Pregame: Illinois vs Iowa, Saturday, March 28th, 5:09pm CT, TBS

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#476      
IlliniInMSP
Bucktown said:
Keaton is actually 8th on the list. And, Keaton, of course, is leading or close to the top in a number of Freshman records. He needs 2 three pointers to tie Cory Bradford for 2nd most by a Freshman in a season and 4 to tie JCL. He already has the most points, highest scoring average, most free throws made & attempts, most field goals and probably more. I really think it is no contest that he has had the best Freshman season at Illinois of all time.
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Never thought I would see a better freshman year than Garris - but wow Wagler has been special
 
#483      
Mr. Tibbs
time for wifey to put these on today
IMG_9411.jpeg
 
#484      
PapaKvells
Mr. Roberts said:
Iowa's last 10 games before the tournament they were 3-7, inlcuding bad losses to Maryland and Penn State. Did not see this coming.

Of course, we were 5-5, with 4 of the losses in OT.

Avoid OT and we have a shot.
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Right now we are both among the 8 hottest teams in college basketball. Just have to take this one. Then the next.
 
#488      
the Castle on Daniel
Some facts...
  • All-Time Record: Illinois leads 94-77.
  • Recent Streak: Illinois has won 4-straight and 10 of the last 11 meetings.
  • 2025-26 Season: #16 Illinois defeated #19 Iowa 75-69 on Jan. 11, 2026, at Iowa.
Lets make it 95-77, 5-straight, and 11 of the last 12.
 
#491      
Second place is 1st loser
Curbelo Fanboy said:
We “should” win but should don’t hang no banners. Nervous but if we play good we win. It’s that simple really. I hope we come out cooking from the tip.
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If we play well for 40, not necessarily GREAT, but well.....we win by double digits.

We can't have a 6 for 31 night from three, we can't let dribble drive suck us in for uncontested threes, shoot reasonably well from the line(75%) and rebound the ball per usual.

Then, it comes down to guys just playing well. This is a FAR less athletic team than we've played this last two games. It's not close. This should be a game where Wagler should thrive. Drej should thrive. Our bigs should thrive. They don't have the ultra quick guards that can give us fits. They don't have the bouncy, physical bigs that give us fits. We are a LOT more talented than they are.

What does concern me is Sturtz getting on a heater, them gaining momentum and we're getting rained on. The flip side is we have the potential to do the exact same thing.

I feel like there's no middle ground on this one.

It's either:

Illinois 91
Iowa. 71

Or we have a Nebraska(at home) type game and as has been our trend....can't close games out with free throws, can't get critical rebounds, etc

Iowa. 77
Illinois. 74

They cannot beat us, but we can beat us. We've been home free in games and everything unravels and unravels quickly. It's never a slow leak. It's a 10-2 run in 2 minutes.

I lean towards a comfortable Illinois win, but I'm fully prepared for multiple WTF stretches.
 
#492      
HuskyinKentucky
I'm looking forward to tonight's game. It's an opportunity to get into a position that i know your fanbase has been salivating over for a while. It's close , friends , it's there for the taking and you have a team that can not only get there but also finish the job. I know championship teams , my Huskies have 6 since since 99 and this Illinois team is put together quite well. UConn has a very very difficult Sunday game against a very tough to beat Duke team who always gets the favorable whistle but is also very talented. Duke has the advantage but I'm hoping for one more W against the most hated team in college basketball history. Duck Fuke . Go Huskies . Let go Illinois. Would love to go toe to toe with your boys again.
 
#493      
Second place is 1st loser
Rebounding Dog said:
So I am not the only superstitious guy? It is all about the dog collar. My girl is staying with the lucky navy blue again!!!
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Nope. I put bath salts in the bath, then one orange bath bomb and a blue bath bomb and chill in the bath for about an hour. This is 100% true, absolutely no stretching the truth here.

If we're done down 6 to 8 points, I've been known to do that at halftime.
 
#495      
Combo
One Man Fast Break said:
Iowa has their two best wins of the whole season within this week and their other tournament win is their sixth best win of their season. Playing their best ball at the best time.
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Yes, they are on a roll. Hope we can stop it.
 
#497      
Second place is 1st loser
Combo said:
Yes, they are on a roll. Hope we can stop it.
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Clemson was a 50/50 game from the beginning.

As some on this board would say, Florida was playing with their food in the first half, then with about 12 minutes to go, turned on the jets, blew by and took a lead. HOWEVER, when you play around and the game is within two possessions with 4 to go..... anything an happen. Florida went out there with a chance to ice it and missed free throws and the "anything that can happen"..... happened.

They were in a track meet with Nebraska and Nebraska went completely south. They simply couldn't make anything. THAT is what worries me. It's not Iowa that concerns me. It's our propensity to fall in love with the three and go 5 for 29, when we have a clear advantage at just about every position on the floor.
 
#499      
Illini88
Only see two outcomes. We stay focused and thump them OR we beat ourselves through mental errors. Don’t see Iowa beating us. Our size advantage is seriously underplayed. Was not expecting us to be so dominant against Houston. Feeling good about this one as we seem to be dialed and not taking Iowa for granted
 
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