Illinois 102, Southern 55 POSTGAME

#51      

Illiini

Illiini
In the land of the Nittany Lion
Illiini
So now. Tomorrow. Football. Indiana. Make it a crappy weekend to be a Hoosier.
 
#54      

ForWhomTheBellTolls

F
ForWhomTheBellTolls
No doubt we handily beat a team we should have handily beat, but other than McKendree last year, it isn't something we've made a habit of recently, so we should be pleased when it happens, until we are at the point where we can expect it to routinely happen again.
 
#57      

sdfidaho

sdfidaho
Boise, Idaho
sdfidaho
tts22 said:
Positive: Transition defense was much better tonight. No doubt what the emphasis was in practice.

Positive: Pace was much better. Illini have an identity. Illini have a coach.

Negative: Anyone with skilled big men will absolutely destroy the Illini. We are going to be in for some long nights when it gets into the conference season if we aren't shooting it well.

By the way - Southern is a horrendous team. Absolutely horrible. Don't let the 50 point win camouflage things.....
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Just about everyone knows skilled big men will be a real challenge for this team based on our current roster, but I'm not going to necessarily assume the Illini will be "destroyed". These same skilled big men will have to do a lot of running up and down the court, or we will have a ton of 5 on 4 opportunities.
I have no doubt there will be some long nights, but I also expect there to be some shocking wins.
Let's see how this all plays out.
 
#58      

Illini_1979

Illini_1979
Oregon
Illini_1979
Only got to see the 1st half (had to take the missus to dinner). Waiting now on the replay to be available on BTN+.
 
#61      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
[YOUTUBE]uHhvrkqbVDw[/YOUTUBE]
 
#62      

ilphotog

ilphotog
The camera never lies
Champaign
ilphotog
During a free throw, I took a shot of Frazier and Smith as they stood next to each other near half-court. Reminded me of a similar shot I took of Dee and Deron during their Freshman year. One can only hope.
 
#65      

IlliniRon

IlliniRon
Illini Basketball Fan Forever
Ft Worth, Texas
IlliniRon
That was a fun style of basketball to watch. Could not hit 3's for some reason, but I like the score and the pace and toughness on the boards. Only the first game, but maybe we are going to turn it around with Coach Underwood.
 
#66      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
After watching Matic, I'm kind of disappointed that BU didn't red-shirt him. So much skill but it's clear that he's way out of his comfort zone right now. But you never know how quickly freshmen can adapt, maybe he'll be ready to contribute by February.
 
#67      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
[YOUTUBE]0Mk07UWsOLQ[/YOUTUBE]
 
#68      

PlayAZ

P
PlayAZ
Dan said:
[YOUTUBE]uHhvrkqbVDw[/YOUTUBE]
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Nice to see him recognize AJ, the kid has been through and seen a lot in a short amount of time....good for him, nice career night!

Good to see the Coach speak to the dream he is living....I know he stated Okla State was a dream type of job...ILLINI is the DREAM job for him, I truly believe this cannot be discounted in anyway by the time all is said and done.:chief:
 
#69      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
blackdog said:
The best part about this is we put up all these points and nobody looked comfortable running the offense. Imagine how good its going to be when they actually know what they are doing!
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I thought Tejon looked really comfortable out there. If we were to play a meaningful game right now I think he would be a lock for 30-35 minutes. Same with Alstork.

Speaking of Alstork, if he can be the alpha male that we brought him here to be then I'll feel much more confident about making the tournament this year.
 
#70      

EfremWinters84

E
S. Carolina
EfremWinters84
Illiini said:
What was the line on this game. I went looking for predictions and only found two, both saying Illinois wins but barely. Any others? I know now that everyone will be saying, yeah, Illinois won, but look who they were playing. But four hours ago...what was being said then?
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Check out EfremWinters' projection ---- ILL 96 SOU 66. He's typically your best source for accurate "on the money" predictions!
 
#73      

Illini Parent14

I
Illini Parent14
Illwinsagain said:
It wasn't SIU, just SU.
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At least, the Illini were playing an actual Division I team. Some of the other opening night "opponents" ? Are you kidding??? I have never heard of some of these schools...Siena Heights? Walla Walla? Oglethorpe? Wheelock? Bridgewater? Our Lady of the Lake? Carver Bible? Sheeessshhh.
 
#74      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
Dan said:
[YOUTUBE]uHhvrkqbVDw[/YOUTUBE]
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Really stood out to me when he talked about the offense and how vanilla it was. I've made the point several times but they are at the point where they are just barely scratching the surface of what this system is capable of. Scary to think of what we can do with some real talent and a couple years of learning.
 
#75      

sdfidaho

sdfidaho
Boise, Idaho
sdfidaho
blackdog said:
Really stood out to me when he talked about the offense and how vanilla it was. I've made the point several times but they are at the point where they are just barely scratching the surface of what this system is capable of. Scary to think of what we can do with some real talent and a couple years of learning.
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That really stood out to me as well during that 15 minute press conference:thumb: