12/14 Polls - Illinois #13 in AP Poll

#26      

Illini in Indiana

I
Indiana
Illini in Indiana
13th is about right for us right now. To get back to top 5 we need the "killer instinct" again. We need to take a lead against good teams, hold it, and win by 15 in a boring game. If we want to be top team, we need to win like one.
 
#27      

Calvin

C
Calvin
It's early, so these might settle quite a bit different from the early sampling, but here are the Kenpom ratings (points over average team as of Dec 15) of the BIG and our 2 losses:

(29.1) Baylor
(24.6) Iowa
(23.0) Wisconsin
(21.0) Michigan
(20.8) Indiana
(20.6) Illinois
(20.4) Rutgers
(20.3) tOSU
(20.3) MSU
(18.0) Purdue
(17.2) Mizzou
(16.6) Minny
(16.1) PSU
(15.9) Maryland
[aprrox cut-off for likely tournament bid, or at least bubble talk]
(12) Northwestern
(5) Nebraska

Should be an amazing season for the conference --that's nearly everyone in the mix for a tournament spot, and not a lot of separation among most teams.
Also, Duke is (21.6) which would slot in above Michigan.
 
#28      

Deleted member 29907

D
Guest
Deleted member 29907
Let's not forget we are only 6 games into the season - and most seasons, there were alot of cupcakes in that early season mix. We're also using two very talented freshman who are just getting their legs underneath them. I guess I don't see a valid floor vs ceiling comp yet this early into the season given early reliance on youth and playing some pretty tough teams early.

I look at the Miznoz game as a bit of a one-off given the nature of a rivalry plus the really crappy flow of the game due to the refs (bad calls on both side the entire game). And I don't think we'll shoot that clip at the line again.

Duke is not that great, but still a convincing win at Cameron is nice. Net is, I think our fall out of the top 10 is unwarranted. Away game wins are tough to get against tough teams, and if they rewarded Miznoz with a top 20 spot, I am not sure how I can see a drop out of top 10 for us. But hey, fix it this week -I feel like we're still a top 5 team - but have to get back quality wins to convince those who vote.
 
#29      

Tacomallini

T
Washington State
Tacomallini
VAIllini35 said:
Let's not forget we are only 6 games into the season - and most seasons, there were alot of cupcakes in that early season mix. We're also using three very talented freshman who are just getting their legs underneath them. I guess I don't see a valid floor vs ceiling comp yet this early into the season given early reliance on youth and playing some pretty tough teams early.

I look at the Miznoz game as a bit of a one-off given the nature of a rivalry plus the really crappy flow of the game due to the refs (bad calls on both side the entire game). And I don't think we'll shoot that clip at the line again.

Duke is not that great, but still a convincing win at Cameron is nice. Net is, I think our fall out of the top 10 is unwarranted. Away game wins are tough to get against tough teams, and if they rewarded Miznoz with a top 20 spot, I am not sure how I can see a drop out of top 10 for us. But hey, fix it this week -I feel like we're still a top 5 team - but have to get back quality wins to convince those who vote.
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Compelled to do a FIFY, since Hawkins is getting quite a bit more tick (than I had him pegged for, at least).
 
#30      

Ga65

G
Ga65
Tacomallini said:
Compelled to do a FIFY, since Hawkins is getting quite a bit more tick (than I had him pegged for, at least).
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Am very surprised to see three frosh as part of the eight man rotation. Two seniors, one jr, one soph and one frosh in the starting line up but two frosh and one jr off the bench. Not really an old team. With two men injured also not that deep either. We really need Hawkins without BBV and Grandison not performing to expected (starter last year if eligible was stated). Even with Giorgi playing well we need the depth as there will be nights with foul problems. Hawkins could be the difference between a successful season and a very successful season.