Illini Basketball 2025-2026

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#501      
OrangeBlue98
thefalcon5 said:
Im really not surprised at all. We’ve long had almost no home court advantage. This years it’s been even worse, but I highly doubt many teams fear playing at SFC like we do with Mackey or similar arenas.

Honestly, it’s something the athletic dept needs to investigate fixing.
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I’d love to see one of those confidential player/coach polls like the Athletic does for pro sports and ask for a ranking of Big Ten environments. I’d bet a sizable amount Illinois would be in the bottom half, if not the bottom quarter.
 
#503      
Fighter of the Nightman
thefalcon5 said:
Im really not surprised at all. We’ve long had almost no home court advantage. This years it’s been even worse, but I highly doubt many teams fear playing at SFC like we do with Mackey or similar arenas.

Honestly, it’s something the athletic dept needs to investigate fixing.
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While true in general, the atmosphere was nothing short of a return to “great” Friday night.
 
#504      
rdk573
Video still on the front page of Reddit/College Basketball....Ugggg

These last two games have been brutal to stay positive about this team

https://www.reddit.com/r/CollegeBas.../donavan_dent_wins_it_at_the_buzzer_for_ucla/

1772380279888.png
 
#506      
thefalcon5
Fighter of the Nightman said:
While true in general, the atmosphere was nothing short of a return to “great” Friday night.
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Which is great! To me that means we’re close.

And while I don’t expect that atmosphere when playing someone like Oregon in a Tuesday night, no reason why a good team can’t draw a similar crowd.

It’s probably a combo of a lot of things, but I’ve never heard someone call out the MSU/Purdue crowds for being lack luster no matter the competition
 
#507      
Fighter of the Nightman
thefalcon5 said:
Which is great! To me that means we’re close.

And while I don’t expect that atmosphere when playing someone like Oregon in a Tuesday night, no reason why a good team can’t draw a similar crowd.

It’s probably a combo of a lot of things, but I’ve never heard someone call out the MSU/Purdue crowds for being lack luster no matter the competition
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Agreed. If our atmosphere vs. Michigan was, say, an 8.5 out of 10 … this would be what I think the eventual goal for this program should be and what I’d argue we did have circa 2005.

- 6-7 for cupcake hames
- 7-8 for standard Big Ten home games
- 8-9 for “notable” home games (big non-conference matchups, rivalry games, Saturday games, etc.)
- 10 for especially hyped games like Michigan on Friday night

There’s no reason we should ever be flirting with a 4 or 5 out of 10, which is what I felt we had vs. Wisconsin.
 
#508      
Combo
DB11Headband said:
Elite 8 should still be the goal. Obviously last night showed we’re a tier (plus?) below the true big boys this season but no excuse to not still make a run with the talent on this team.
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Technically the goal is to win it all. But my expectation/hope for us has always been Sweet 16. I think we’re a top 15 or so team
, which is where outside observers had us preseason. People on this forum always overrate our talent.
 
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#509      
bavanga3
While true in general, the atmosphere was nothing short of a return to “great” Friday night.
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Really? Because all I see was the front row jumping and everybody else standing around. Go back and watch. It was pathetic how silent they got when we needed them.
 
#512      
Luwdoo
Technically the goal is to win it all. But my expectation/hope for us has always been Sweet 16. I think we’re a top 15 or so team
, which is where outside observers had us preseason. People on this forum always overrate our talent.
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We are much overdo to over achieve in the NCAA tournament though.
 
#513      
Altuve27
Just remember this is still a really, really good team. They have run into a rough patch. It happens.

I could mention several things but I’ll settle for 2:

1. Tomi, flat out, has GOT to battle and really compete defensively. Interior defense starts well before the player gets the ball. You have force him a step or two out from where he wants to be. Tomislav is letting guys get to their spots too easily.

2. I mentioned this in another thread, but I’ll talk about it here as well. Andrej has GOT to stop dropping his head when he drives. It’s leading to turnovers which in turn leads directly to fastbreak points or terrible shot selection. He needs to keep his head up so he can read the defense. If he has an angle for the drive, great. Finish the play or draw a foul. If that is taken away, PASS THE DAMN BALL to Wagler, Davis, Humrichous, Tomi or whoever for a wide open shot. That alone would help Andrej be more productive in his minutes.
 
#515      
OB positive
Illiniguy13 said:
Still believe this is a 2nd weekend+ team. However, I don’t think it happens if the twins + Andrej are this shaky. Tomi & Z are a combined 24% from 3 over the last 5 games and not rebounding well. I question how Andrej handles pressure. We can’t afford this in March.
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Yes I think we make it to the second weekend and if the twins get going we might make a deep run.
 
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