Illini Basketball 2025-2026
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Alright, I wasn't going to respond. Not because I was trying to ignore you or something but because I don't like monopolizing a thread with a two person debate. However, I want to give you the courtesy of a response and to clear something up, respectfully.
First, the example I gave was not meant to insult your intelligence. I don't think that you think a bottom 40 program would get more wins than a top 20 program. It's the opposite. I knew you didn't believe that. So, by making that "bet" (which was meant to be playful not vitriolic or whatever) it got out into the open your true belief. That of course you can't completely disregard the past.
You found this to be "extreme". That's by design and can be a productive way of navigating a discussion or debate. It's actually pretty common to start at the "extremes" and work your way toward more practical applications.
You see this a lot in the scientific community. Experiments are first carried out in the most ideal, controlled conditions just to establish if something is possible. I was just establishing that a program's history does still have at least a little bit of influence over its future or is at least slightly indicative of future results.
You also see this extreme thinking in ethical dilemmas. One of my ethics professors was on the board of ethics at Northwestern hospital. A pretty high stakes position as you could imagine. One of the ways he said he navigated ethical issues is to ask, "If everyone on earth did XYZ behavior, would that be a net positive for the world or net negative?" That's a pretty extreme way to think about something.
I would also like to push back on being vitriolic or disrespectful. Everything I said was pretty matter of fact. If I made you feel stupid, I'm sorry. That wasn't my intent. But I don't think there's anything I said that crossed a line.
I agree that a lengthy, two-person debate monopolizing a thread is no fun so I will skip any commentary about extreme responses and whether I think they're useful or conducive to productive conversation.
It didn't make me feel stupid, I just felt it was designed/delivered to do that. If it wasn't, then we are good.
Bigtex
- DFW
I feel like if someone said something was red and white
You would counter it is Maroon and white and the next 20 posts would be debating the color with half of them your posts
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
Agree with your sentiments but these oh my vapors from the above are too much.
Any rebuttal is an ‘insult’ while just today he’s called someone delusional. Pot meet kettle.
Oh yeah, and I’m supposed to eat a banana, whatever Freudian fantasy that represents.
I’d spend more time researching past posts but the brave warrior has hidden his profile.
Ben Franklin: "Only one thing is certain: a certain poster on Loyalty will argue ANYTHING."
NarrowJ,
I think you could also highlight the era of 1983-84 to 1989-90 as another era of exceptional performance. I know Fighter and others on here became fans during the Kruger-Self-early Weber era and have that as their baseline. People like me, who watched Harry Combes teams on black-and-white TV looking like a snowstorm was underway, have a little different perspective. We have been through the ups and downs. The 70's were not great, though we had a couple of good teams during that time. Henson would have been fired before he started winning in today's world. The 80s were awesome, especially that 1989 team. The 90s were good but not great. Then in the early 2000's we had another stretch of greatness.
Weber and Groce's weakness was recruiting. With today's NIL, an effective and supportive AD (that prioritizes spending for assistant coaches), and the facilities we now have, perhaps both of those guys would have done better. But the fact remains, Illinois is a good program, not a blue blood. This will likely be Underwood's 7th consecutive NCAA tourney (if we count the one he would have had but for Covid). We have been in 8 consecutive twice before, and never 9.
BU is performing, and to imply the program needs/deserves a better coach is ridiculous. The one issue I have with BU is his age. I am not sure how long he will have the desire to coach as hard as he is, and I don't want to see him stay beyond the point where he has the energy to do the job (probably a good reason to keep Tyler). If he makes the tourney this and the next 2 years, he can brag on the longest period of uninterrupted success in Illini history. Think there is a decent chance of that happening.
Some on here need to be served a little perspective sometimes.
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Top basketball coaches seem to go until they can't. The passion required to get to that level seems to keep them going. What would BU do all day if he wasn't coaching? Izzo, and Pitino are still at it in their 70's. At retirement, Bo Ryan was 70. Coach K was ~75. Boheim was older. BU is early 60's.
