Illinois 73, Northwestern 66 Postgame

#127      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
We sit here and rightfully blame ourselves for throwing the game away. We led for 35 minutes of that game. After that game, BU had his team meeting and they looked GREAT right after. Seems like we're falling back into that false sense of security. I could be COMPLETELY wrong.
you are, completely..................jmho
 
#129      
I know a win is a win, and teams rarely drop in the rankings when they win, but we shouldn't be a Top 5 team. There is no excuse for letting both Nebraska and Northwestern take the game down to the wire. The Big 10 is a great conference, but the gimme games shouldn't be this difficult.
Well, we live in the age of 16s beating 1s. Nowadays it's just not so easy to win, let alone win with style.
 
#130      
Taking the O & B glasses off for a second...

The best thing that can happen to this team is to get absolutely rocked in a game. We haven't been really out of a game all year. In the losses, less Baylor, those games have all come down to the final few minutes and they could point to a play or two where they could say...if this or that happens, we could have won.

This team has not been humbled this year. I think it's coming and I think it's going to be a good thing big picture wise. When you're ranked #5, have won six in a row, are getting national love and are being mentioned as Final Four contenders....it becomes hard to coach because 18-21 year old kids know everything. Meh, we're ok, we'll turn it on late and win. Can't do that.

I think a good humbling will hit the reset button, get this team locked in and will give Underwood a full set of eyes and a full set of ears focused on him.
I get your premise, but can’t say I agree. I think they had their reset moment when they lost 2 in a row at home. I think the two cancelled games has had an impact on the team. In this crazy year when the team doesn’t have much other than basketball, I think those interruptions might have a bigger impact than we realize as far as growth and consistency. Best thing for this team will be a consistent schedule with no more cancelled games, so they can develop and maintain a flow.
 
#131      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
Maybe I am. The theory could be way off base. That said, if we want to be mentioned with Baylor, Gonzaga and Michigan....can't be involved in wild ones at the end vs the likes of NW and NE. The game at Nebraska, we got bailed out by Ayo. Maybe I'm concerned for no reason. I hope so.
With your line of thought you must also think the Zags, Baylor, etc need humbling also, or is that just for us....
Ask Brad what he thinks about us needing to be humbled...all he and the players talk about is WINNING........a W.............
I will agree that scUM needs to be humbled and the Illini are team to do it......

I'm having a hard time figuring out some of the posters here already saying we will lose our next game and your opinion about we need to be humbled....

been along time since we have been top 5 ranked and this high in the B1G.......can't y'all just be happy ?????

Also , I have watched some of the baylor games and they have been close but then pulled away at the end, just like some of our games...
Gonzaga doesn't face the competition we do and I really wonder what the Zags record would be in the B1G....doubtful they would be undefeated...they are a really good team , but their level of schedule makes me hesitant to crown them yet.....I wish the Zags - baylor game had been played for a reference point to judge both teams...baylor beat us, no doubt, but I think we have improved immensely since then
BTW, Kofi with another double double...wow
 
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#132      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
Baylor and Gonzaga are winning in runaway fashion night in and night out. Kansas State or Iowa State didn't take them to OT. Same with Gonzaga. BYU and St. Mary's didn't push them in the last five minutes. When those teams get a team down...it's over.

Again, it just a theory. Another poster brought up a very good point. This "lull" seems to have coincided with the postponements and scheduling changes. That's a very likely and valid factor.
fair enough
We have been humbled too much the last 10-15 years in BB and FB......I like this scenario much better....
 
#133      
NW started 3-0 in league play and now has lost 12 in a row. With NW getting a new AD, Collins should be on the hot seat soon. Collins did not get a "lifetime" contract like Fat Pitz.

Remember, the only time NW made the NCAA tournament they were swept by a John Groce coached Illini team. This was their best team EVER and they could not beat the Illini.
Collins shoulda bolted for greener pastures after their tourney appearance. That’s as good as it’ll ever get for NW basketball.

He probably had delusions of transforming Northwestern into Duke Midwest after that season.
 
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#134      
Feels like we've only played 4 complete 40 minute games this year. (Duke, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Iowa). The rest of them have been mostly playing down to our opponents.

