Michigan 84, Illinois 70 Postgame

[Illinirog70]

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.

Or maybe a touch of realism? In the aftermath of a whipping like this he as a coach knows that there are too many hurdles for this team to make it through the btt without losing. You don't understand revisionism correctly. He's acknowledging that this team is good, but not good enough. And, while not a great game day coach, he knows personnel.

This was NOT a missed opportunity! We lost to a superior team who would beat us nine out of ten times. No opportunity there... our guys don't match up to their front court. We've got to build for the future, starting on Tuesday.

 

[doowink]

Morez.......

............Illini fans.

 

[Trueblue777]

If we finish 15-5 in the Big Ten, that is right in line with most people’s expectations for this team. And we really should have won at least 2 out of 3 of the Wiscy,UCLA, and Nebby games

 

[CleverHandle1]

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 …

For me, it's Elite 8 or bust--especially with this year's team. Just the way I feel.

 

[BoiseBaller]

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.

Well, if his focus is the tourney, then he should feel pretty miserable about the job he's done here. Getting out of the first weekend one time in nine seasons isn't exactly stellar.

 

[CoachHooleyHoo]

It’s more hilarious IU chose not to hire him … Think everyone on here said how big of a mistake that was …

That should’ve got people fired …

100%!!! I don't remember anybody that thought Michigan was dumb for hiring him. That would have been a pretty wild take.

 

[March2TheArch]

Yaxel.

https://twitter.com/x/status/2027754929549381801

 

[Grandpa]

Yeah, I have no problem with kids shopping around for the best offer. If the rumors are true of him signing or giving a meaningful commitment then bailing, then I feel differently.

This won't make me popular, but..........................

So Illinois is giving you one million? We will give you two million. Now how do you feel? How much money does he have for the rest of his life if he tears something career ending today? I'm taking double the money. It would be different if it was $5 and I said yeah you can have it for that, then somebody offered $10. At that point I say, "Sorry it's already sold"

Morez is working on the rest of his life and there is no guarantee for next year.

 

[LubbockIlliniFan]

I'm not mad we lost- Michigan was the better team, we played bad, and shot bad...my beef is that NO ONE played with pride. At what point do we give a hard foul on Morez, knock him down, make him feel it. Or get in his face when he's screaming, or when Mirk gets thrown to the ground in the 2nd half we get up and get in his face. There was NO resistance, no pride. The love fest started with Deon giving him a hug pregame, and he had a cake walk all game. What woudl Chester have done...what about DaMonte, or Lucas Johnson. Jesus, take a F1 if it needs be...show him this is going to be a fight. I'm still mad over it.

 

[rbse]

Michigan has a great team that played great last night. The refs called the game pretty loose and Michigan took more advantage of it than we did. If Michigan would have played this good against Duke, they would easily won that game too. Gains recently made in defense seemed lost last night.

 

[Calvin]

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.

I think that's a bad tell for a lot of reasons, but I can see why he'd use that line. I'd prefer he took a much more aggressive tone challenging the team to man-up, expect more, and play like the champions they can be. He's more of a player's coach, so I get it, but from where I sit, this team needs to be challenged.

Honestly, I don't see how we get there from here. There was so much poise during the 12 game winning streak I would have thought they'd keep that trait. But recently teams have consistently out-muscled and out-toughed us to the point where my optimism is about gone and they have lapses where they almost look lost. Weird season in how much confidence they seem to have lost in recent weeks.

 

[…INI]

Let’s see how the season plays out, but I think BU’s current formula (recruiting, NIL$, scheme, player development, etc) is a winning formula; it’s not a championship one. It prioritizes offense over defense too much.

Arguably we should be content with being a sweet 16 contender every year. As a life long fan, however, I find myself disappointed each year when we can’t seem to ever get over that hump.

 

[EyeoftheIllini]

If we finish 15-5 in the Big Ten, that is right in line with most people’s expectations for this team. And we really should have won at least 2 out of 3 of the Wiscy,UCLA, and Nebby games

I agree with your first sentence, but I find the rest a bit amusing. Is that to show we’re even a better team than 15-5? I think it is much more an example of what the team lacks. Call it toughness or clutch play or whatever you’d like, but the team has lacked it at times this season.

All that said, I still like the team and hope they can figure it out. But as I texted to friends during the second half, they are making it very difficult to pick them to go all the way in my NCAAT pool. Few weeks ago, I was considering it.

 

[Sheldon Ram]

I would think most people would agree we don’t have a quick team. But yet we are suprised when teams that are athletic and quick give us problems. I watched Minnesota play a lot of zone against Michigan and it slowed them down somewhat. This team we have is a perfect group to play zone. Very big and slow but yet can cover up some weaknesses. But yet Brad’s answer is we just need to get tougher. Will the zone give up some open 3’s? Definitely. Will some teams attack it and get open looks? Probably. But after watching us try and defend the pick and roll last night against quick guards was very disheartening

 

[wc_illini]

I’m also not sure about the Kenpom numbers being perceived as simply adjusted metrics that lead you to any deserted thought.

