Pregame: Illinois vs Houston, Thursday, March 26th, 9:05pm CT, TBS

[AirTran]

Stojakovic needs to start against Houston and their athleticism. Loved what he and Tomi brought tonight.

Yeah, I get that you don’t need to start to influence the game, but I don’t really care. He should’ve been starting this whole time and we need a quick start against Houston.

How does having Andrej' starting make a difference? In the end him coming off the bench has proven to be more difficult for opponents to defend as they set their match ups in the first 4 minutes and then Andrej comes in and it impacts the game both offensively and defensively.

"And he should have been start this whole time." How do you figure? Adrej's +/- (Brad's preferred stat) is materially better coming off the bench than when he started.

And who has the highest +/- on the team? Jake Davis.

Love your sentiment. But can't get my head around the rationale.

 

[bavanga3]

Play defense like we did in the second half, and we have a real shot. Houston has the propensity to go really cold.

I know the game is in Houston, but this one isn’t at their on campus arena. It won’t be wildly pro-Houston.

Agreed 100%. People on this board are acting like they're selling tix to only Houston fans and our fans don't travel. Once in the arena it won't feel like a home game for Houston.

 

[Illini4Chief]

Houston at Houston.......funny how things work out.

 

[OrangeBlue98]

It looks like CBS has 6pm & 8:30pm, TBS has 6:30pm & 9pm.

I would imagine the Iowa-Florida game will have a lot to do with TV times. If Florida wins, that game will probably be first with no other teams in Houston playing in the Central time zone.

If chalk holds, I’m guessing you’ll see Florida-Nebraska and Purdue-Texas as the early games. If Miami wins, then I’m almost positive Miami-Texas will be an early game. If Iowa wins, I bet our game would be early since that would be a more attractive TV matchup and be in prime time.

 

[pweo]

Maybe naive but the session is gonna feature 4 teams; not saying they won’t have a home advantage and just sleeping in their own bed; but I’d imagine it’s closer to 50-60% Houston fans?

And the other 3 fan bases will be rooting for Illinois as they won’t want the road game for Saturday. It’s not like the first round games that half of them aren’t sold out.

Nebraska is going to travel hard. They set sound records in OKCs arena Saturday.

 

[Chase321]

How does having Andrej' starting make a difference? In the end him coming off the bench has proven to be more difficult for opponents to defend as they set their match ups in the first 4 minutes and then Andrej comes in and it impacts the game both offensively and defensively.

"And he should have been start this whole time." How do you figure? Adrej's +/- (Brad's preferred stat) is materially better coming off the bench than when he started.

And who has the highest +/- on the team? Jake Davis.

Love your sentiment. But can't get my head around the rationale.

Fans place WAY too much emphasis on who starts. Andrej got 26 minutes and Davis got 14. Did it matter who started or who got minutes?

 

[Noblesville Illini]

Nebraska is going to travel hard. They set sound records in OKCs arena Saturday.

That can only help us. Big 10 cheers on Big 10, especially with Nebraska! Michigan….well that’s another story.

 

[Chase321]

I would imagine the Iowa-Florida game will have a lot to do with TV times. If Florida wins, that game will probably be first with no other teams in Houston playing in the Central time zone.

If chalk holds, I’m guessing you’ll see Florida-Nebraska and Purdue-Texas as the early games. If Miami wins, then I’m almost positive Miami-Texas will be an early game. If Iowa wins, I bet our game would be early since that would be a more attractive TV matchup and be in prime time.

Hope not. I think we want the first game because if Nebraska loses (or really either team) their fans leave. I think the fans of the other teams will be for Illinois.

 

[AndyKaufmanstutor]

I hope Houston thinks they have the game in the bag and sleep walk through the first ten minutes of the game.

I also agree with those who want Stoj starting. Nothing against Davis, he will be effective off the bench. A slightly different starting five means a different approach to the offense that Houston won't be expecting.

Have we forgotten how inconsistent Stojakovic has been this entire season? He plays well one game and then looks lost/apathetic/uninvolved for the next two or three. I don’t care if he starts or not frankly and I obviously hope he has a good game against Houston, but, has he put two good back-to-back games in a row all season? I’m not sure that he has. He either looks like an all Big Ten player or an above average Missouri Valley guy.

 

[IlliniFanHere]

It's my Birthday too, yea! Don't forget '89.

