Michigan 84, Illinois 70 Postgame

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#476      
DJM
getting tired of hearing announcers and seeing it on the screen teams being physical on Keaton. Most as soon as he steps across the line and sometimes full court. It is and has been on the coaches to come up with something to address that. We can get by bad or even good teams but upper level have killed us. Z has been a disappointment recently. Andres is just lost out there. His game is slashing and going to the bucket. Hitting a shot, kicking it out or getting fouled. Not forcing it and losing the ball 90% of the time he drives.
that being said you have to hit more open threes. Obviously, it hurts the scoring but leads to long rebounds which sweet 16/final 4 teams that are built for fast breaks are killing us. Fast break points: last night 10-1; MSU 22-0.
Not scoring, not being able to set the D and giving up easy buckets.
 
#478      
illini510
If we had Morez instead of andrej we’d be a top tier team. Morez’s toughness and physicality is all we’re missing.
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Well, unfortunately, that was a decision Morez decided to make. He showed his true colors by going after the bag of money rather than buying into the program that built a long relationship with the kid. I agree, Morez has certain intangibles that Andrej nor some others on our team don't have
 
#479      
FleetFeetIllini
CoachHooleyHoo said:
BU actually said out loud: “Kylan can do all the things Yaxel can do.” 😂😂😂😂😂😂
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A lot of talk about how great Boswell ws going to be on defense coming into the year. I think he's good compared to the rest of our team but he struggles to get over screens, he's mediocre off ball, and he's way too content deferring to his teammates.
 
#480      
MadtownIllin
DJM said:
getting tired of hearing announcers and seeing it on the screen teams being physical on Keaton. Most as soon as he steps across the line and sometimes full court. It is and has been on the coaches to come up with something to address that. We can get by bad or even good teams but upper level have killed us. Z has been a disappointment recently. Andres is just lost out there. His game is slashing and going to the bucket. Hitting a shot, kicking it out or getting fouled. Not forcing it and losing the ball 90% of the time he drives.
that being said you have to hit more open threes. Obviously, it hurts the scoring but leads to long rebounds which sweet 16/final 4 teams that are built for fast breaks are killing us. Fast break points: last night 10-1; MSU 22-0.
Not scoring, not being able to set the D and giving up easy buckets.
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He needs to take some acting classes from that master actor, Fears from MSU..
 
#482      
derrick6
You prioritized Ben Humrichous in 2024 (😂 😂 😂 ) and Tomislav Ivisic (😂 ) in 2025 over Morez Johnson
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Brad falls in love with the 3, just like his teams…
 
#483      
OB positive
Fly Illini Fly! said:
From the game thread:

View attachment 47900

This is really true honestly. And it’s not just a talk point — there’s some instances where if he just goes down… he’ll get the whistles others get.
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When Keaton drives into the lane he often goes into a crowd and is put into a situation, usually because he left his feet, where he has to shoot it or pass of trouble. With his skill level he often scores or gets a foul call which is great but without the over the top ability like Shannon has he also doesn't get a lot of calls. I would like him to keep his feet more often and pull it out like Braden Smith, Fears or even Curbelo did. I loved it when Curbelo drove under the basket heading to the other side then stopping quickly letting the defender fly by then pivoting and getting an easy basket. I think Keaton would benefit from not leaving his feat all the time and just sometimes concentrate more on just probing and see what develops.
 
#484      
illinifan1987
A lot of talk about how great Boswell ws going to be on defense coming into the year. I think he's good compared to the rest of our team but he struggles to get over screens, he's mediocre off ball, and he's way too content deferring to his teammates.
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You know who could've been a lockdown defender last night? The one person I REALLY hope burns this year to help us in the tournaments defensively. There has never been a question if Ty is an elite defender...
 
#485      
Battle89
FromTheLogo said:
BU is on record now, per this postgame. He said he doesn't 'really care about the B1G title' he pays attention to 'analytics and the NCAA tournament.'

If he is hyper-focused on that, results matter. In essence..... When the rubber hits the road come the weeks after selection Sunday, we'll see what he's really made of as a coach.
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This is revisionist nonsense from Brad after losing the game and any chance for the league title.

I love Brad and am not in any camp that wants him out, but this kind of stuff is baloney. Own the missed opportunity.
 
#486      
sitka
This is revisionist nonsense from Brad after losing the game and any chance for the league title.

I love Brad and am not in any camp that wants him out, but this kind of stuff is baloney. Own the missed opportunity.
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Time to move on from Brad….this program has peeked…
 
#487      
SummerofGeorge
This team has been exposed. The biggest glaring issue in my mind is the swing and miss on Petrovic. Imagine where we would be if we had a viable 3rd option to run the point. Instead, we are opting for Mirkovic to bring the ball up the floor. Gotta get Wagler some relief as teams are learning that he struggles more with physicality. Granted, he’s been terrific (and had 23 last night) but the eye test is we are missing a 3rd option to run the point. This is just my perception of this last 6 game stretch.
 
#488      
Yes33
Underwood after Michigan loss: "They took the belt off and beat our behinds with it. If you like that too much, then you should probably go to the rec center and play."What he needs from his leaders: "Leadership. Nastiness, toughness, defending..."

Isn't this statement a lost cause??? We haven't played with physicality all year..What makes Underwood think we can do it now and going forward? Especially when we only rotate 7 people in our lineup...They'll all foul out if we change..Its not who we are..

We play with finesse and bank on making 3s especially with an opponent like Michigan..And if the 3s aren't falling, we're toast..
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Agree, he’s throwing guys under the bus. He hasn’t been able to put in out of bounds plays since Gentry left. 5th graders run better in bounds plays than us. When defenses are matching up, lob to the tall guys should be last resort not first.