I mean — if you’d like to think that, go for it. But in terms of the true, raw in-game data… here are the nation leaders in points per 100 possessions on the season:

View attachment 47906

We were at 126.6 before yesterday’s loss. Still firmly #1.

I'm not sure what to think at this point. I know that top offenses can do just fine in the NCAAT if they have a decent defense (top 20 or 30? and we're just outside that), but this year, KenPom's top 10 offenses don't look nearly as elite as KenPom's top 10 defenses.

I think maybe we need to focus more on defense in recruiting and/or practice

Edit: maybe our budget doesn't allow us to be elite on both offence and defence unless we are perfect on our scouting (which might be unrealistic), and the staff figured they could get more for their money/time focusing on offense?

 

[New Creation]

So after a night. I woke up understanding what this team is and is not. Preseason most of thought we would be soft on defense and very slow. But hopefully we could outscore the opposition.

This will take us to the sweet 16. i I would not be surprised if we get a tough team in the round of 32 and have a quick exit. The past 2 weeks have shown that if this team gets punched in the face they have issues getting off the mat.

At the same time. We play so much better on the road then home. So if we are not in the Midwest bracket, I think we will get to the elite 8 where if we don’t play Arizona, duke or Michigan we have a chance. Let’s hope for some upsets in the tournament because that’s what we need

 

[Keisersose]

This is revisionist nonsense from Brad after losing the game and any chance for the league title.

Yes. Some of the stuff he says…

 

[GoodePodzMelendez]

Michigan is like Purdue as we could not handle their front court like we could not last night. I think we are mentally and physically fatigued.

 

[Second place is 1st loser]

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.

Brad was in damage control mode after getting spanked. His #1 worry right now isn't the regular season championship. His top concern is that this team bounces back on Tuesday and understands the ultimate goals are still ahead, which they are and that getting kicked in the rear isn't who they are. If he sits up there and laments them not reaching their goal, you risk the team tuning out a bit and one loss turns into two. Purdue is dealing with the same issue. They were preseason #1. Have to refocus and not throw your team under a bus to the public.

He's gone on record saying that winning any championship means something and raising a banner ties guys together forever. We know he believes that and that he's disappointed. If we were tied with Michigan in the standings and we won, it's a totally different comment.

Brad is doing exactly the right thing in his public messaging. He knows his guys. What he says to his team in private, we'll never know, but he knows the right buttons to push.

 

[RockfordIllini]

After a night of sleep I usually wake up feeling better after a loss like that, instead I feel worse. I think Brad is right this team has lost its edge at least for the last 3+ halves of basketball.

Michigan was the better team but they also played with way more of an edge that we did. We deserved to get beat by 20 with that effort.

I don’t know how many broken plays Michigan scored off of but it was a lot. Now some of those are lucky but you can also create a lot of your own luck by playing hard and we didn’t do that. Air balls, loose balls, etc all went to Michigan. And we must have had at least 3-4 plays where we forced a steal or something to get out on the break, only to turn it right back over and hand Michigan a layup. Those little 4 point swings are killers.

And then Michigan got whatever it wanted offensively. We were passive and put up very little resistance. How many times did Mara screen Kylan or Keaton on the perimeter and he was able to hold it for a second or more because we didn’t even fight? That’s death with Michigan’s shooters

And finally and perhaps worst of all, we let all of the above impact our offense. The game got out of reach when we started forcing bad shots. We were hanging around but then bad shot, transition layup, bad shot, transition layup, bad shot, 3 pointer. 20 point lead. Ball game.

We had our edge and were playing a lot better even 2 weeks ago. Not much time to find it again. And as others have said, another round of 32 exit is very possible if we don’t find it.

Come on guys, find it.

 

[21ChampaignSt]

To put it very simply, our strategy is be tall and make threes.

Against the likes of Michigan, being tall doesn't give us an advantage. So, we're left with making threes. Which we did not do.

The good thing is that most teams aren't Michigan, so "be tall and make threes" should be enough to win at least a couple games in the tournament.

And yeah, defense is the main limiter. But as constructed, this team just will never be the type that can buckle down and get stops when they need to. So I'm done complaining about that end.

And more good news, defense is not necessarily a requirement to advance in the tournament. In 2024, Alabama made the final four with the #2 offense and #111 defense.

We can still go deep. But I would be lying if I said my ego wasn't a little bruised over the realization that we just aren't in the very top tier of CBB teams this year.

 

[80'sIllini]

Boz was the only player who showed the toughness to match up with Michigan but hurt us with his poor 3 point shooting which for him qualifies as bad shot selection. . Kylan is as tough as his still underdeveloped body allows him to be but Cadeau was abusing him in the paint early in the game and he had to be switched off him and Boswell had to guard him. Wondering how much that messed with our defensive scheme?

