Pregame: Illinois vs UConn, Saturday, April 4th, 5:09pm CT, TBS

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#676      
lstewart53x3
I was 15 the last time Illinois made the F4. My aunt was in Rebounders Club, so got to meet Dee at a camp. I’m not sure Deron was there?

IMG_5439.jpeg
 
#680      
MoCoMdIllini
My goal is to get tickets on Saturday close enough to UCONN's bench that I can scream "BOBBY HURLEY" at Dan Hurley all night and he can hear me and be visibly confused and frustrated.
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"Dad liked Bobby best!"
 
#682      
hiberto
UConn fans keep bringing up the November game and seem overconfident based on the result of that game. don't they even bother to look at the box score? as has already been said many times on here, our lineup and minute distribution were completely different then and Keaton wasn't yet the Keaton we see now. they seem to forget they lost to a terrible Marquette team which is a much worse loss than our worst loss (UCLA, a tournament team that won a game)
 
#685      
IlliniHardwood
hiberto said:
UConn fans keep bringing up the November game and seem overconfident based on the result of that game. don't they even bother to look at the box score? as has already been said many times on here, our lineup and minute distribution were completely different then and Keaton wasn't yet the Keaton we see now. they seem to forget they lost to a terrible Marquette team which is a much worse loss than our worst loss (UCLA, a tournament team that won a game)
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Let's hope their fans are simply mirroring d-bag Dan and the Huskies, but I doubt it. We are going to continue our ascent up this unprecedented Illini peak, but the climb will be steep.
 
#687      
OrangeKrush1981
Rebound+defend= NC

Easiest basketball math ever.
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I'm a troglodyte, so I completely agree with this. Every season, every game: win on the glass and win on the defensive side and you'll be in the game. Including NC.
 
#689      
DeeIL89
I was three months away from turning 16 years old the last time Illini men basketball made the Final Four in 2005. The majority of my 20s was the dark times of Illini men basketball. A period where the program was irrelevant, not competing for conference titles and missing NCAA tournaments. To see how Brad has taken the program back to relevancy and competing at a high level year in and year out is such a joy to see. And Josh Whitman is the GOAT. We are so lucky to have an AD like him.
 
#691      
jumpingjack
HouTexIllini said:
I think there are several guys in history who have had it this good so far or better.

Five guys from one school had this kind of success in the 90s and we’ll have to win it all for him to match Carmelo Anthony’s freshman season.
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How many of them worked their way into being the starting PG?
He's not a 1 of 1 in that category but he's pretty close.
 
#693      
CHK71185
SkyysNotFalling said:
I can’t be the only one on here that isn’t even questioning whether we win this game or not, right?

We’re the better team. Our guys are as connected and together than any Illini team I can think of.

We’re playing on Monday night.
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Felt this way all tournament…that’s not changing now!
 
#694      
illinifan1987
I haven't seen anyone mention this yet. Keaton is the 4th Freshman to ever lead a team to the Final Four while leading in PPG and APG. His 25 points is the 4th most ever by a Freshman in a Elite Eight win. His 17.9 PPG is the 5th highest ever for a Freshman on a Final Four team. That's beyond elite...
I'll just drop this GIF off
Tongue Goat GIF
 
#695      
March2TheArch
DeeIL89 said:
I was three months away from turning 16 years old the last time Illini men basketball made the Final Four in 2005. The majority of my 20s was the dark times of Illini men basketball. A period where the program was irrelevant, not competing for conference titles and missing NCAA tournaments. To see how Brad has taken the program back to relevancy and competing at a high level year in and year out is such a joy to see. And Josh Whitman is the GOAT. We are so lucky to have an AD like him.
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I was three months away from turning 15. My high school was on campus (we’re the proud Illineks). The whole school was so fired up the week leading up to the Final Four coming off that Arizona comeback that prior weekend.

Really basking in the glory of this week. Knowing we’re well positioned to fight hard for a spot in the Natty come Saturday night.
 
#696      
March2TheArch
From the cheap seats said:
It’s all gravy now. But I like gravy. Lots of gravy.
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I love that our team is not viewing it as such. Love that Andrej within an hour of the Iowa win authoritatively stating we’re not done. Have to believe we can hang with this UConn team. There’s no Clingan or Castle to haunt us this time. And our offense is a lot more potent than TSJ and Domask ISOs.

Kobe Bryant GIF
 
#697      
HuskyinKentucky
IlliniHardwood said:
Let's hope their fans are simply mirroring d-bag Dan and the Huskies, but I doubt it. We are going to continue our ascent up this unprecedented Illini peak, but the climb will be steep.
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In Hurley's interviews the last few days , he has openly said that Illinois is a completely different team than they were 4 months ago. Not just Wagler . Reed was a totally different player for Connecticut back then as well. Most UConn fans, at least over on our message board , totally understand that we're underdogs against you for a reason. We're a higher seed , ranked higher , with a better record, who beat you up head to head and yet we're still underdogs. Anybody who knows basketball knows that , like I said , these two teams play ten times and Illinois is probably winning six of them... Thankfully , we only play once. Saturday night.
 
#699      
OrangeAndBlueBlooded
wc_illini said:
Indeed...

He started the game, committed a turnover on our first possession, picked up a foul at 18:33, got an assist and made a 3, then was subbed out at 16:23 (ILL up 8-5).

He went back in at 14:00 (ILL 15-12), missed a 3, picked up his second foul at 12:05, subbed out at 11:46 (ILL 23-12), and did not return in the half (ILL 43-32 at half).

He started the second half, got an ORB followed by a turnover, then picked up his third foul at 17:47, and subbed out at 14:14 (UConn 52-39).

He came back in at 11:57 (UConn 60-43), missed a layup, left again at 9:53 (UConn 64-45) and never returned.

While he had some good stat lines against bad opponents before that game, he struggled against TT, Alabama, and UConn: collectively 22 pts (4-12 from 2, 2-9 from 3, 8-11 FT), 2 AST, 5 TO, 11 REB, 8 fouls (fouled out vs Alab).

It's amazing how quickly the switch flipped for him a week later vs Tennessee on Dec 6 (an efficient 16pts and 5 AST 0 TO). He didn't really have a bad stat line until MSU on Feb 7. Maryland was an inefficient shooting night, but 7 AST and 0 TO made up for that.

Presumably the staff saw the role for him wasn't working, and rather than leave him in to suffer, limited his minutes, implemented a new role in practice, and let him cook.
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Thanks for putting this together. One thing to point out though, the scores in the first two paragraphs are reversed. We never had a lead in that game.

apnews.com

No. 5 UConn beats No. 13 Illinois 74-61

Solo Ball scored 15 points and fifth-ranked UConn never trailed in beating No. 13 Illinois 74-61 on Friday at Madison Square Garden.
apnews.com apnews.com
 
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