Illinois 71, Jackson State 47 Postgame

#126      

TheFameProtector

TheFameProtector
Champaign
TheFameProtector
Nuke Dukem said:
An inferior opponent but Grandi seemed to be able to score at will. Hopefully he can make up some of scoring that left with Ayo.
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Would love that. His efficiency is insane. Even if it drops off a bit with more volume, he'd still be way above average. I'd rather see him picking up his scoring to compensate for Ayo's absence than Monte or even Plummer, tbh.
 
#130      

LafayetteIllinifan4life

L
Lafayette, IN
LafayetteIllinifan4life
skyIdub said:
Well, there have been some really confusing posts on Loyalty in my time...but this cracks the Top 10!
Congrats!
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I am saying he did something on camera that he shouldn't be doing and if he gets caught he will be suspended longer. I was trying to be cryptic without spilling the beans in hopes that someone close to the coaches could warn him.
 
#132      

illiniguy

illiniguy
illiniguy
skyIdub said:
Well, there have been some really confusing posts on Loyalty in my time...but this cracks the Top 10!
Congrats!
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Well, I didn't notice anything from Kofi, but FWIW Mr Rogers never suffered any ill effects from this bit:
mrrogers3rdfinger.gif

(not edited)
 
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#135      

Fanview

Fanview
Fanview
Man people really think Kofi is out on the bench chewing tobacco or snorting cocaine? Sheesh. Did Brad get some too?
 
#140      

Point-Illinois

P
Point-Illinois
For those trying to draw conclusions about the game last night, I think we all need to remember the 2015-2016 season.

I know it was Groce, but how quickly we forget what losing starters can do to a team. That team lost Abrams, Black, Nunn and Tate (Tate during the first half of the first game) and ended up losing to North Florida and Chattanooga.

While other variables do exist (that was the year we played the first 5 home games in Springfield…and Groce isn’t as good of a recruiter/coach as BU) it goes to show what can happen with a bunch of starters out.

In his presser, BU likened the injuries to losing your QB and top receiver but it’s more like losing those two dudes, 3 interior lineman, the top RB and the backup QB. Oh and the 3rd string QB was actually moved to TE as a freshman and hasn’t played QB in 2 years.

Also, they changed the offensive scheme from pro to read option 4 days before the game.

All that to basically say, we should be critiquing 2 things, did we win? And did they bring the effort?

Yup and yup.

Like @champaignchris said, Jackson St could have made this a game. With 4 key contributors out, almost ANY team could have made this a game.

And we won by 24.
 
#141      

Calvin

C
Calvin
From this fan's perspective, these games are warm-ups, and this was a good one. If we had a tOSU vs Akron where we win on a buzzer beater, then I'd be worried. We're down 4 key guys, and yet the team showed up, played hard, and played well under the circumstances.

Most impressed with Grandison. Seemed to do everything. Probably a tie for #2 between CoHawk and BBV. Happy to see several freshman get some tick and get their feet wet in a meaningful way. Excited for the season. Don't see a tough game on the schedule for a while. ND probably the first challenge at the end of the month.
 
#142      

lstewart53x3

lstewart53x3
Scottsdale, Arizona
lstewart53x3
Point-Illinois said:
For those trying to draw conclusions about the game last night, I think we all need to remember the 2015-2016 season.

I know it was Groce, but how quickly we forget what losing starters can do to a team. That team lost Abrams, Black, Nunn and Tate (Tate during the first half of the first game) and ended up losing to North Florida and Chattanooga.

While other variables do exist (that was the year we played the first 5 home games in Springfield…and Groce isn’t as good of a recruiter/coach as BU) it goes to show what can happen with a bunch of starters out.

In his presser, BU likened the injuries to losing your QB and top receiver but it’s more like losing those two dudes, 3 interior lineman, the top RB and the backup QB. Oh and the 3rd string QB was actually moved to TE as a freshman and hasn’t played QB in 2 years.

Also, they changed the offensive scheme from pro to read option 4 days before the game.

All that to basically say, we should be critiquing 2 things, did we win? And did they bring the effort?

Yup and yup.

Like @champaignchris said, Jackson St could have made this a game. With 4 key contributors out, almost ANY team could make this a game.

And we won by 24.
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I saw Robert from IlliniBoard share our T-Rank with and without those 4. We dropped from 5th to 65th.

While our win last night was certainly impressive, especially without our top players, you’d expect the 65th ranked team to take care of the 295th ranked team (according to KenPom) rather handily.
 
#144      

frozenrope9190

frozenrope9190
Aurora, IL
frozenrope9190
champaignchris said:
I think some people aren’t giving Jackson Stare enough credit. They were undefeated in their conference regular season last year and were ranked 5th in the nation in defensive efficiency.

They’re a solid, well-coached team with a strong defensive identity. Easily the best low-major we play this year and the exact kind of team that could bite a higher-ranked team playing without its primary ball handlers.
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I dunno. Still a SWAC team, which is traditionally one of 2-3 lowest rated conferences every single year. They're not Division 3, but it's hard to gleam any real data from anyone individually off of this game alone. Arkansas St. will be a much better test.
 
#147      

pruman91

pruman91
Paducah, Ky
pruman91
AdDoBe said:
1000% this... If anyone is curious, it's when DMFW is shooting free throws with 5:18 left in the 1st half. How anyone could think he is doing anything else is beyond me...
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200 (15).gif


Nothing happened on the Illini bench last night....Now , go and be fruitful and multiply.............
 
#148      

Point-Illinois

P
Point-Illinois
lstewart53x3 said:
I saw Robert from IlliniBoard share our T-Rank with and without those 4. We dropped from 5th to 65th.

While our win last night was certainly impressive, especially without our top players, you’d expect the 65th ranked team to take care of the 295th ranked team (according to KenPom) rather handily.
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Never a guarantee.

Nebraska was either 67, 70 or 81 (they are now 90 so not sure) preseason Kenpom and lost to (now) 221 Western Illinois at home.

I’m guessing Western Illinois wasn’t 221 preseason so it’s a similar matchup.

Again, nothing is ever guaranteed.
 
#150      

Ga65

G
Ga65
Calvin said:
From this fan's perspective, these games are warm-ups, and this was a good one. If we had a tOSU vs Akron where we win on a buzzer beater, then I'd be worried. We're down 4 key guys, and yet the team showed up, played hard, and played well under the circumstances.

Most impressed with Grandison. Seemed to do everything. Probably a tie for #2 between CoHawk and BBV. Happy to see several freshman get some tick and get their feet wet in a meaningful way. Excited for the season. Don't see a tough game on the schedule for a while. ND probably the first challenge at the end of the month.
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Don’t think he got enough credit last year in a lesser role. He is sneaky good at being at the right place all the time but just steady, not flashy. Goode same mold without the experience. Type of guys you need in a championship team.