Illini Basketball 2021-2022

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#1      

Dan

Admin
Welcome to the Illini Basketball & College Basketball 2022-2022 thread :illinois:

Schedule
https://fightingillini.com/sports/mens-basketball/schedule

Sat, Oct 23____St. Francis (IL.) (Exhibition)___
Fri, Oct 29____Indiana (Pa.) (Exhibition)_______
Tue, Nov 9_____Jackson State____________________
Fri, Nov 12____Arkansas State___________________
Mon, Nov 15____at Marquette_____________________
Mon, Nov 22____Cincinnati (Kansas City)_________5:30pm ESPNews
Tue, Nov 23____Arkansas/Kansas St (Kansas City)_
Fri, Nov 26____UT Rio Grande Valley_____________
Mon, Nov 29____Notre Dame_______________________
Fri, Dec 3_____Rutgers__________________________
Mon, Dec 6_____at Iowa__________________________
Sat, Dec 11____Arizona__________________________
Sat, Dec 18____Saint Francis (Pa.)______________
Wed, Dec 22____Missouri (St. Louis)_____________
Wed, Dec 29____Florida A&M______________________
Sun, Jan 2_____at Minnesota_____________________
Thu, Jan 6_____Maryland_________________________
Tue, Jan 11____at Nebraska______________________
Fri, Jan 14____Michigan_________________________
Mon, Jan 17____Purdue___________________________
Fri, Jan 21____at Maryland______________________
Tue, Jan 25____Michigan State___________________
Sat, Jan 29____at Northwestern__________________
Wed, Feb 2_____Wisconsin________________________
Sat, Feb 5_____at Indiana_______________________
Thu, Feb 10____at Purdue________________________
Sun, Feb 13____Northwestern_____________________
Wed, Feb 16____at Rutgers_______________________
Sat, Feb 19____at Michigan State________________
Thu, Feb 24____Ohio State_______________________
Sun, Feb 27____at Michigan______________________
Thu, Mar 3_____Penn State_______________________
Sun, Mar 6_____Iowa_____________________________

All times CT

Big Ten 20-game breakdown:
Home Only – Ohio State, Penn State, Wisconsin
Away Only – Indiana, Minnesota, Nebraska
Home & Away – Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Michigan State, Northwestern, Purdue, Rutgers


Roster
Trent Frazier
Andre Curbelo
Alfonso Plummer
Luke Goode
Brandin Podziemski
Da'Monte Williams
Jacob Grandison
Austin Hutcherson
Ramses Melendez
Omar Payne
Benjamin Bosmans-Verdonk
Coleman Hawkins
Brandon Lieb
Kofi Cockburn
 
#2      

Illwinsagain

Cary, IL
I was on campus this weekend, and ran into a couple of the players.

Kofi - I don't know what 7'1", 285 lbs is supposed to look like, but he looked thinner than I would expect. Not skinny by any stretch, but I was expecting thicker. He may be down a few pounds. Also loose clothing can hide it a little, but it was just an observation.

Coleman - Not in loose clothing and ripped! He was just walking down the sidewalk, talking on the phone and looked very strong and tall. I would think that he could be a stretch 5, if necessary. Especially with his blocking skills.
 
#3      
I was on campus this weekend, and ran into a couple of the players.

Kofi - I don't know what 7'1", 285 lbs is supposed to look like, but he looked thinner than I would expect. Not skinny by any stretch, but I was expecting thicker. He may be down a few pounds. Also loose clothing can hide it a little, but it was just an observation.

Coleman - Not in loose clothing and ripped! He was just walking down the sidewalk, talking on the phone and looked very strong and tall. I would think that he could be a stretch 5, if necessary. Especially with his blocking skills.
Why are you saying 7'1 for Kofi?
 
#4      
How do you guys usually get Braggin’ Rights tickets? Couldn’t find anything on StubHub yet. I usually write it off as a possibility due to its proximity to Christmas, but my firm is giving us Thursday 12/23 off this year, and I’m very seriously considering driving down on the day of the game. Always been super high on my bucket list.
 
#5      

Konnie

Western Suburbs
I buy mine from the Illini ticket office when they go on sale. In 2019, I had seats in section 320 row J, and in 2018, I had seats in section 305 row G.
 
