Good question...and every one of us hopes that will happen. However, in this league this year with the home team always getting the benefit of the doubt from the officials, it is certainly not predicted or expected. But this team is a team and supports one another and when they fix their minds on something and are willing to put it all on the line....anything is possible....especially if the shooting improves.
Illinois 54, Rutgers 51 POSTGAME
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Especially at Purdue if their center is still hurt.
Man, after some time to digest that blood bath and let the old nerves settle a bit, what a game! Mad props to Rutgers. Those boys were out for blood today. It was a fight for every inch of ground. That point guard was a one tough SOB, wouldn't mind him on my side. Their entire squad was up for the battle. Gonna be seriously hard to take them at the RAC! I think they are a couple of bounces away from a tourney birth and I would be all for it after watching that display.
Ayo for the second game in a row was an absolutely clutch stud. Big boards, move the ball unselfishly, clutch free throws at the end, blocks, steals. He is doing it all for us. mid range game is gonna be huge if they team is to win against elite defenses such as this. I'm full on falling for this guys game now, he is a complete player and developing into a winner. Seems like a great kid to boot.
With such a putrid shooting line it is very hard to win but they won every other aspect of the game. One game after fts nearly blew the game for us this game it won it for us. 16-19 and making them down the stretch win they mattered most. Icewater in the veins. Ayo with 4 big ones late, again leading the team.
AG was an energize bunny again, despite truly poor shooting tonight, one can't help to feel his infectious attitude o the court. 8 rebound and 4 offensive just keep the team surging. The damonte/Griffin/kipper swingy small forward combo play is truly effective. Lots of length, energy and commitment. At the start of the second have Damonte had his moments. Great offensive board and assist to Ayo 3 and shortly after that a world class block out on the defensive side. These three guys do a ton of dirty work and it is the guts of the team.
Speaking of guts, Dre is a true baller. that period in the second half where he had those drives for buckets is what kept this team alive. Playing like a senior. I felt early on that this was gonna be a Dre type of game, took a while to come together but it was in the end.
And what can you say about Kofi and the rebounding effort in general. 11pts and 17 boards! The man is a presence like we've never seen at Illinois. 48 rebounds, when was the last time we did that?
This team is prone to shooting slumps and scoring droughts but they can still win by defense, taking care of the ball and out rebounding. great win against a determined team.
time to go back on this thread and see the rest of everybody's thought.
Ayo for the second game in a row was an absolutely clutch stud. Big boards, move the ball unselfishly, clutch free throws at the end, blocks, steals. He is doing it all for us. mid range game is gonna be huge if they team is to win against elite defenses such as this. I'm full on falling for this guys game now, he is a complete player and developing into a winner. Seems like a great kid to boot.
With such a putrid shooting line it is very hard to win but they won every other aspect of the game. One game after fts nearly blew the game for us this game it won it for us. 16-19 and making them down the stretch win they mattered most. Icewater in the veins. Ayo with 4 big ones late, again leading the team.
AG was an energize bunny again, despite truly poor shooting tonight, one can't help to feel his infectious attitude o the court. 8 rebound and 4 offensive just keep the team surging. The damonte/Griffin/kipper swingy small forward combo play is truly effective. Lots of length, energy and commitment. At the start of the second have Damonte had his moments. Great offensive board and assist to Ayo 3 and shortly after that a world class block out on the defensive side. These three guys do a ton of dirty work and it is the guts of the team.
Speaking of guts, Dre is a true baller. that period in the second half where he had those drives for buckets is what kept this team alive. Playing like a senior. I felt early on that this was gonna be a Dre type of game, took a while to come together but it was in the end.
And what can you say about Kofi and the rebounding effort in general. 11pts and 17 boards! The man is a presence like we've never seen at Illinois. 48 rebounds, when was the last time we did that?
This team is prone to shooting slumps and scoring droughts but they can still win by defense, taking care of the ball and out rebounding. great win against a determined team.
time to go back on this thread and see the rest of everybody's thought.
