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

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#804      
Roundball Sage
Fighter of the Nightman said:
There's no way these guys aren't at least passively aware of the "temperature" of the fan base / media at a given time, and even the most mentally tough among them will have it in the back of their minds.
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I think Illini Nation is feeling way more pressure than the Illini players. We know that Coach and staff are hyper-aware of how hungry the Illini fan base is for the Big Trophy. But much of the team came in new this Season and some will be gone when the Final Four is over. They can concentrate on playing great ball for 40 minutes against a tough opponent and enjoy the challenge of going for a Championship without the heavy Orange history weighing on their backs.

You cannot play this sport feeling tight. There is such a slim margin between a shot going in or clanking off the rim and you have to set your feet right in order to launch at the right angle and your arm and wrist have to be loose to get the right grip and release a successful shot. And if you’re driving to the hole the same applies. You may be twisting and turning and looking for a release point to get around your defender. Tight ain't gonna work. It's clank-city or brick-city.

All of these moves and more require you to play loose and never tense. Sometimes the game situation might make your collar a bit tight but you have play through that and let your muscle memory and confidence in your game take over.
 
#805      
Frank
Random but as I think about how it’s crazy to play a basketball game in a football stadium…remember when we had a couple games on aircraft carriers?! Whose wild idea was that?
 
#806      
SescIllini
Roundball Sage said:
I think Illini Nation is feeling way more pressure than the Illini players. We know that Coach and staff are hyper-aware of how hungry the Illini fan base is for the Big Trophy. But much of the team came in new this Season and some will be gone when the Final Four is over. They can concentrate on playing great ball for 40 minutes against a tough opponent and enjoy the challenge of going for a Championship without the heavy Orange history weighing on their backs.

You cannot play this sport feeling tight. There is such a slim margin between a shot going in or clanking off the rim and you have to set your feet right in order to launch at the right angle and your arm and wrist have to be loose to get the right grip and release a successful shot. And if you’re driving to the hole the same applies. You may be twisting and turning and looking for a release point to get around your defender. Tight ain't gonna work. It's clank-city or brick-city.

All of these moves and more require you to play loose and never tense. Sometimes the game situation might make your collar a bit tight but you have play through that and let your muscle memory and confidence in your game take over.
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Players seemed tight on the offensive side of game. Kylan grew up in Champaign, lots of emotion. Mirk teared up after last game, team celebrated crazily after ladt two games.

I was at Greenville, lots of pressure on Duke and Illinois, you can feel inside stadium.
 
#808      
Rebounding Dog
JFG said:
Anyone know what the $125 gets ya?
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#811      
OrangeBlue98
HuskyinKentucky said:
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.
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These two teams playing a best of 7 against each other would be a hell of a series. It would likely go seven.
 
#813      
hiberto
Just looked at UConn's schedule and didnt realize how many of their wins were close, some of them to bad teams like Providence (5 and 6 points) and Georgetown (2 and 4 points). many other wins were less than 10 points as well. bad losses to Marquette and Creighton.
 
#814      
SkyysNotFalling
hiberto said:
Just looked at UConn's schedule and didnt realize how many of their wins were close, some of them to bad teams like Providence (5 and 6 points) and Georgetown (2 and 4 points). many other wins were less than 10 points as well. bad losses to Marquette and Creighton.
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Yeah, they snuck by quite a few games. 11 games won this year by 5 points or less OR in overtime. 11-1 in close games this season. Signs of good coaching…

We were 1-6 in those games.
 
#815      
AndyKaufmanstutor
CharliedonSurf said:
Got my tickets and the binoculars for me and the family. The only other game we all attended together this season we won handily. Hoping for the same result. Looking forward to the general vibe and sea of orange.

May try to hit the fan thing at the convention center. Anyone ever go to something similar during other F4 type events
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I went to one a couple of years ago. I don’t have kids. Just as an adult it was just ok. More things for kids to do. However, they do have some celebrity former ballers whom you can get a picture and autograph with so look online and see who will be there.
 
#816      
thefalcon5
hiberto said:
Just looked at UConn's schedule and didnt realize how many of their wins were close, some of them to bad teams like Providence (5 and 6 points) and Georgetown (2 and 4 points). many other wins were less than 10 points as well. bad losses to Marquette and Creighton.
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They’ve been down to every team they played in the tournament (not necessarily early either). They actually went through a pretty rough patch as youpointed out in big east play.

Don’t get me wrong, they’re a top 15 team nationally and that really isn’t debatable. But they (and admittedly us) are not on the same level as Arizona or Michigan. We most likely wont need an A++ game to beat them, but expect a dog fight for 40 minutes.

Whatever you think of Hurley his teams play hard start to finish and he’s an excellent tournament coach.

We’ve got more talent. If we play as hard as we did against Houston I like our chances.
 
#817      
illini510
hiberto said:
Just looked at UConn's schedule and didnt realize how many of their wins were close, some of them to bad teams like Providence (5 and 6 points) and Georgetown (2 and 4 points). many other wins were less than 10 points as well. bad losses to Marquette and Creighton.
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They are not the juggernauts that they were in 23 and 24. That's why this is a winnable game if they play with the same focus and energy as they did against Houston
 
#818      
Krombopulos_Michael
RabidDawgClassic said:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until I die… I HATE the “we’re playing with house money” phrase. That immediately creates an acceptance for losing. Besides… once the chips are in your rack, they’re now YOUR money.
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Amen. It may not have been the expectation at the start, but we’re here so might as well win the whole ****ing thing
 
#822      
Chad Fleck
RabidDawgClassic said:
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it until I die… I HATE the “we’re playing with house money” phrase. That immediately creates an acceptance for losing. Besides… once the chips are in your rack, they’re now YOUR money.
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If you aren't actively involved in the outcome, it's flat out healthy to think this way.

I'm content with this run for the 25-26 Illini. Which means I won't despair, in any respect, if they lose. I used to get really sad when Illinois' season was finished. It would impact my mood. That's silly to my sensibilities.

Now if you are impacting the outcome, even up through going to the game, by all means, get ramped up.

I'll just be watching on TV. I'll celebrate the good, and shrug off the bad.

To me, that's where the "playing with house money" gets me, mentally.
 
#825      
kyillinifan
I agree to a previous poster. We need Jake and Ben to hit threes. If they do it we have a great chance to win. The guy who hurt us last time we played UConn Solo Ball hurt us. Jake n Ben are so important Saturday. Both Indiana raised now put the dagger down.
 
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