#6      

Tacomallini

Washington State
I hope ND ends up having another down year. UI has 4 games scheduled in an 8 day span, ending w/ the Irish on 11/29.
 
#10      
I buy mine from the Illini ticket office when they go on sale. In 2019, I had seats in section 320 row J, and in 2018, I had seats in section 305 row G.

Okay, I will be on the lookout to just do that, thanks.

Also, my first shot in the dark record predictions, using ESPN's preseason top 25 just for kicks (FTR, we are #13 in this ranking) ... :cool:

W vs. Jackson State
W vs. Arkansas State
W at Marquette (Gavitt Games)
W vs. Cincinnati (Kansas City, MO - Hall of Fame Classic)
L vs. #14 Arkansas (Kansas City, MO - Hall of Fame Classic)
W vs. UT-Rio Grande Valley
W vs. Notre Dame (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
W vs. Rutgers
W at Iowa
W vs. Arizona
W vs. Saint Francis (PA)
W vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO - Braggin' Rights Game)
W vs. Florida A&M
W at Minnesota
W vs. #20 Maryland
W at Nebraska
W vs. #8 Michigan
W vs. #6 Purdue
L at #20 Maryland
W vs. Michigan State
W at Northwestern
W vs. Wisconsin
L at Indiana
L at #6 Purdue
W vs. Northwestern
W at Rutgers
L at Michigan State
W vs. #19 Ohio State
L at #8 Michigan
W vs. Penn State
W vs. Iowa
--- Another second place regular season finish (this one legit) due to the late loss at MSU and at Michigan but repeat BTT Champions for a final record of 28-6 (15-5) on Selection Sunday and a 2-seed in the NCAAs. Some notes:

- I think our "Who are we without Ayo??" game comes vs. Arkansas in Kansas City where we lose a heartbreaker late and fall to around #17-18 in the rankings. However, we catch fire and gel as a team, going on an 11-game winning streak before Michigan comes to town on a Friday night. We win handily in one of the most electric atmospheres Champaign has seen since Dee was on campus, and we skyrocket to #5 in the AP poll with a 14-1 record.
- We proceed to beat Purdue the following Monday, but we fall at Maryland in that snakepit of a gym for a nationally hyped game.
- After stringing together 3 straight wins and feeling "back on track," we catch the Hoosiers at the worst possible time and lose an intense battle in a CBS primetime Saturday showdown in Bloomington. After 2 comfortable wins vs. NU and Rutgers, we lose again at MSU in our worst game of the year (similar to last year). Some fans on Loyalty start to freak out.
- We split the next week, beating a ranked OSU team and losing a close one in Ann Arbor, where Juwan FINALLY beats Illinois due to his young guys hitting their stride at the perfect time. Even in a loss, we look very good and proceed to blow out both PSU and Iowa at home to end the regular season. In a similar run to last year, we are playing our best basketball and are bitter that we missed out on the Big Ten title by one game, so we go on to win our second straight BTT and earn that 2-seed. No disappointments this time. Thousands of Illini fans flood New Orleans this year for the Final Four to watch our team avenge last year's Tournament flop. NCAA Champs. Boom, Kool-Aid!!
 
#12      
About tickets to the Braggin Rights game - I have been going for over 25 years to this game. I used to always try to snag them when they went on sale, and then go to the secondary market if I failed. The past few years, we have bought from scalpers outside the venue, and have gotten much better seats and lower prices than the secondary. 4 years ago, we bought tix in the middle of the Mizzou football team and VIPs. Their football coach sat right behind us, the Missouri governor sat a row ahead and 4 seats down, and I sat next to a starting WR. It's even better if it rains. But, you have to wait it out until closer to game time for the best prices.
 
#13      

sacraig

The desert
About tickets to the Braggin Rights game - I have been going for over 25 years to this game. I used to always try to snag them when they went on sale, and then go to the secondary market if I failed. The past few years, we have bought from scalpers outside the venue, and have gotten much better seats and lower prices than the secondary. 4 years ago, we bought tix in the middle of the Mizzou football team and VIPs. Their football coach sat right behind us, the Missouri governor sat a row ahead and 4 seats down, and I sat next to a starting WR. It's even better if it rains. But, you have to wait it out until closer to game time for the best prices.
I don't think sitting next to all those Missouri folks would be worth whatever money you save doing it this way.
 