Also, If Brad doesn’t feel he can take Wagler (for that much the starters) off the floor against good teams, he better look in the mirror and figure it out. We are doing a disservice to Wagler and the others. They are getting beat up / worn down and injuries follow.
 
#489      
OB positive
Excellent post. Did I hear it right that the Illini went the last 13 minutes of the first half without a three. In my view this team is too hyper dependent on the three. Michigan had quicker and stronger athletes on the floor. And Illinois got manhandled in the lane at the offensive end in the second half. Give Michigan credit. They came to play and asserted their will on Illinois. I hate losing to Michigan.
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It made it easier to assert their will when we went cold from three.
 
#490      
Hingle McCringleberry
For those of you that were / are happy with the participation trophies and fools gold of close losses and kenpom ratings, welcome to Illini basketball.

Unfortunately, with extraordinary exceptions, this is our modus operandi. Put together a team that has promise, show some flashes of success early / mid-season, enough to get some pundits (and fans) to say "Illinois is a potential FF / NC team", then fades / folds in the home stretch of the season, our tourney seeding slides, and we flame out early.

You all can give me however many eyorees you want, but the Michigan game did not surprise me in the least. I saw it coming.

I'd dearly love my alma mater (graduated in '89 btw) to succeed in the season, be a top see, make a run, win the title, all of that. However, I am realist and call it like I see it.

Yes, there is still a chance to achieve success this season, but the body of evidence this season and historic trend-line does bode well for that.

I do appreciate the job Brad has done and the fact that he has been changing his style in order to continue to pursue the goal of a championship team. But he hasn't yet found that recipe.
 
#491      
sulli
Trent & DMFW ain’t walking through that door unfortunately …
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They thought they had Dame Sarr last year who would have added a lot of athleticism and then he decommitted late in the process and ended up at Duke. They were lucky to get Stojakovic after that but he was the 2nd guy. If this team had Sarr on it they’d be more athletic.

Illinois was #16 preseason and they are gonna be 9-12 after this week. Wagler has been a huge upside surprise, but Petrovic, Tomi, and Stojakovic have all been less good than we thought they’d be.

If they finish the big ten season 15-5 that is much better than I would have guessed even in December.
 
#492      
Yes33
This team has been exposed. The biggest glaring issue in my mind is the swing and miss on Petrovic. Imagine where we would be if we had a viable 3rd option to run the point. Instead, we are opting for Mirkovic to bring the ball up the floor. Gotta get Wagler some relief as teams are learning that he struggles more with physicality. Granted, he’s been terrific (and had 23 last night) but the eye test is we are missing a 3rd option to run the point. This is just my perception of this last 6 game stretch.
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Agreed. I also get tired of the matchup comments every game. After a win he always takes credit for us seeing matchups in our favorite and we are great for identifying them. Please describe what the matchup plans were last night and why they didn’t work rather than throwing Tomi and Bam under the bus for not leading.

I also think Morez made the right call, although I hate it, by leaving. I think last year he was always looking at the bench in fear of getting pulled. May has developed his confidence as much as anything and unleashed the beast.
 
#493      
Yes33
illinipimp said:
They were the better team. They match us size wise and our bigs just aren’t physical in the paint when teams have size. We’ve picked a bad time to lose 4 out of 6. Hopefully we can rebound by tournament time. Third place finish would be nice so we get a possible rematch with Michigan State. 4 place gets us Michigan again and I don’t think it will go any better. Mo was a beast and I think all the bad blood from the orange crush motivated him. We still have a good team. Just need to get past these bad losses.
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You’re assuming we get to the quarterfinals, we better tighten a lot of things up and develop a little more depth or we won’t get there.
 
#495      
Oldskoolkoach
Jake was our second best player tonight.
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Lot of bad takes, but this one may take the cake for last night!
Confused Tom Hanks GIF
 
#496      
Indy Illini Fan
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
Wait… but isn’t this team going to be 15-5 as well?

Yes, I’m assuming we will take care of Oregon and Maryland.

Edit: this is an absolutely hideous take. That team had 6 quad 1 wins the whole year.

This team has 8 already.

That team had 3 Quad 2 losses.

This team has only 1.

That team was a 4 seed.

This team will likely be at least a 3.

Basically your only logic is to taint this team because Michigan’s so good. And reward the other because they never had to face that team.
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Who’s tainting this team ???

That team came together and found ways to win when the tide turned and things weren’t going their way … They had toughness …

This current team wins one way … There’s not been adjustments and there is no adjustments for being soft … Just is what it is … 2-4 in our last 6 … Can’t close games and getting embarrassed on our home floor …

Can we fix it ? Maybe … But the answers are out there on how to beat this team … Let’s see if they adjust …

2nd weekend and most everyone is going to say it’s not bad year … Should’ve had more but alright … You miss that 2nd weekend with all this talent … Then what …
 
#498      
KenR
Another year of unrealistic expectations being fortified by a run of a few wins in which we probably overachieved. In this era of transferring like the average person changes socks we'll start all over next year. Wagler will undoubtedly be gone so the transfer watch pretty much starts now because the possibilities of going much past the first weekend of the tournament are a distant dream. Oh well, it's all part of being an Illinois fan.
 
#499      
fatboyslim
Who’s tainting this team ???

That team came together and found ways to win when the tide turned and things weren’t going their way … They had toughness …

This current team wins one way … There’s not been adjustments and there is no adjustments for being soft … Just is what it is … 2-4 in our last 6 … Can’t close games and getting embarrassed on our home floor …

Can we fix it ? Maybe … But the answers are out there on how to beat this team … Let’s see if they adjust …

2nd weekend and most everyone is going to say it’s not bad year … Should’ve had more but alright … You miss that 2nd weekend with all this talent … Then what …
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Cuckoo I Feel Crazy GIF by arbeiterkammer
 
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