Cincinnati 71, Illinois 51 Postgame

#176      

Illini John

I
Illini John
As bad as this game was (and yes, it REALLY was bad!), I am shocked by how close all of the numbers were.

Cincinnati shot 1 more field goal than we did (58-57) and we shot 1 more free throw than they did (21-20). They out rebounded us (40-36) but we got more assists (10-6). We had more turnovers, but not as big a gap as I would have thought (14-11). We both had 8 steals and they were called for more fouls (19-16).

So what led to an embarassing 20-point loss? They shot 41.4% from the field and 28.6% from three. We shot 28.1% from the field and 13.6% from three. Our horrible shooting absolutely buried us.

We have got to get smarter about our shots and find an offensive rythm that flows more naturally. And if it's not working for someone on the floor, find someone on your supposedly deep bench who can make it work. And sooner rather than later when the game has become a blowout.

Players and Coach Underwood: There's your assignment for tomorrow.
 
#179      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
illinipimp said:
Just hard to explain this is basically the same team that blasted Michigan last year without Ayo and is playing like this. Anybody?
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It really isn’t though, and I brought this up this summer when people pointed to the Ayo-less games as evidence the team would be as good if not better this year. Ayo had already helped that team develop its identity and it was ground into the team’s DNA by time Ayo got hurt. That was why they were able to overcome loss of Ayo. Unfortunately, team identities don’t necessarily carry over year to year even if only modest changes in personnel — and I wouldn’t call loss of Ayo modest. During summer I also asked with Ayo’s departure who would be the closer and the alpha dog. People said Curbelo or Frazier or Hutch. Guess we’ve learned closer/alpha dog by committee doesn’t always work.
 
#180      

Warren Carter Fanclub

Warren Carter Fanclub
Warren Carter Fanclub
skyIdub said:
Except when we win more B1G games last year in our history...and Ayo misses 3 of those....and we win the B1G Tournament?


Edit: ...and BU will use this as a teaching tool later in the season and it will help us in the long run...
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And what will he be teaching from this game?

Should we lose the rest of the non-conference schedule so we will have a lot to learn from when the Big 10 season starts??
 
#182      

dbeaverfg

dbeaverfg
dbeaverfg
Illini John said:
As bad as this game was (and yes, it REALLY was bad!), I am shocked by how close all of the numbers were.

Cincinnati shot 1 more field goal than we did (58-57) and we shot 1 more free throw than they did (21-20). They out rebounded us (40-36) but we got more assists (10-6). We had more turnovers, but not as big a gap as I would have thought (14-11). We both had 8 steals and they were called for more fouls (19-16).

So what led to an embarassing 20-point loss? They shot 41.4% from the field and 28.6% from three. We shot 28.1% from the field and 13.6% from three. Our horrible shooting absolutely buried us.

We have got to get smarter about our shots and find an offensive rythm that flows more naturally. And if it's not working for someone on the floor, find someone on your supposedly deep bench who can make it work. And sooner rather than later when the game has become a blowout.

Players and Coach Underwood: There's your assignment for tomorrow.
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To me, we look hesitant / not ready to take shots. We give the defense a chance to recover and then take a contested shot, dribble into defensive coverage, or pass to someone not in an attacking position. Saw several instances of this tonight from Trent, Plummer, Hawk, and even Hutcherson when he got in. Unfortunately, Belo looked to be the only one locked and loaded to shoot and he should back off a little more.
 
#184      

logjam

logjam
logjam
jmm said:
One noticeable absence tonight was definitely the energy and hunger of senior leadership. That should always be there, but especially when the team is lost.
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Frazier just seemed...less tonight...I don't know if he is under the weather/hurt, just didn't seem like he was a factor the whole game.
 