#15      
My humble thoughts on starting lineup...
Curbelo
Frazier
Grandison/Hutch
Hawkins/Hutch/Grandison
Kofi
Your 3 solo spots are definitely locked in, I'd imagine BU will go with Damonte and Grandy to start the year... with a good chance of seeing Hutch/Hawkins slide in at the 3/4 by the middle of the year. Assuming we see from them what we hope/expect and how the staff has described their progress and impact this offseason.
 
#17      
Dude, I hope you are about 6'-9", 250 lbs or you got the worse end of that.

I'll see myself out now.
Not quite, he makes Curbelo look like Andre the Giant:
Selfie.jpg
(unless, of course, he is actually standing 10 feet behind them in this pic...(optics something something))
 
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#22      
Okay, I will be on the lookout to just do that, thanks.

Also, my first shot in the dark record predictions, using ESPN's preseason top 25 just for kicks (FTR, we are #13 in this ranking) ... :cool:

W vs. Jackson State
W vs. Arkansas State
W at Marquette (Gavitt Games)
W vs. Cincinnati (Kansas City, MO - Hall of Fame Classic)
L vs. #14 Arkansas (Kansas City, MO - Hall of Fame Classic)
W vs. UT-Rio Grande Valley
W vs. Notre Dame (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
W vs. Rutgers
W at Iowa
W vs. Arizona
W vs. Saint Francis (PA)
W vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO - Braggin' Rights Game)
W vs. Florida A&M
W at Minnesota
W vs. #20 Maryland
W at Nebraska
W vs. #8 Michigan
W vs. #6 Purdue
L at #20 Maryland
W vs. Michigan State
W at Northwestern
W vs. Wisconsin
L at Indiana
L at #6 Purdue
W vs. Northwestern
W at Rutgers
L at Michigan State
W vs. #19 Ohio State
L at #8 Michigan
W vs. Penn State
W vs. Iowa
--- Another second place regular season finish (this one legit) due to the late loss at MSU and at Michigan but repeat BTT Champions for a final record of 28-6 (15-5) on Selection Sunday and a 2-seed in the NCAAs. Some notes:

- I think our "Who are we without Ayo??" game comes vs. Arkansas in Kansas City where we lose a heartbreaker late and fall to around #17-18 in the rankings. However, we catch fire and gel as a team, going on an 11-game winning streak before Michigan comes to town on a Friday night. We win handily in one of the most electric atmospheres Champaign has seen since Dee was on campus, and we skyrocket to #5 in the AP poll with a 14-1 record.
- We proceed to beat Purdue the following Monday, but we fall at Maryland in that snakepit of a gym for a nationally hyped game.
- After stringing together 3 straight wins and feeling "back on track," we catch the Hoosiers at the worst possible time and lose an intense battle in a CBS primetime Saturday showdown in Bloomington. After 2 comfortable wins vs. NU and Rutgers, we lose again at MSU in our worst game of the year (similar to last year). Some fans on Loyalty start to freak out.
- We split the next week, beating a ranked OSU team and losing a close one in Ann Arbor, where Juwan FINALLY beats Illinois due to his young guys hitting their stride at the perfect time. Even in a loss, we look very good and proceed to blow out both PSU and Iowa at home to end the regular season. In a similar run to last year, we are playing our best basketball and are bitter that we missed out on the Big Ten title by one game, so we go on to win our second straight BTT and earn that 2-seed. No disappointments this time. Thousands of Illini fans flood New Orleans this year for the Final Four to watch our team avenge last year's Tournament flop. NCAA Champs. Boom, Kool-Aid!!
Gonna try my hand at this as well. Why not!
W vs. Jackson State
W vs. Arkansas State
W at Marquette (Gavitt Games)
W vs. Cincinnati (Kansas City, MO - Hall of Fame Classic)
L vs. #14 Arkansas (Kansas City, MO - Hall of Fame Classic)
W vs. UT-Rio Grande Valley
W vs. Notre Dame (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
W vs. Rutgers
W at Iowa
L vs. Arizona
W vs. Saint Francis (PA)
W vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO - Braggin' Rights Game)
W vs. Florida A&M
W at Minnesota
W vs. #20 Maryland
W at Nebraska
W vs. #8 Michigan
L vs. #6 Purdue
L at #20 Maryland
W vs. Michigan State
W at Northwestern
W vs. Wisconsin
W at Indiana
L at #6 Purdue
W vs. Northwestern
L at Rutgers
W at Michigan State
W vs. #19 Ohio State
L at #8 Michigan
W vs. Penn State
W vs. Iowa

