Illini Basketball 2022-2023
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Top 4 seed for the BTT and a chance at a top 4 seed in the NCAA tourney.
A lot of things going our way would have to happen for it to be any more than that.
But I’d love it if it happened!
I think we go into Purdue at 13-6, which at the start of the season, I thought that would have meant we were playing for a share of the championship.
But in this reality, Purdue will have locked the championship up already and we'll be playing for second place. Lose and we fall somewhere between 3-5. A win would also bump us up a seed in the NCAA, from a 5 to a 4 or from a 6 to a 5.
With all the parity, not much difference between a 6 and a 4.
Matchups are everything.
Matchups are everything.
This has been an odd season. I think that given the roster turnover, the uneven mix of transfers vs true freshmen, the injuries and the unfortunate circumstance with our starting PG....BU has done a great job. We all knew that there were going to be some choppy waters, with the hope of this team meshing as we got into February and March and the have.
I think that the ceiling on this team is lower than we really want to accept. TJS has regressed to the mean.
TSJ was the key to the season/wins in November and he still is now. I don't see him brought up very often. When he's good, we're good. When he's not, we struggle. Teams got him on tape and IMO, have opened up some weaknesses, which is that he's really limited to going to his left and instead he's gone from what he does well(catch and shoot) to trying to create shorts for himself and putting up some questionable ones(especially from three).
We'll go as far as TSJ will take us and I'm just not sure that he didn't top out in Vegas, which really limits the what we can do.... especially vs athletic teams.
His personal ceiling is our ceiling in aggregate.
I think that the ceiling on this team is lower than we really want to accept. TJS has regressed to the mean.
TSJ was the key to the season/wins in November and he still is now. I don't see him brought up very often. When he's good, we're good. When he's not, we struggle. Teams got him on tape and IMO, have opened up some weaknesses, which is that he's really limited to going to his left and instead he's gone from what he does well(catch and shoot) to trying to create shorts for himself and putting up some questionable ones(especially from three).
We'll go as far as TSJ will take us and I'm just not sure that he didn't top out in Vegas, which really limits the what we can do.... especially vs athletic teams.
His personal ceiling is our ceiling in aggregate.
Ryllini
- Lombard
Guys and Gals, this is not ok. I hope the families do share it.
Totally agree. These are young men working their tails off, representing the University incredibly well, and by and large playing at an extremely high level. As fans, it's ok to have high expectations. It's beyond reprehensible to abuse them personally over losing a @#_&$# game. I do not understand it at all.
Ryllini
- Lombard
Am I crazy, but does anyone else see a little Damian Lillard in Epps? They are essentially the same build and you can see already that Epps is a walking bucket. I think Epps is developing brilliantly by taking the ball to the basket and working on finishing around the hoop. He was like Dee and Ayo in that aspect as both of those players struggled to finish close to the basket early on, Epps seems to be getting that figured out. Once his outside shot develops further, this kid is gonna be a nightmare for opposing teams.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Maybe, sure. But I'm sticking with Frank Mason. Epps is a far better penetrator than Dee was (Dee was more of a speed demon). And he's way ahead of freshman Ayo. He's already excellent. The hesitation and speed changes set him apart. When he gets his driving shot fully sorted, he's going to be great.
A 4 seed in March Madness. Think we go to Purdue with 12/13 wins in the big ten
blackdog
- Champaign
I agree with the Mason comp. Lillard is a freak athlete to go with the skills and regularly is putting people on posters. Epps is much more a below the rim player. Maybe eventually a Brunson comp would be closer to the mark.
It might just be me…but kinda I like the Bruce Douglas comparison for Epps.
If you could make a perfect cross between
Douglas and Richardson off that ‘84 team
you might get pretty close to what Epps is
rapidly becoming.
Missed Traveling Call-You Say?
Bruce Douglas was an all-state guard who was strong, handled the ball exceptionally well, set records for assists and NEVER developed an outside shot. He was nothing like Epps as he majored on defense and assists. Epps is a SCORER--shooting and driving to the basket. Not a Douglas type...who I loved as a player but had no future because he couldn't shoot. That's NOT Epps.