The Ivisic brothers are flat out soft- especially Tomi. Yes he is a skilled passer and sometimes is effective from 3 point range but seems inexplicably reluctant to pull the trigger from there at times or maybe is just too slow to get his shot off. His defense is really poor in the paint and he just seems so slow and unathletic. I don't see him being an NBA player. Z has more potential but like his brother gets pushed around and out of position for defensive rebounds.

Never have been an Andrej fan. Yes he is pretty good driving to the hoop and scoring there but he also has the ball stripped from him while dribbling at least once a game, forces several drives against multiple defenders which invariably ends up with a miss and the ball sticks in his hand and he can't shoot from the perimeter- he's also not a future NBA player. Certainly not worth bringing him back, especially at what he is wanna get paid.

We need to build around Mirk for next year and we better hope yet another freshmen, Morillo turns out to be terrific. Not sure why Mirk didn't back down any of their guards every time they were switched onto him. We supposedly are great at hunting matchups but didn't execute on that nearly as much as we could have although I was disappointed that sometimes he threw up a weak shot when posting up on a much smaller guard.

It's been an issue for quite some time now that BU is not getting enough high level, fast twitch, athletes on his teams. TSJ and Morez are the only ones that come to mind in the last 3-4 years.

 

[RockfordIllini]

To put it very simply, our strategy is be tall and make threes.

Against the likes of Michigan, being tall doesn't give us an advantage. So, we're left with making threes. Which we did not do.

The good thing is that most teams aren't Michigan, so "be tall and make threes" should be enough to win at least a couple games in the tournament.

And yeah, defense is the main limiter. But as constructed, this team just will never be the type that can buckle down and get stops when they need to. So I'm done complaining about that end.

And more good news, defense is not necessarily a requirement to advance in the tournament. In 2024, Alabama made the final four with the #2 offense and #111 defense.

We can still go deep. But I would be lying if I said my ego wasn't a little bruised over the realization that we just aren't in the very top tier of CBB teams this year.

Agree ego is bruised but the analytics matched the eye test, at least last night and the last couple years.

We have great resources and a terrific basketball program, but we aren’t in the tier where we can buy a super team. Now, roster construction and coaching still matter a lot. I do believe we are more successful than some teams that outspend us. But do we have the money to buy a top 3 pick every year and bid up a guy like Dame Sarr to $3M or whatever like Duke? No. And can we buy a first round pick to pull his name out of the draft and add 3 more transfers that were likely 7 figures like Michigan? Also no.

But can we build a team that maybe loses to those teams maybe 7-8 times out of 10, but can get hot and take one down in a single elimination tourney? We can and we did this year. But we really need to find our edge and start playing our best ball quick.

 

[Second place is 1st loser]

For me, it's Elite 8 or bust--especially with this year's team. Just the way I feel.

What's the bust part? We need to nip this in the bud now. He's not going anywhere. He's got a lifetime extension. He's here until he retires. So, before the hot takes start, stop.

Then, "especially with this years team" part. We knew going into the season that this team was significantly flawed athletically, defensively and short of depth in the backcourt. We knew this. The defense was always the thing everyone pointed to going back to July. This is not a surprise.

Michigan is the worst possible matchup for us from every angle. They are big, strong, quick and uber athletic. We are none of those things and never were. So, when you point to this team as being an elite 8 team or it's a bad season is just a god awful take. We are REALLY good and can beat anyone when we hit the three, but we can be brutal for stretches when we can't. This was always going to be the case. You may not like the roster construction, but that's a whole different issue. Now, you're getting into NIL, the portal, money management, etc. Losing Morez AND Ty hurt badly. They would have given us the athleticism we needed to beat other strong, powerful, athletic teams. Losing Morez because Dusty May is a scumbag and Morez's parents didn't keep their word is unfortunate. Ty blowing out his knee is unfortunate, but both happened.

We got rocked, so it's understandable that you're frustrated, but let's not pretend that this team is something that it isn't. The 12 game winning streak was awesome, but the better teams have the tools to give us problems, especially on the defensive end. Outside of Boswell, we don't have a guard that's physical enough to cause real issues and make the other teams guards uncomfortable. Keaton got bullied, which we expected before the season started. We don't have one big that wouldn't rather be 20 feet from the basket than get really physical and nasty in the paint. A team like Michigan can take advantage of all of that and they did.

 

[Second place is 1st loser]

Agree ego is bruised but the analytics matched the eye test, at least last night and the last couple years.

We have great resources and a terrific basketball program, but we aren’t in the tier where we can buy a super team. Now, roster construction and coaching still matter a lot. I do believe we are more successful than some teams that outspend us. But do we have the money to buy a top 3 pick every year and bid up a guy like Dame Sarr to $3M or whatever like Duke? No. And can we buy a first round pick to pull his name out of the draft and add 3 more transfers that were likely 7 figures like Michigan? Also no.

But can we build a team that maybe loses to those teams maybe 7-8 times out of 10, but can get hot and take one down in a single elimination tourney? We can and we did this year. But we really need to find our edge and start playing our best ball quick.

Phenomenal.