Got us at 24-7 (15-5) in the regular season, followed up with another BTT championship, and an Elite 8 Run as the lowest #2 seed putting us at 30-8 overall. Our non conference is fairly easy, but I see us dropping a close one to Arizona. They'll be much improved with a new coach and three very good sophomores in Ben Mathurin and Azuelis Tubelis. Plus a former Top 55 Prospect in Dalen Terry. Think they'll come out firing and get their signature non conference win as Loyalty explodes. Arkansas is very good this year, and they have Chris Lykes who absolutely destroyed us in 19-20. Don't see a way we lose to ND/Marquette. We're simply way better than them, and the only way we lose to Mizzou is if one of their fans sold their soul. They're awful this year. We get on a big win streak, capped with a huge win over Fraudchigan, and then drop the next one against Purdue, Ivey kills us in crunch time to steal one. We drop another one to Maryland because they own us, but go on yet another huge win streak capped off with a nail biter against a much improved Indiana team. Then we play what should be a Top 10 Purdue team at Mackey... I don't like our chances. Next loss is to Rutgers, they bring back Ron and Geo, but otherwise the cupboard is pretty empty. They'll be hungry for a huge win to cement their tournament status and we'll fall again at the RAC. Bounce back with wins over MSU and a close one against OSU before JuFraud picks up his first win over Illinois. Last game of the regular season we run the Hawkeyes out of the gym and send Bohannon home crying after getting babied by Sir Trenton Frazier. We struggle in the Quarter Final but Belo comes up big for us late and we win by 5+, semi final game against Purdue, and we finally get it done, and in the championship we get the rubber match with the frauds from Ann Arbor and pull it out. We wipe the floor with the 15 seed, play in a tight game throughout against the 7-10, but Kofi dominates late and we pull away and escape with a 5 point victory. Then we get matched up with a very strong 6 seed in the sweet 16, where Trent Frazier has his game to remember as an Illini, dropping 20+ and hitting 3's from everywhere as we look very impressive and win by 15+. Finally we face the 1 seed in our region, let's just say it's Gonzaga where we finally see the Timme/Cockburn matchup. Kofi outplays Timme, but we have no answer for Holmgren and the Zags walk away with a convincing win.

Might as well add rough Player Stat predictions as well

Kofi- 21 PPG, 10 RPG, .25 APG - 1st Team AA, B10 POTY
Belo- 14 PPG, 5 RPG, 7 APG - All B10 1st Team
Trent- 12 PPG, 3 RPG, 3 APG - All B10 3rd Team, All B10 Defensive Team
Plummer- 10 PPG, 1 RPG, 2 APG
Grandison- 8 PPG, 4 RPG, 1 APG
Hutch- 7 PPG, 5 RPG, 2 APG
Coleman- 7 PPG, 3 RPG, 2 APG
Payne- 5 PPG, 6 RPG, .1 APG
Serven- 100 PPG, 100 RPG, 100 APG - Everything

I know this was quite similar to the original post, but I thought this would be fun to do now!
 
#24      
Gonna try my hand at this as well. Why not!
W vs. Jackson State
W vs. Arkansas State
W at Marquette (Gavitt Games)
W vs. Cincinnati (Kansas City, MO - Hall of Fame Classic)
L vs. #14 Arkansas (Kansas City, MO - Hall of Fame Classic)
W vs. UT-Rio Grande Valley
W vs. Notre Dame (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
W vs. Rutgers
W at Iowa
L vs. Arizona
W vs. Saint Francis (PA)
W vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO - Braggin' Rights Game)
W vs. Florida A&M
W at Minnesota
W vs. #20 Maryland
W at Nebraska
W vs. #8 Michigan
L vs. #6 Purdue
L at #20 Maryland
W vs. Michigan State
W at Northwestern
W vs. Wisconsin
W at Indiana
L at #6 Purdue
W vs. Northwestern
L at Rutgers
W at Michigan State
W vs. #19 Ohio State
L at #8 Michigan
W vs. Penn State
W vs. Iowa

