Illini Basketball 2026-2027

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#201      
March2TheArch
Dan said:
https://twitter.com/x/status/2104639560701370504
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Love to see Dre keep that downhill energy and love the volleyball contest from Z. Pending Mirk status not the worst thing for us to play Tomi at the 4 given his skills. And have Z just protect the paint/rim and play out of the dunker spot on offense. Teams won't be able to sag off if Dre can inch his 3pt rate into the 30s.

From everything we've been heading Q/Vaaks give us a top 10 backcourt in the country and top 3 in the conference (behind Michigan and MSU). They'll be tested early vs. more heralded backcourts in Foster/Blackwell and Demery/Mullins.

But I saved the most important piece for last. We need Superman Mirk. We have top 10 but not elite players at every other position. But Mirks has a strong case to be the best college-style PF in the country.
 
#207      
OrangeBlue98
#211      
chiefini
#214      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
lstewart53x3 said:
There have been multiple national outlets that have tagged Mirk as their potential player of the year. He's 4th in betting odds for the player of the year. But yes, the a message board poster who said if Mirk averages a whopping 0.1 more points per game than Keaton, he would then be considered a possible NPOY, is way over the top.
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Stojakovic was 2nd on the team in scoring. Mirk was 3rd.

Stojakovic averaged more points despite playing THREE LESS minutes per game. I think they play equal minutes next year.

Given that data, its over the top to firmly expect Mirk passes Andrej in scoring (unless Andrej has regressed).
 
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#215      
SescIllini
Looks like Dre got blocked by Z.

Another big not Tomi or Z looks pretty impressive. Pro ably one of the freshmen.
 
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#218      
mysterio2525
is this team gonna defend? I have almost no concern on the offensive end. Last year the team stepped up the defensive end during the NCAA tourney but that was also after having 4 bad defensive performances out of our last 5 games heading into the tourney.
 
#219      
EmeraldCityIllini
mysterio2525 said:
is this team gonna defend? I have almost no concern on the offensive end. Last year the team stepped up the defensive end during the NCAA tourney but that was also after having 4 bad defensive performances out of our last 5 games heading into the tourney.
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They'll be good at defense. The question is, top 15-20 good, or 20-30 good.

Difference between final four threat and one of a select few national title favorites
 
#220      
Fly Illini Fly!
EmeraldCityIllini said:
They'll be good at defense. The question is, top 15-20 good, or 20-30 good.

Difference between final four threat and one of a select few national title favorites
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Our defensive principles are simple:

• limit shots at the rim (4th in rim attempt rate allowed)
• don’t foul (1st in free throw rate allowed)
• finish possessions with a defensive rebound (27th in OREB rate allowed)

Continue to do those 3 things at a high level, and we’ll be a very good defense.
 
#221      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Our defensive principles are simple:

• limit shots at the rim (4th in rim attempt rate allowed)
• don’t foul (1st in free throw rate allowed)
• finish possessions with a defensive rebound (27th in OREB rate allowed)

Continue to do those 3 things at a high level, and we’ll be a very good defense.
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There’s room to improve and be an elite defensive rebounding team.

We don’t press and extend our defense. So, rebounding is something we should be very good at.
 
#222      
Brosky
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
There’s room to improve and be an elite defensive rebounding team.

We don’t press and extend our defense. So, rebounding is something we should be very good at.
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Illini will be "old." Should be competent on the defensive end. When I see these scriimmages, I sometimes wonder if Jakstys might be ready to help this year. I also always like what I see from Davis. He looks like the kind of glue guy that top teams always seem to have.
 
#223      
Det_Illini_fan
Fly Illini Fly! said:
Our defensive principles are simple:

• limit shots at the rim (4th in rim attempt rate allowed)
• don’t foul (1st in free throw rate allowed)
• finish possessions with a defensive rebound (27th in OREB rate allowed)

Continue to do those 3 things at a high level, and we’ll be a very good defense.
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Ironically for what I’m about to say, you mentioned 3 metrics, but I started considering last year if our defensive philosophy doesn’t translate well to the overall rating metrics like on KenPom, Trovik, and Miya. The teams higher on that list forced turnovers at a much higher rate, and that among other seemed to carry more weight in the ratings? Everyone talked about Michigan and MSU having the highest defenses last year, and us being “awful” (top 25 still but alright lol; just not top 5 like our offense). But as you point out we were elite in the things baked into our defensive philosophy. Rim protection, not forcing easy points via fouling, and rebound rate. We didn’t hunt turnovers which killed our rankings, but we did apply a tight pressure passed half court that allowed us to control pace and prevent teams from making an offensive play. Barring a quick shot that fortunately went in, or a breakaway, we held teams quite well.

It’s one where I think our pure overall rating doesn’t come out as high, nor tell the full story. We’re better than our rating on defense, but pundits and people like to keep it simple and go off of one true number to quote.
 
#224      
RollChief
Det_Illini_fan said:
Ironically for what I’m about to say, you mentioned 3 metrics, but I started considering last year if our defensive philosophy doesn’t translate well to the overall rating metrics like on KenPom, Trovik, and Miya. The teams higher on that list forced turnovers at a much higher rate, and that among other seemed to carry more weight in the ratings? Everyone talked about Michigan and MSU having the highest defenses last year, and us being “awful” (top 25 still but alright lol; just not top 5 like our offense). But as you point out we were elite in the things baked into our defensive philosophy. Rim protection, not forcing easy points via fouling, and rebound rate. We didn’t hunt turnovers which killed our rankings, but we did apply a tight pressure passed half court that allowed us to control pace and prevent teams from making an offensive play. Barring a quick shot that fortunately went in, or a breakaway, we held teams quite well.

It’s one where I think our pure overall rating doesn’t come out as high, nor tell the full story. We’re better than our rating on defense, but pundits and people like to keep it simple and go off of one true number to quote.
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The key is applying these philosophies and beating UConn and MSU this year. Both have had our lunch the past few years so for our defense and team overall to be solidified in the title conversation caliber, we’ve got to win MSU at home and UConn on neutral site.

Beating Duke at Cameron is another story and honestly that’s going to be a tough win no matter what. The last time Duke lost at home was in 2024 so if we pulled that off it would be meteoric
 
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