#185      

Edh

E
Edh
This must be Whiner's Central. If you can't figure this out, try thinking. Instead of using the first 2 games to work things out, we were playing without 4 of our top 6 players. 2 back from injuries against Marquette, and 2 more tonight. This TEAM can't be the Kofi/Belo extravaganza. Won't work. We've got lots of firepower from other guys that do real well with good offensive flow. A bunch of the missed 3's were not really good looks. Underwood was right. We were out toughed tonight. That can't happen.
 
#186      

LostinNebraska

L
LostinNebraska
The obvious - the offense fell into a black hole once Cincy started selling out on Kofi.
We looked like John Starks in game 7 vs Houston, just jacking up 3 after 3, praying for a make, in the second half.
Defensively, the officials did a number on us, with several clean blocks whistled and getting Cincy jump shootera comfortable.
Way way way way too many single pass possessions, especially when we were still in the game, and especially when you have a King Kofi on the floor. We should thrive on the offensive boards.
I would not want to be in Underwood's line of sight for the next 24 hours.
Also, hate these unis almost as bad as the blues
 
#189      

ChiefIllinois

C
ChiefIllinois
This team is going to live or die based on if they can play offense in the half court. The turnovers are obviously an issue but running plays will lower them to reasonable amounts. I actually do think it's that simple. Of course, we need players to actually do that and a coaching staff to realize it.

How important was Gentry?
 
#190      

LostinNebraska

L
LostinNebraska
Rap73 said:
Between our 3 fifth year seniors we had 3 points in probably close to 90 minutes of playing time. The point guard had 5 to's and 5 assists and 4 of twelve shooting. There isn't a team in the country who can win with that .
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Can't make assists on missed shots.
 
#191      

logjam

logjam
logjam
azillini1 said:
Think we have a good chance for a W tomorrow against K State, as they have 8 points in the first 10 minutes. That's about as effective as we were tonight after the first 5 minutes
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Don't forget Cincinnati had about 8 points around 10 minutes..
 
#193      

logjam

logjam
logjam
ChiefIllinois said:
This team is going to live or die based on if they can play offense in the half court. The turnovers are obviously an issue but running plays will lower them to reasonable amounts. I actually do think it's that simple. Of course, we need players to actually do that and a coaching staff to realize it.

How important was Gentry?
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Gentry is gone.
 
#194      

Chieeeeffffff

C
Chieeeeffffff
In my view, the game snowballed out of control on a handful of possessions where Grandison and Hawkins passed up open shots to force bad passes to Kofi and Trent tried a circus layup in transition after a steal where he had damonte trailing the play. Air went out of the balloon and the game quickly spiraled out of control from there. Curbelo with the stupid tech was also a momentum killer—that’s two in three games.

Another observation: our backcourt’s lack of size at the 1 and 2–both height and weight—is causing issues on the offensive end. Trent and ‘Belo just look tiny out there. Ayo’s massive size for a college 1/2, ability to finish at the rim, and rebounding prowess are missed dearly.
 
#195      

TarheelIllini

T
TarheelIllini
The difference between last year and this year -- is leadership, effort, and attitude. Last year's team had an underdog mentality, fueled by the chip on Ayo's shoulder. Curbelo, Kofi, and Hawkins need to show leadership via defensive intensity, not celebrating on offense or barking at the officials.

These past 2 losses were to much hungrier and scrappier opponents, both of whom had young intense coaches that worked the sideline. Coach Underwood seems a little lethargic this year.
 
#196      

80'sIllini

80'sIllini
Arizona
80'sIllini
Why aren't the freshmen playing? They certainly couldn't be any worse than the seniors. And CoHawk has done nothing against the higher caliber competition of the past 2 games. It seems he thought he was an NBA lottery pick after the first 2 games.
 
#198      

WeWillWhen

WeWillWhen
WeWillWhen
Dan said:
Postgame thread
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warning star trek GIF by Anthony Antonellis
 
#200      

BretMyBeachHouse

B
BretMyBeachHouse
It's been mentioned a couple of times already, but going back to Loyola, we just haven't looked good. What struck me about that game is that we seemed to lack any urgency, any heart, etc.

Still happening. Do these guys care? what happened?