The Sweet 16

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#101      
Fighter of the Nightman
Illini2010-11 said:
Maybe this should be set up as a poll question, but I wonder who many would like to see win the Iowa/Nebraska game.

I think Nebraska is the tougher team to beat, but I absolutely don't want to see Iowa having a ton of success (especially considering my in-laws went to Iowa).
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Illini/Iowa is one of the more underrated rivalries in the nation. Give me that game with the winner (Illini, of course!) going to the Final Four 11 times out of 10.
 
#105      
eas23
ChiefGritty said:
What Pitino is doing at a previously moribund St. Johns is pretty amazing. It's been facilitated by a billionaire NIL sugar daddy of course, but it's Pitino who made that relationship happen.

I don't think Todd Golden or Tommy Lloyd could have created something from whole cloth like that.
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Golden got an at large bid at a WCC school that hadn't made the tournament in over 20 years, then won the national championship with a starting lineup of transfers from Iona, Belmont, FAU, Washington State, and an Australian. He literally did create a national champion from whole cloth.
 
#110      
Fly Illini Fly!
illiniguy24 said:
The pessimist in me can’t help but picture the scenario (on repeat) where we beat Houston and lose to Iowa or Nebraska
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Folks here would go crazy, but are we sure it wouldn’t still be a VERY, VERY good season?

Going to the Elite 8 is not easy. That would mark the 2nd time in 3 years we’ve accomplished that; and only the SIXTH time in over 60 years. Actually sounds pretty historic?

In 2023, K-State made the E8 as a 3seed, and lost to FAU who was a 9seed. That run still had Jerome Tang as the nation’s biggest coaching darling.
 
#111      
Fighter of the Nightman
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Folks here would go crazy, but are we sure it wouldn’t still be a VERY, VERY good season?

Going to the Elite 8 is not easy. That would mark the 2nd time in 3 years we’ve accomplished that; and only the SIXTH time in over 60 years. Actually sounds pretty historic?

In 2023, K-State made the E8 as a 3seed, and lost to FAU who was a 9seed. That run still had Jerome Tang as the nation’s biggest coaching darling.
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An Elite Eight is an objectively awesome season … but it’s one of those things where if we beat Houston, we HAVE to find a way to the Final Four. Florida will be cleared, and we’ll be favored vs. either Nebraska or Iowa. It would sting so badly to lose to either.
 
#113      
Fly Illini Fly!
Fighter of the Nightman said:
An Elite Eight is an objectively awesome season … but it’s one of those things where if we beat Houston, we HAVE to find a way to the Final Four. Florida will be cleared, and we’ll be favored vs. either Nebraska or Iowa. It would sting so badly to lose to either.
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Well, I’d rather beat Houston and lose to NEB/IOWA with an E8 appearance
….
than lose to Houston, staying put at S16.

Edit: combo beat me to it.
 
#115      
Chase321
Fighter of the Nightman said:
An Elite Eight is an objectively awesome season … but it’s one of those things where if we beat Houston, we HAVE to find a way to the Final Four. Florida will be cleared, and we’ll be favored vs. either Nebraska or Iowa. It would sting so badly to lose to either.
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Ah the human condition where we always move the goalposts. I’m old enough to remember a week ago when lots of people were convinced this team was one and done in the tournament. This team has met its preseason ranking and it has met or exceeded the end of season expectation. The only way to make it a disappointment now is to move the goal posts. And even if we get to the F4 the goal posts will move again.
 
#116      
Fighter of the Nightman
Chase321 said:
Ah the human condition where we always move the goalposts. I’m old enough to remember a week ago when lots of people were convinced this team was one and done in the tournament. This team has met its preseason ranking and it has met or exceeded the end of season expectation. The only way to make it a disappointment now is to move the goal posts. And even if we get to the F4 the goal posts will move again.
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I’m not interested in this bizarre and cringe tendency many of you have to turn every thread into some argument about being obnoxiously pro-Brad or obnoxiously anti-Brad and incorporating an agenda into every thread. I just explained my POV.

Changing goalposts? Literally, what are you talking about, lmao. I said it’d be an objectively awesome season with a super hard-to-take ending. That’s it, bro … you can’t pigeon hole my post into whatever other arguments you’ve had on this site and force it into that broader conversation.
 
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#117      
Fighter of the Nightman
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Well, I’d rather beat Houston and lose to NEB/IOWA with an E8 appearance
….
than lose to Houston, staying put at S16.

Edit: combo beat me to it.
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There is nothing in my post that anyone could reasonably take as a suggestion that I’d rather lose in the Sweet Sixteen than Elite Eight. Not even close.
 
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#120      
Seppuku
It’s very depressingly ironic that we have to go through Houston (arguably best team at this point) to get to the Elite 8 whereas one of Iowa and Nebraska will get there (by playing the other). It’s frustrating things break for some teams in the NCAA tournament
 
#121      
NarrowJ
I hope we don’t make the NC game because that would sting if we lost to Arizona! 😁
 
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