Illinois 75, Washington 66 Postgame

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#201      
AEX
Great game overall. LaTulip mentioned something at the start of the season about how you're not always going to play your A game and wether you can ensure your B or even C performance is still good enough to win. For Illinois, last night, that answer was a clear yes. Effort was good overall, and Wagler and Mirk had solid performances, but Tomi couldn't hit open shots, Jake's defense was a bit suspect, Andre is forcing things. Still grind out a solid win with confidence against a Washington team that played really well. Oh, and kudos to Ben, too!

One thing that struck me last night -- and then the announcers mentioned it, which always makes me feel good in those rare cases when I see something before it gets pointed out -- was how shifty Wagler is with the ball and how good he is at picking up fouls. He's just so tough to stay in front of. And that's been a big factor in getting us to the bonus quickly.
 
#203      
AirTran
Tough to tell watching even on big screen, but looked to me that Steinbach blocked one of twin's shot. He's a stud.
 
#204      
Noblesville Illini
AEX said:
So which side of the family does the crazy come from?
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crazy GIF
 
#207      
zentrails
EyeoftheIllini said:
Our depth? We played 7 guys. Same against Purdue basically (Petrovic and Lee played a minute a piece). Both games Illini starters played 158 minutes while opponents starters played less than 140 minutes.

If WA was gassed, it probably had more to do with PNW team playing in Midwest than Illini’s “depth” — with a healthy dose of Illini conditioning by Fletch.
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They played mostly just 5, two of our "only 7" are 7 footers
 
#208      
Lmg5
AEX said:
So which side of the family does the crazy come from?
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...and which side would a crazy fast first step (with the ball) come from? He's getting no respect from refs without that (to wit, see KW).
 
#209      
blackdog
Indy Illini Fan said:
This Washington team is a little disappointing for me … They’ve got the right pieces and especially did when they had Claude … Really thought they’d be better … Don’t know what the issue is … They compete at least …

They’ve invested HUGE into basketball this year and last year … Sprinkle leash is running out …
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They have nobody in their rotation who shoots over 35% from 3 and barely over 31% as a team. They didnt seem to run too many actions to get easy looks inside either. Too easy to guard when teams dont have to worry about shooting.
 
#210      
sdiver68
Andrej = Current version of Matthew Mayer? Can go off for 30 and key a win. Can just as easily go negative in terms of game impact.
 
#212      
2qtslow
IlliniWu said:
Kept Washington out of reach. If the Purdue game wasn't enough (Or anything else), I think it's time we start talking B1G POY and a certain 1st teamer (No doubt B1G FOY).
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This being the B1G, it is reasonable to expect that if Keaton wins the B1G POY, then he will share the B1G FOY nod with at least one other frosh.
 
#214      
rbse
I'm just really happy with this teams composure, discipline and unselfishness, they never looked worried or pressured. Give Washington credit, they keep the game close and played tough, we just have too many weapons.
 
#216      
Mobi
Nuke Dukem said:
Or Boswell for Andrej. We looked a little flat at times but we come through at crunch time without our Sr problem solver. Only played seven and was still the stronger team at the end. This team has grit
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Did Andrej have an intermittent forgetness of how to dribble and lay up?
 
#217      
Illini 993
For those who have this game on DVR, I suggest you go to the first play after the under 12" timeout in the first half, where Jake tried the lob to Big Z for a dunk. The pass was way too high, I thought it would sail out of bounds. Big Z's hands extended above the backboard square just to have a chance! (Too bad it didn't go as it would have made the highlight reel.) I'm not sure I've seen anyone get higher than that in NCAA basketball.
 
#218      
Mobi
AEX said:
Great game overall. LaTulip mentioned something at the start of the season about how you're not always going to play your A game and wether you can ensure your B or even C performance is still good enough to win. For Illinois, last night, that answer was a clear yes. Effort was good overall, and Wagler and Mirk had solid performances, but Tomi couldn't hit open shots, Jake's defense was a bit suspect, Andre is forcing things. Still grind out a solid win with confidence against a Washington team that played really well. Oh, and kudos to Ben, too!

One thing that struck me last night -- and then the announcers mentioned it, which always makes me feel good in those rare cases when I see something before it gets pointed out -- was how shifty Wagler is with the ball and how good he is at picking up fouls. He's just so tough to stay in front of. And that's been a big factor in getting us to the bonus quickly.
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The fatigue from the Purdue game didn't help but I think our advantage is diminished when the opponent rebounds.
 
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#224      
Second place is 1st loser
Nuke Dukem said:
It looks like poor decision making at times to me. That is what impresses me most about KW. His decision making is so good.
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To me, the biggest issue for him has been beating his man off the bounce then not finishing. At Iowa and vs Maryland, he was fantastic. At Purdue and vs Washington, not so much. Makes me believe he could get a little intimated against solid bigs and rushes vs going up strong and finishing the play. Then, when he doesn't score or things go poorly, he forces it and makes dumb plays.

That is PURELY a hypothesis. I have absolutely no stats to back that up. It's just when he's good, he's really really good. When he's bad, he's really really bad. No consistency in his game.

I also think that he foresaw himself having a much bigger role. Keaton squashed that and became option A, playing 35+ minutes and dominating the ball. Again, this is hugely hypothetical.
 
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