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Illinois 59, Minnesota 51 POSTGAME
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<blockquote data-quote="IlliniFandom" data-source="post: 1521204" data-attributes="member: 26111"><p>That was a fun game! Two tough-minded teams that were keen on winning, battling it out! Loved the energy in the building and enjoying the win. My take on the win:</p><p></p><ol> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Game was in control the whole time:</strong> Minnesota as good as they are, Illini had this game in control despite the score getting close and losing the lead in the 2nd half. I think that shows that this team is not one that will get too high or too low...but that this is still business and they take care of their business. Hard to capture in words specifically, but I didn't feel like the game was in danger in the 2nd half. I knew they would weather the storm in this game. Shows real growth.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Illini are like a Swiss Army Knife (lite edition).</strong> We have role players that are bought into their roles. When both Trent and Ayo are struggling to find offense, you "unfold" Feliz and his game is just different enough that the opponent didn't seem prepared to deal with. Give Minn credit, they were ready for Ayo's drives, Kofi lobs, and Trent's 3 point shooting...but Feliz comes out and brings offense in that is just different enough to throw them off balance. </li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Need to expand the options and grow to become one of those fat Swiss Army Knives to go far in the tourney: </strong> With AG out for the last game and the team in foul trouble, the thin bench was just glaring! They did a great job of plugging the holes just long enough to eat up some minutes, but when TU has to come into the game and eat up some minutes...TJones is just not comfortable yet with a role/identity with this team, you just realize the drop-off in talent. We could really use at least 1 more wing and 1 more capable big (Hamlin is not that guy) to really have the right tools to win against top competition on nights like these when the team is either in foul trouble or not producing or just need to give the other team another look. A knock-down 3 point specialist and a true 5 that can shoot from 3 would really be nice about now.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ol"><strong>Kofi is going to have a hard decision at the end of this year...but coming back one more year is the right decision: </strong> He just went up against a the top big-man in the b1g and held his own...a guy that is in discussion to be a lottery pick! He did outplay Oturu at times, but there is a noticeable difference between the two. Oturu was quicker and had a better feel for the game. He was creating his opportunities in a 1:1 match-up vs. Kofi and was responsible for putting Kofi in tough situations. He carried his team. Kofi of course had help too and it wasn't necessarily Kofi alone that helped keep Oturu in check throughout the game. The tough part is that I think that scouts will see Kofi's potential as well and I'm sure a team will take him on as a project...he has the physicality, he has shown he listens, works hard, and improves almost game to game.....not sure what one more year would do other than perhaps make him more expensive for some teams to buy into. Why not get him for cheap now and build him up?!</li> </ol></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="IlliniFandom, post: 1521204, member: 26111"] That was a fun game! Two tough-minded teams that were keen on winning, battling it out! Loved the energy in the building and enjoying the win. My take on the win: [LIST=1] [*][B]Game was in control the whole time:[/B] Minnesota as good as they are, Illini had this game in control despite the score getting close and losing the lead in the 2nd half. I think that shows that this team is not one that will get too high or too low...but that this is still business and they take care of their business. Hard to capture in words specifically, but I didn't feel like the game was in danger in the 2nd half. I knew they would weather the storm in this game. Shows real growth. [*][B]Illini are like a Swiss Army Knife (lite edition).[/B] We have role players that are bought into their roles. When both Trent and Ayo are struggling to find offense, you "unfold" Feliz and his game is just different enough that the opponent didn't seem prepared to deal with. Give Minn credit, they were ready for Ayo's drives, Kofi lobs, and Trent's 3 point shooting...but Feliz comes out and brings offense in that is just different enough to throw them off balance. [*][B]Need to expand the options and grow to become one of those fat Swiss Army Knives to go far in the tourney: [/B] With AG out for the last game and the team in foul trouble, the thin bench was just glaring! They did a great job of plugging the holes just long enough to eat up some minutes, but when TU has to come into the game and eat up some minutes...TJones is just not comfortable yet with a role/identity with this team, you just realize the drop-off in talent. We could really use at least 1 more wing and 1 more capable big (Hamlin is not that guy) to really have the right tools to win against top competition on nights like these when the team is either in foul trouble or not producing or just need to give the other team another look. A knock-down 3 point specialist and a true 5 that can shoot from 3 would really be nice about now. [*][B]Kofi is going to have a hard decision at the end of this year...but coming back one more year is the right decision: [/B] He just went up against a the top big-man in the b1g and held his own...a guy that is in discussion to be a lottery pick! He did outplay Oturu at times, but there is a noticeable difference between the two. Oturu was quicker and had a better feel for the game. He was creating his opportunities in a 1:1 match-up vs. Kofi and was responsible for putting Kofi in tough situations. He carried his team. Kofi of course had help too and it wasn't necessarily Kofi alone that helped keep Oturu in check throughout the game. The tough part is that I think that scouts will see Kofi's potential as well and I'm sure a team will take him on as a project...he has the physicality, he has shown he listens, works hard, and improves almost game to game.....not sure what one more year would do other than perhaps make him more expensive for some teams to buy into. Why not get him for cheap now and build him up?! [/LIST] [/QUOTE]
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Illinois 59, Minnesota 51 POSTGAME
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