Pregame: Illinois at Northwestern, Wednesday, January 14th, 7:30pm CT, BTN

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#101      
21ChampaignSt
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Just some random info semi-related to this game for those who find it interesting. :ROFLMAO: I made the claim earlier that NU fans get up for this game, or something to that general effect. Well, I didn't want that claim to stand without evidence, so I looked at NU's average attendance by opponent since it unveiled the renovated Welsh-Ryan Arena about 8 years ago. If a number of sellouts is not in parentheses, it is because the number is zero.

Illinois: 7,039 (7 sellouts)
Indiana: 7,039 (4 sellouts)
Purdue: 6,806 (4 sellouts)
Iowa: 6,678 (3 sellouts)
Michigan: 6,432 (1 sellout)
Michigan State: 6,382 (2 sellouts)
UCLA: 6,099
--- Overall Average: 6,073 ---
Wisconsin: 5,887 (2 sellouts)
Ohio State: 5,739
Minnesota: 5,711 (1 sellout)
Penn State: 5,594 (1 sellout)
Nebraska: 5,468 (1 sellout)
USC: 5,440
Rutgers: 5,178
Maryland: 4,864

So while there are obviously tons of Illini fans attendance each time we play there, other Big Ten fan bases also bring a lot of fans to WRA. I would say 7 sellouts in 7 years (with fans) indicates that the NU fan base also attends the game vs. us more regularly and more intentionally than vs. other Big Ten teams. This also jives with my more subjective perception that their student section and general fan base seems to be more energized and into the game when we come to town than a lot of other times I have seen them on TV.

Hopefully we bring a large and rowdy contingent of Illini fans (seriously, we need the energy that our fans at the UC had, that was fantastic!) to help to negate any rowdiness on the part of the nerds. Jump on them early, get OUR crowd into it and never let them back in the game! I'm going optimistic mode.

#13 Illinois 84
Northwestern 70
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For like 8 years I lived about 10 minutes away from Welsh Ryan. One of my great disappointments is never going to a game there before moving out of the city.

The main reason is that I already had season tickets to our home games and I just couldn't bring myself to pay the same amount for a single game at Northwestern as I was paying for an entire season in Champaign.

My go-to move for Chicago sporting events was to go grab a drink or something near the stadium and then check the secondary market for deeply discounted tickets that people were trying to dump. Buy em, walk to the stadium, get to our seats before tip off, first pitch, kick off, etc. But this never worked for the NU games. Too much demand, not enough supply.
 
#102      
RollChief
Dan said:

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The thing that shocked me was when BU said that Northwestern has been up in the 2nd half in every single one of the 8 losses this year.

I looked back, and Chris Collins does not get blown out; his average margin of loss last year was 6.5 points on 16 losses, and so far this year their average margin of loss is 5.4 points across 8 losses.

No matter what this will be a fun energy game where it won't be over until 40 minutes are up
 
#103      
Fighter of the Nightman
LoveIlliniHoops said:
I’m sure the short distance between the two schools comes into play too. Travel expenses are far cheaper, by bus to NW, than a flight to Ann Arbor or most other schools. I’m sure our athletic department appreciates the cost savings, as would most schools
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I definitely agree that it is probably seen as desirable by the DIA that we are getting one of our road games each year as a guaranteed 2.5-hour bus trip in front of a half-orange crowd, haha. However, I would also wager that 80% or more of the fans from each Big Ten school who attend games in Evanston are alums/fans who live in the Chicago Area. Using a slightly tangential example, it was very clear during our United Center game that the vast, vast majority of Illini fans in attendance on a Wednesday night were at least somewhat local. I think a lot of people jump at the chance to see their favorite team close to home and not have to mess with a hotel.

Not to go too off topic, but I have always found this topic interesting. It drives me nuts when announcers talk about the crowd makeup at a given neutral site, and the only thing they EVER cite is the distance from each school's literal campus, lol ... every single major program literally has tens of thousands to even millions of fans that do not live in that specific college town. While I am sure there are always a decent chunk of Illini fans from Central Illinois and Champaign specifically attending all of our games away from home, I think we discount how different of a collection of Illini fans are at a lot of these games. With some examples of games I have been to, myself:

1. If you are getting almost 18k at the United Center on a Wednesday night, that is definitely because a huge number of local Illini fans are attending. There's just no way 10k or more Illini fans are swarming the interstates on a weeknight driving up from Central Illinois. Also, the fact that every single bar anywhere near the UC was PACKED makes it pretty clear that the vast majority were not planning on a multi-hour drive home, haha.
2. Every fan I had the pleasure of interacting with at Braggin' Rights during the two years we met was actually from the Metro East. This is totally anecdotal, but I also heard a lot more slightly Southern drawls at this even than I ever hear in Champaign or elsewhere, so I would bet money that a lot of fans from Southern Illinois peg Braggin' Rights as their "game per year" that they attend.
3. Again using Northwestern, we have played them on a Wednesday night 3 of the last 4 years, and every one has sold out quickly. I think that indicates it is mostly being attended by Illini fans in the Chicagoland Area who can easily make it to a weeknight game and get home at a decent hour.
4. Lastly, I have attended a lot of Illini games in Iowa City and combining that with always reading on these boards comments from fans who plan on attending an upcoming game at Carver-Hawkeye, it is clear a lot of them are either transplants in Iowa or fans in the Quad Cities/Western Iowa who actually have a shorter drive to Iowa City than to Champaign for games.
 
