Illinois 78, Nebraska 69 Postgame

[SoILL_INI]

 

[Rainier Wolfcastle]

Keaton…Sweet Jesus did he come to play in the second half.

Our front court was great today. We hammered them in the paint. The Ivisic’s and Mirk were very solid.

And a shoutout to Jake Davis. Dude had a really nice game and played a big role in the win.

2 top 5 road wins. F yeah!!!

 

[Ryllini]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2018092192204759431

 

[OB positive]

Someone explain to me how that wasn't a flagrant? Guy literally ambushed Keaton.

Yes, may not have been a text book hook and hold but he obviously grabbed Keaton’s arm at the last second jerking him down. Could have very easily ended up as a dislocated shoulder for Keaton and the end of any chance of us getting to the final four. Terrible assessment by the referees. You absolutely can't let a play like that go unpunished when you can tell he meant to do it. That was a dirty play similar to the one that happened to Ayo.

 

[JoseCuervo]

What an awesome second half. (Aside from the fouls on layups in the last 2 minutes.)

Absolutely wore them out and broke their spirit with a relentless offense. Offensive rebounds are simply back-breakers.

What a nice Sunday afternoon game to watch.

that tap pass from ivisic to Jake with the shot clock winding down was a killer. i think it put us up 4 at the time. So many big plays today.

 

[Dan]

https://twitter.com/x/status/2018102276259283011

 

[Julie Meinart]

Jake Davis.. wow

 

[JoseCuervo]

the alley-oops were a thing a beauty. the type of ball movement that brings a tear to your eye.

that perfect 30 foot pass from wagler to Z was ridiculous

 

[PleaseMakeABowlGame]

I’m literally trying to understand the rule. For it to be a flagrant foul, does it HAVE to be a hook and hold?

 

[Piotyr]

Illinois tied at 1st in the B1G with Michigan, a game ahead of Nebraska and MSU, and 2 games ahead of Purdue and Wisconsin.

 

[Barfolomew]

Sam Hoiberg is actually Little Sweet:

 

[blackdog]

Just does it without his 2nd best player NBD

This team doesn't have a 2nd best player and that's what makes it so dangerous. Its Keaton and then anybody else can be #2 on any given night.

 

[BrownTown]

Can we put up the 'Keaton Wagler wins 5th straight Freshmen of the Week' graphic yet?

 

[logjam]

That was probably the biggest game in Nebraska basketball history. And we won it decisively in their house.

We good. We real good.

And this season is special.

 

[WyattEarp]

Rob the F*king Bank!
Indeed. Brad is hilarious.

 

[Illwinsagain]

Lots of people really down on AS but he did a great job oon Sandefort in the 2nd half

I am also very confident when he is shooting free throws. Nothing but the bottom of the net.

 

[wpr]

One of the things I noticed that the team has done a pretty good job all season is turnovers. In the past they might have 20 or more. This year 9.5 a game. 17th best in the country. Even better recently.

 

[Bucktown]

I’m literally trying to understand the rule. For it to be a flagrant foul, does it HAVE to be a hook and hold?

It clearly was an intentional, non-basketball play. Maybe they appealed using the wrong language?

 

[skyIdub]

If it wasn't for Wagler's generational game at Mackey....we'd be talking about that second half for a really long time.

 

[csd]

Where is Keaton ranking on people’s all time favorite Illini…he has cracked top 5 for me…Frank, Nick Anderson, Deron, Ayo, Keaton…trying to avoid recency bias but he is just so fun to watch.

Great team win! Jake mf’n Davis!!!

Trent Frazier, he started this era.

 

[Doogie94]

Amazing game! Keaton is unreal.

Keep this train rolling!

My Pregame Prediction (pg 1 game thread): Not far off!

"83-74, good guys!"

 

[NarrowJ]

Illinois KenPom rating is 32.05 now.

At the end of the magical 2004-05 season, Illini finished with a 32.68.

That's the level this team is at right now in college basketball.

Defense up 10 spots from 34th to 24th

Allowed 15 threes (35 attempts 43%)

Stingy two point defense though (10-24 42%)

Only giving up 5 free throw attempts helped too, as much as I complained about officiating

 

[BatteredWifeSchwartz]

Lots of people really down on AS but he did a great job oon Sandefort in the 2nd half

Couldn’t agree more. Brad clearly lit a fire under his !!! at halftime.

People are gonna look at Drej and Ben on the stat sheet and think they played poorly. Drej totally neutralized Sandfort in the 2nd half and Ben was overall +12 in the game. We don’t win without either of their play in the 2nd half no matter how bad the stats look.

 

[ginabackes00]

What a dream team for the coaches. You have your go-to guy and the other players know their roles. High IQ players. Kudos to the coaching staff

 

[blife]

Undefeated on the ROAD in the BIG play!!!!!! Incredibly impressive. And it is FEB 1. Elite