Got us at 24-7 (15-5) in the regular season, followed up with another BTT championship, and an Elite 8 Run as the lowest #2 seed putting us at 30-8 overall. Our non conference is fairly easy, but I see us dropping a close one to Arizona. They'll be much improved with a new coach and three very good sophomores in Ben Mathurin and Azuelis Tubelis. Plus a former Top 55 Prospect in Dalen Terry. Think they'll come out firing and get their signature non conference win as Loyalty explodes. Arkansas is very good this year, and they have Chris Lykes who absolutely destroyed us in 19-20. Don't see a way we lose to ND/Marquette. We're simply way better than them, and the only way we lose to Mizzou is if one of their fans sold their soul. They're awful this year. We get on a big win streak, capped with a huge win over Fraudchigan, and then drop the next one against Purdue, Ivey kills us in crunch time to steal one. We drop another one to Maryland because they own us, but go on yet another huge win streak capped off with a nail biter against a much improved Indiana team. Then we play what should be a Top 10 Purdue team at Mackey... I don't like our chances. Next loss is to Rutgers, they bring back Ron and Geo, but otherwise the cupboard is pretty empty. They'll be hungry for a huge win to cement their tournament status and we'll fall again at the RAC. Bounce back with wins over MSU and a close one against OSU before JuFraud picks up his first win over Illinois. Last game of the regular season we run the Hawkeyes out of the gym and send Bohannon home crying after getting babied by Sir Trenton Frazier. We struggle in the Quarter Final but Belo comes up big for us late and we win by 5+, semi final game against Purdue, and we finally get it done, and in the championship we get the rubber match with the frauds from Ann Arbor and pull it out. We wipe the floor with the 15 seed, play in a tight game throughout against the 7-10, but Kofi dominates late and we pull away and escape with a 5 point victory. Then we get matched up with a very strong 6 seed in the sweet 16, where Trent Frazier has his game to remember as an Illini, dropping 20+ and hitting 3's from everywhere as we look very impressive and win by 15+. Finally we face the 1 seed in our region, let's just say it's Gonzaga where we finally see the Timme/Cockburn matchup. Kofi outplays Timme, but we have no answer for Holmgren and the Zags walk away with a convincing win.

Might as well add rough Player Stat predictions as well

Kofi- 21 PPG, 10 RPG, .25 APG - 1st Team AA, B10 POTY
Belo- 14 PPG, 5 RPG, 7 APG - All B10 1st Team
Trent- 12 PPG, 3 RPG, 3 APG - All B10 3rd Team, All B10 Defensive Team
Plummer- 10 PPG, 1 RPG, 2 APG
Grandison- 8 PPG, 4 RPG, 1 APG
Hutch- 7 PPG, 5 RPG, 2 APG
Coleman- 7 PPG, 3 RPG, 2 APG
Payne- 5 PPG, 6 RPG, .1 APG
Serven- 100 PPG, 100 RPG, 100 APG - Everything

I know this was quite similar to the original post, but I thought this would be fun to do now!
That's a pretty reasonable prediction. I think it adds up to 84 ppg, which is realistic for this group. Elite 8 would be great, though I think we'll be a 3 seed.
 
#25      

skyIdub

Winged Warrior
.......

Got us at 24-7 (15-5) in the regular season, followed up with another BTT championship, and an Elite 8 Run as the lowest #2 seed putting us at 30-8 overall. Our non conference is fairly easy, but I see us dropping a close one to Arizona. They'll be much improved with a new coach and three very good sophomores in Ben Mathurin and Azuelis Tubelis. Plus a former Top 55 Prospect in Dalen Terry. Think they'll come out firing and get their signature non conference win as Loyalty explodes. Arkansas is very good this year, and they have Chris Lykes who absolutely destroyed us in 19-20. Don't see a way we lose to ND/Marquette. We're simply way better than them, and the only way we lose to Mizzou is if one of their fans sold their soul. They're awful this year. We get on a big win streak, capped with a huge win over Fraudchigan, ..........

Sorry to Grammar Police nitpick...but you spelled scUM wrong....
 
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