILLINI's beloved Assistant Head Coach Jimmy Collins, whose coaching career Pearl ruined. Pearl reportedly ran into Collins at the Final Four 23 years after the incident and apologized. Deon Thomas didn’t buy it, seeing Pearl as a uniquely malevolent figure, saying, “It’s kind of hard to forgive a snake. I don’t want to really use the word, but he’s evil.”

Satan, you bet . . . I despise Iowa basketball.

Bruce Pearl through the years
 
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