Just to put everything in perspective…
Illinois kenpom rating is a 29.91 (9)
The 2024 team was a 24.53 (10)
The 2021 team was a 29.06 (4)
Kenpom says this is the best Illinois team in the Underwood era.
Illinois kenpom rating is a 29.91 (9)
The 2024 team was a 24.53 (10)
The 2021 team was a 29.06 (4)
Kenpom says this is the best Illinois team in the Underwood era.
A beautiful bracket https://www.reddit.com/r/CollegeBasketball/s/9sFstkhTmO
I'm 68. Work is exhausting. But then again, coaching basketball for millions is probably a lot more fun than practicing law for peanuts, lol.
Man I hate UConn fans.
The AZ fans are fun though
(This simulated bracket has us beating AZ in the Elite Eight)
Sorry for the double post.
I think it was @RollChief who, several weeks ago, showed the line graphs of our KenPom rankings from beginning of the year to the end of the year since 2020. One of the takeaways from that was we have always (I think) ended the season ranked within +/- 5 spots of where we were ranked heading into the new year.
As of this morning, we're ranked #9. So, we should expect this team to finish somewhere between 4 and 14 on KenPom. Below is where teams in that range have been seeded over the last 5 tournaments.
As you can see, the most likely outcome in this range is a 2 seed followed by a 3 then 1 then 4. Even as you advance toward that #14 KP ranking, you're still more likely to be seeded at 4 or better than 5 or worse.
From 2022 to 2025, all of the teams seeded 5 or worse came from outside of high major conferences.
In 2021 however, KP #6 USC was seeded 6th, #8 Colorado was seeded 5th, #12 Villanova was seeded 5th, #13 UCLA was seeded 11th, and #14 Wisconsin was seeded 9th. This supports what @lstewart53x3 said in another thread, that tourney seeds have started following KP rankings more closely over the last few years.
Shaping up to be another fun season and we should find ourselves in good position to make a deep tourney run.
I think it was @RollChief who, several weeks ago, showed the line graphs of our KenPom rankings from beginning of the year to the end of the year since 2020. One of the takeaways from that was we have always (I think) ended the season ranked within +/- 5 spots of where we were ranked heading into the new year.
As of this morning, we're ranked #9. So, we should expect this team to finish somewhere between 4 and 14 on KenPom. Below is where teams in that range have been seeded over the last 5 tournaments.
As you can see, the most likely outcome in this range is a 2 seed followed by a 3 then 1 then 4. Even as you advance toward that #14 KP ranking, you're still more likely to be seeded at 4 or better than 5 or worse.
From 2022 to 2025, all of the teams seeded 5 or worse came from outside of high major conferences.
In 2021 however, KP #6 USC was seeded 6th, #8 Colorado was seeded 5th, #12 Villanova was seeded 5th, #13 UCLA was seeded 11th, and #14 Wisconsin was seeded 9th. This supports what @lstewart53x3 said in another thread, that tourney seeds have started following KP rankings more closely over the last few years.
Shaping up to be another fun season and we should find ourselves in good position to make a deep tourney run.
Anyone with access to KP/Torvik/Synergy able to tell me the on/off splits for Big Z regarding opponent's 2pt% so far this season?
He had 3 blocks in 14 minutes yesterday and altered at least that many other shots.
He really has a chance to be a really important defensive piece going forward.
He had 3 blocks in 14 minutes yesterday and altered at least that many other shots.
He really has a chance to be a really important defensive piece going forward.
would have been hilarious if he took it out the case and smashed it again
Joel Goodson
- how was I to know, she was with the Russians too?
wasn't sure where to put this (I don't think Goode is playing professionally):
So, he had a little fling with the Hoosiers after college, but eventually came back home to settle down with the Illini.
Congratulations!
Goode is playing for the South Bay Lakers, the Lakers G League team.
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