#105      
IlliniFan42
RollChief said:
The thing that shocked me was when BU said that Northwestern has been up in the 2nd half in every single one of the 8 losses this year.

I looked back, and Chris Collins does not get blown out; his average margin of loss last year was 6.5 points on 16 losses, and so far this year their average margin of loss is 5.4 points across 8 losses.

No matter what this will be a fun energy game where it won't be over until 40 minutes are up
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It's stats like those that show he's a great coach stuck (by his choice) in a program that can't compete for talent.
 
#106      
ptgrd23
Collins was only coach regularly upsetting Zach Edey Purdue teams. He trapped entire game against them. He is a good coach that gets the most out of his talent.

I thought he would have moved on to better program by now but he is a Chicago boy and will probably stay at NW for life or until they fire him.

I miss the old days when Evanston was a guaranteed Illini win. There are no freebees in b10 anymore. Use to be sure of wins @ Nebraska, @ Rutgers, @ Penn State @ Northwestern @ Minnesota. We added all the good basketball programs from Pac12 - UCLA, USC, Oregon and WA.
 
#108      
Ga65
So who guards Martinelli? He roasted Ben last year. How about Kylan? Believe he guarded Wolf in Michigan game and shut him down. We have the size to match him in the paint and prevent him from overpowering Kylan there. Make him work to get anywhere.
 
#109      
Fly Illini Fly!
Ga65 said:
So who guards Martinelli? He roasted Ben last year. How about Kylan? Believe he guarded Wolf in Michigan game and shut him down. We have the size to match him in the paint and prevent him from overpowering Kylan there. Make him work to get anywhere.
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Morez last season did an excellent job in the second matchup (but was on the bench when we played them in Evanston).

Z mirrors a lot of the same attributes, but wouldn't trust him to guard in space. Ultimately I think it'll be a combination of Mirk/Stoj/Kylan as the primary, with Z (or Tomi) as the rim protector.
 
#110      
IlliniFan42
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Morez last season did an excellent job in the second matchup (but was on the bench when we played them in Evanston).

Z mirrors a lot of the same attributes, but wouldn't trust him to guard in space. Ultimately I think it'll be a combination of Mirk/Stoj/Kylan as the primary, with Z (or Tomi) as the rim protector.
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I expect him to be doubled all night and let someone else beat us if they can.
 
#119      
NarrowJ
illini0440 said:
If we just let him score 60 and no one else scores we’re probably in the clear
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GIF by Giphy QA
 
#120      
hoopsfan47
RollChief said:
The thing that shocked me was when BU said that Northwestern has been up in the 2nd half in every single one of the 8 losses this year.

I looked back, and Chris Collins does not get blown out; his average margin of loss last year was 6.5 points on 16 losses, and so far this year their average margin of loss is 5.4 points across 8 losses.
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Amazing that the coach of the Illinois program understands more than our posters that this Wildcat team is VERY competitive against B1G opponents. Much of that competitiveness is due to their experienced and competent coach who understands that there is always a way to counter the opponents strengths and make them beat you by making their secondary scorers have to score. This has been the case at Welsh-Ryan lately and our stars have failed to meet expectations too often while the Cats' stars shine....doing the same things over and over.

What is encouraging about our Illini team this season is that thru the top eight minute grabbers, any of them seem to be ready and able to do their job of putting the ball in the net when teammates are being shut down. When a door gets closed, another opens. Pick your poison.

As I see it, a forty minute effort on the defensive end, focused on not letting Marty get loose or making his shots contested is the key to an Illini victory. Not many teams have the luxury of available depth that the Illini possess. I hope that all of our guys come ready to go all out and end this embarrassment of Wildcat victories. If so, they will win...it is that simple....unless the hoops gods put a lid on the Illini basket....in which case that defensive effort needs to go beyond what our guys think they are capable, but which they can do.
 
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#123      
PNWIllini
LouHenson said:
This is some of the coolest part of looking at the efficiency tools like the shot chart. It is crazy how are shot chart is literally all 3’s and in paint shots? For us old timers this is just crazy to look at?
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A testament to what’s happened to the game, if you want the truth.

I’m glad my team is doing well at it.
 
#125      
ejam21
Vinegarben said:
Northwestern IS NOT HORRIBLE. They have played teams pretty tough only to lose late in most games. Martinelli is a hand full and always seems to play his best against us. If the Illini just go through the motions the mildcats will pull the upset. Buckle boys and come out fired up and take them out early.
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Yeah really bizarre. Kenpom 59
And dead last in the kenpom luck metric..in all of d1
 
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