More like Richardson on the ‘84 team?
A better comparison, but a better player by far right away than Richardson... Epps has to be all-freshman in the Big Ten.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
I love Epps, but there's NO WAY he'll ever get to be as good of a defender (and stealer) as Douglas was. Truly elite. The definition of elite, in my book.
In order for Illinois to have the double bye in the Big Ten 2023 Tournament, it will be necessary to have 13 wins. This means that Illinois must win all of their remaining games, including Rutgers at home and Penn State on the road (assuming losses at Indiana and Purdue). Only If this happens will the Illini join Purdue, Indiana, Rutgers and Iowa with at least 13 wins (assuming none of these teams has an upset in their remaining games). However our record against the other 4 teams would only be 1 win and 4 losses (the lone win vs Rutgers). The Iowa loss really "cooked the goose" as far as the tournament is concerned (barring wins at Indiana or Purdue).
Yeah probably is. Lol. That’s why I’m trying to cheat and make a hypothetical-Frankenstein player…because as you know it’s a pretty tall order to find anyone that matches Epps exactly. (It’s probably silly and completely subjective to compare players from completely different eras…but it sure is fun.)
Richardson (5ft 11) a nice stroke from outside AND he had some of the Feliz-fearlessness with maybe a touch more finesse…I see a lot of all that in Epps.
* But I think you are right…Epps is already more refined in most ways. I think his handles are probably better than Richardson. But I dunno…Epps and Richardson both have nice smooth releases. Richardson looks to have been a fairly pure shooter…but to be fair we’re talking pre-three point line in a slower offensive scheme. So who knows?
I think Epps is super/confident and strong with the ball and has pretty impressive handles more like Douglas…especially for a freshman.
I hope he develops the playmaker and defensive specialist part of his resume like
Douglas did.
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Don't sleep on Maryland either. There's a chance that 13-7 only gets us a 6 seed in the BTT. Is what it is. Just a weird year.
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You might be right; but I hope you are wrong.
Last week my power rankings were:
1. PU
2. IU
3. RU (they beat PU)
4. NW (they beat us)
5. PSU (they beat us)
6. MD (they beat us)
7. Illini
8. MSU (we beat them and they beat Iowa
9. Iowa
10. Wisky
11. O$U
12. scUM
13. Neb
14. Minnesota
Update based on performance this week
1. PU
2. IU
3. RU
4. Iowa
5. MD
6. PSU
7. Illini
8. NW
9. MSU
10. Wisky
11. scUm
12. O$U
13. Neb
14. Minnesota
Biggest mover Iowa they have been on fire as of late. NW moved down due to their recent loses. Still 3-9 are all close. I think next week there will be some separation
1. PU
2. IU
3. RU (they beat PU)
4. NW (they beat us)
5. PSU (they beat us)
6. MD (they beat us)
7. Illini
8. MSU (we beat them and they beat Iowa
9. Iowa
10. Wisky
11. O$U
12. scUM
13. Neb
14. Minnesota
Update based on performance this week
1. PU
2. IU
3. RU
4. Iowa
5. MD
6. PSU
7. Illini
8. NW
9. MSU
10. Wisky
11. scUm
12. O$U
13. Neb
14. Minnesota
Biggest mover Iowa they have been on fire as of late. NW moved down due to their recent loses. Still 3-9 are all close. I think next week there will be some separation
illini80
- Forgottonia
Different kind of player for sure, but DMW played 1-5, took on the toughest defensive assignment often, and had a streak where he was deadly from outside.
The only other team projected to have 13 conference wins besides Purdue is Rutgers. I think 12 wins definitely gets top 4 and 11 wins probably not but possible. As of now it's about a 50/50 shot.
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I played around with the BTT generator for a bit, and came to the sad conclusion that we are likely the 6 seed in the BTT (I got a range of 5-7). Our most common second round matchup was Iowa. It was freaky. The tie breakers would cause us to align more ofen than not. Purdue/Rutgers/Indiana/Iowa get the byes.
I often had 12 wins falling to 5th or even 6th on tie breakers.
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