Golden moment, in a bar hotel in Miami with Illini attire.....crowd kept sayin~~HOW DID ILLIINOIS GET THIS FAR" and then BOOM.....priceless

 

[IlliniFanHere]

Houston at Houston.......funny how things work out.

Sampson's hand in this along with Pearls' touch

 

[BoiseBaller]

To me, this is feeling like a gravy game. I won't be all that disappointed with a hard fought loss.

But I absolutely think they can win this game.

Bring it on.

House money as they say. Season is officially a success with getting to the S16.

That said, we owe Sampson a receipt. This would be a great time to dump him on his cheating a$$.

 

[RabidDawgClassic]

Well done boys. I don't feel good about the Houston game, but we're playing with house money now.

What are the possible game times for Thursday?

Not to be a jerk, but I HATE that mindset and I hate that saying. The ultimate goal is to win the national championship, not finish in the Sweet Sixteen. Playing with house money indicates an acceptance with losing, which if the players had that attitude, this board would go ballistic.

Eye on the prize!

 

[Illinicpa14]

Nebraska is going to travel hard. They set sound records in OKCs arena Saturday.

Exactly - they are lunatics for every sport. And id assume they think they are better then us and want us in the E8

 

[AirTran]

Not to be a jerk, but I HATE that mindset and I hate that saying. The ultimate goal is to win the national championship, not finish in the Sweet Sixteen. Playing with house money indicates an acceptance with losing, which if the players had that attitude, this board would go ballistic.

Eye on the prize!

Agree 100% - have to beat Houston - If we can score against them we can win.

 

[Chad Fleck]

Not to be a jerk, but I HATE that mindset and I hate that saying. The ultimate goal is to win the national championship, not finish in the Sweet Sixteen. Playing with house money indicates an acceptance with losing, which if the players had that attitude, this board would go ballistic.

Eye on the prize!

I agree I don't want any people who have any real bearing on the game to have that attitude. I'd suggest that extends all the way to fans attending the game.

But those of us posting on a message board and watching on TV have no bearing on the results. I'd suggest this is a healthier fan mindset to take.

 

[CDRUSN]

Gotta prepare all week, travel to Houston,settle in, stay loose, and hop on them Houston Cougars right from the start. Also, play a basketball game there too.

 

[Illini88]

If we stay locked in mentally everything will be fine. Our mental lapses are what has/can beat us

 

[STLflyinIllini]

Nebraska is going to travel hard. They set sound records in OKCs arena Saturday.

Nebby and IU switching their roles as football and basketball schools recently has been wild.

 

[sdiver68]

Good opposing guard play is the achilles heal for this Illini team and you could make the case that Houston has the most talented guards of any potential opponent.

Flemings, Sharp, and Uzan is a pretty fantastic trio. If the good version of Uzan shows up that is going to be a problem.

Florida has an awesome frontcourt but I think the are lacking with Fland and Lee.

Opposing guard play with refs who like to bail out bonzai drives.

 

[sdiver68]

Fans place WAY too much emphasis on who starts. Andrej got 26 minutes and Davis got 14. Did it matter who started or who got minutes?

Correct its not who starts its who finishes.

I used this in coaching to keep some helicopter parents at bay. They dont complain when their kid is a "starter"...and barely notice when hes on the bench 3/4ths the time in tight games.

 

[the juiceman cometh]

Playing in Houston may be a blessing in disguise. This team gets up for away games. They'll adopt that away game mentality for this one. At the same time, this is the Tournament and there will be plenty of Illini fans there to provide some energy when needed. I could see it being a best of both worlds situation.

 

[joeybcrazy13]

Natty or bust!!!! I want it alllll

 

[TheFlyingIllini1317]

I'm quite confident the winner of this game wins the region. Sure Purdue's 2 line that we fumbled is a cakewalk to the elite 8, but you're gonna have to play eltie teams eventually and we just got one a round early.

 

[chrisRunner7]

I agree I don't want any people who have any real bearing on the game to have that attitude. I'd suggest that extends all the way to fans attending the game.

But those of us posting on a message board and watching on TV have no bearing on the results. I'd suggest this is a healthier fan mindset to take.

10000% agreed... yeah, if I were going to Houston, I'd cheer and yell until I lose my voice. But just for me, as a fan, this is the stage in the tournament where I have to mentally prepare myself for losing to keep things in perspective. Some of the folks who will inevitably call into the post-game show with the ranting, the "fire Brad" comments, the "no more European players" comments, etc. will likely have forgotten to do the same.