Pregame: Illinois vs Houston, Thursday, March 26th, 9:05pm CT, TBS
- Status
My 2 cents on playing Houston:
Florida and Auburn beat Houston by attacking inside and winning the glass.
• Illinois has size: Mirkovic and Ivisic twins must be aggressive on post seals and offensive boards.
• Use short rolls and dump-offs to punish over-help.
• Houston’s defense is elite when stationary—but vulnerable when rotating.
• Illinois must use dribble penetration to collapse the defense and kick to shooters.
• Run flare screens and staggered actions to keep Houston chasing.
Illinois 77 Houston 72.
Florida and Auburn beat Houston by attacking inside and winning the glass.
• Illinois has size: Mirkovic and Ivisic twins must be aggressive on post seals and offensive boards.
• Use short rolls and dump-offs to punish over-help.
• Houston’s defense is elite when stationary—but vulnerable when rotating.
• Illinois must use dribble penetration to collapse the defense and kick to shooters.
• Run flare screens and staggered actions to keep Houston chasing.
Illinois 77 Houston 72.
let's repeat 2024. late tip off, highly anticipated game between big ten offensive team vs big12 defensive team.
Illinois takes this one with rebounding, passing and timely shots!
Illinois takes this one with rebounding, passing and timely shots!
Under the rim is gonna be an mma fight! Both teams crash hard. Really don't think our two man game is gonna work against this D. What if we go up tempo and try to run?.
as are we! We won’t hurry anything… count on that!
One thing about Houston is that they take a lot of jumpshots. Flemings can get down hill but overall they don't put A TON of pressure on the rim.
Contest without fouling and rebound.
Contest without fouling and rebound.
houston only 2.5 pt favorites. a bit surprising to me.
Illini shot 24/60 from behind the arc in the first two tourney games. Hit at or near that rate against Houston, and they’ll win.
Just FYI, per Torvik, Houston is elite at defense around the rim, not so much from behind the arc. The Illini will get good looks; they need to make them.
Just FYI, per Torvik, Houston is elite at defense around the rim, not so much from behind the arc. The Illini will get good looks; they need to make them.
Could be a good night for Jake and Big Ben.
As an east coast time zone resident with two young kids (AND A JOB) I cannot emphasize enough how sick and tired I am of these bogus late night start times!!!!
Illini4Chief
- TENNESSEE
$1 for every HOUSTON fan in the crowd...... and we got a good piece of change. Don't think Houston needs a map to find the stadium. It's a home game, no spin necessary.
Same deal for me, except getting back from St. Louis.
Goillinikobd
- Southeastern US
Good thing I am retired and have insomnia, Week day, 10 PM here in Florida
Lately he has been passing up more of his step-back 3 opportunities for more drives and getting zero calls with lots of contact in the lane/at the rim. Really hope he is feeling it and lets it rip from deep 8-10 times Thursday night.
texasbestillini
- Austin
Ahahahahaha!
OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I’ll take a slightly different tack on this. If Wagler is in the 9-12 assists range, I really like our chances. If he does that, then he’s finding the open man out of Houston’s traps and we are hitting 3s at a good clip. If we do that, I think we win.
I think assists are going to be a bigger indicator of success for Wagler Thursday night. Of course, a 30 point game with 10 assists wouldn’t be all bad, either.
Tickets bought hoping for an Illini win!
Agree. This feels like an opportunity to show on large stage just like at Purdue. I think he is going to need a stronger assistance in back screens. Especially the ones that (aren’t moving) rattle defenders teeth. Clean but something the Blackhawks would be proud of.
- Status