Steelyunk
- Tobacco Road
Like I said - I don’t bash kids. I like the way Damonte plays. He seems like a tough kid who works hard. But he’s like me in high school- he cannot score. I wish he could. I want these kids to succeed.
Loyalillini10
- Urbana, IL
I disagree. He CAN score! For some reason, he chooses not to. I don’t understand it. But he does a lot of good things for the team and he has a lot of value on the floor. He could bring more value by shooting the open 3 or driving it when he has an open lane. He is a good FT shooter, so getting fouled on the way up isn’t the worst thing.
Excellent seats for today's game and seeing it up close, I remember at the 10 minute mark telling the guy next to me that "No one will foul out today"
Two very physical teams that know how to play defense and refs that let them play. A lot of contact allowed around the basket early led I believe to some rushed shots later (Alan shooting an air ball on a layup). You shoot quickly expecting contact even if its not there.
Two very physical teams that know how to play defense and refs that let them play. A lot of contact allowed around the basket early led I believe to some rushed shots later (Alan shooting an air ball on a layup). You shoot quickly expecting contact even if its not there.
Actually I meant PU and miswrote.
have to laugh at the idea that a recruit would care about Kenpom rankings.
illini55
- The Villages, FL
Is this a week ahead prediction for the NW game?
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
What I meant was the success of the B1G as a conference as a whole. It's nice to be able to showcase that success to recruits.
illini55
- The Villages, FL
I mostly agree with your observations, but not with your comment that they played with little energy in the first half. Bad results do not necessarily equate with the energy level, which I thought was good throughout. They got plenty of good shots, but failed to make most of them. Go Illini!
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Define "downfall"
illini55
- The Villages, FL
Based on early projections, an infusion of new talent may do the trick next year. Fingers crossed.
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
I want to thank 83nation for saving me the trip from St Louis to Champaign for the rest of the season. Saves me a lot of money. Again please define "downfall". We are all waiting.
So, I understand what a quad 1 vs 2 vs 3 vs 4 win is:
Quadrant 1: Home 1-30, Neutral 1-50, Away 1-75.
Quadrant 2: Home 31-75, Neutral 51-100, Away 76-135.
Quadrant 3: Home 76-160, Neutral 101-200, Away 135-240.
Quadrant 4: Home 161-353, Neutral 201-353, Away 241-353.
But, I'm not sure what the rankings are based on (i.e. who is #1 for example??). Is it RPI? If so, then why doesn't the RPI listing actually state #1, #2, #3, etc next to the team. Meaning, I have to actually count down to Illinois to figure out what ranking they are in the RPI. Just frickin put down their RPI ranking!!
A hand off is called the same as a screen. If you are moving it is illegal. Kipper was moving and it was the right call.
https://www.ncaa.com/rankings/basketball-men/d1/ncaa-mens-basketball-net-rankings
This is what the NCAA uses to determine quadrant wins. It is updated every morning.
Kinda like it's a heads scratcher to some of us the constant rant About DMW after every game.
So earlier we had someone say that Giorgi was a shell of himself compared to last year. Another person gave him a D for this game.
When you start for a team and you don't have a great stat line, people are going to notice and talk about it.
The difference in this thread is that others gave their different opinions about Giorgi without suggesting that the other people were somehow wrong to make their own points. But for some reason, DMW criticism is less being responded to with opposing points but rather somehow taking people to task for even talking about it.
BU needs to do what he thinks is best and the team is playing well so I'm not critical of minutes or starters. But DMW contributing more is important for this team to step up to a higher level. As is Trent getting threes down, hopefully Ayo as well, and BU finding more touches for Giorgi in the post.
Oh, i know how it came about i watched the past 2 seasons.
It was not a bad call. They made a similar illegal screen call earlier on Kipper. Kipper's was more of a bad call than this one.
I’m pretty certain that “this team would be better if [insert name of any player getting minutes] was contributing more..”
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