Last time we were top 5 in the country was 1989, 2001, 2005. Those 3 years felt way more dominant than this year does.
 
#135      
Taking the O & B glasses off for a second...

The best thing that can happen to this team is to get absolutely rocked in a game. We haven't been really out of a game all year. In the losses, less Baylor, those games have all come down to the final few minutes and they could point to a play or two where they could say...if this or that happens, we could have won.

This team has not been humbled this year. I think it's coming and I think it's going to be a good thing big picture wise. When you're ranked #5, have won six in a row, are getting national love and are being mentioned as Final Four contenders....it becomes hard to coach because 18-21 year old kids know everything. Meh, we're ok, we'll turn it on late and win. Can't do that.

I think a good humbling will hit the reset button, get this team locked in and will give Underwood a full set of eyes and a full set of ears focused on him.
This team hasn't been humbled this year? Have you just tuned in recently? They got pasted by Baylor. Mizzou beat us AGAIN in our rivalry game. We dropped two winnable games at home. A good humbling? The coach takes care of all the humbling our players need going forward. Good Lord. So many of our problems are really just groupings and chemistry. You could easily tell when a particular combo of players on the floor had no chemistry and that's when the stupid turnovers happened. The right group comes in and the lead widens. It's not effort or pouting or individuals just playing bad (unless you want to talk about free throws again) it's just that group looks like they haven't played together often enough. And I really don't care for Georgi at the 4 guarding out on the perimeter - he gets smoked on a drive over and over and over. Keep him at the 5 spelling Kofi at keep Georgi's confidence up. Put him out where he doesn't play well and he shatters. Now that you've taken off your O & B glasses; maybe find an optometrist and get some prescription lenses for your post season viewing. ;) It's all good but that humbling thing - that's just silly. Yeah, I want to see us win out. I'm done with humbling.
 
#137      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky

“It was a thing of beauty, the first seven, eight minutes,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “But then Kofi got into foul trouble.”

Dosunmu, a Big Ten Player of the Year candidate, only had three points at the half and seemed content to let his teammates control the offensive flow. But he was there when his team needed him to close out the game.

“I'm a winner and I look for the win at the end of the day,” Dusunmu said. “My closing instincts just took over. Some nights I don't have to score 30 points for us to get the win.”
Collins was impressed with the Illinois junior.
“He’s an incredible player. He’s a great isolation player.”

----------------------------------

Ayo is IMHO................

B1G POTY
National POTY

Top 5 Best all time Illini player

I have watched a lot of Illini BB over 60+ years and Ayo has ""IT ""
 
#138      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
On a lighter and brighter note......................


Mizzou suffers another second-half collapse, drops third straight outing​

A late breakdown embodied the Tigers’ latest meltdown: With 1:06 left and UGA ahead by 10, Xavier Pinson fumbled the ball before getting to halfcourt, then watched K.D. Johnson snatch it away and score on an uncontested dunk. Mizzou’s Mark Smith promptly turned the ball over on the inbounds pass.

The Tigers went nearly five minutes between field goals down the stretch in their latest but perhaps most painful second-half collapse.

______________________________________________________________________

Only 1 mention of charmin in the entire column..........wow
 
#141      
Anyway, we're now even with Michigan in the standings: both 8 over .500.

Michigan loses on Thursday (?) and we're in my nightmare scenario of being half a game up, but in second place (based on win percentage)
 
#142      
Baylor and Gonzaga are winning in runaway fashion night in and night out. Kansas State or Iowa State didn't take them to OT. Same with Gonzaga. BYU and St. Mary's didn't push them in the last five minutes. When those teams get a team down...it's over.

Again, it just a theory. Another poster brought up a very good point. This "lull" seems to have coincided with the postponements and scheduling changes. That's a very likely and valid factor.
Do you ever think positive?
 
#143      
Baylor and Gonzaga are winning in runaway fashion night in and night out. Kansas State or Iowa State didn't take them to OT. Same with Gonzaga. BYU and St. Mary's didn't push them in the last five minutes. When those teams get a team down...it's over.
not disagreeing with lulls and TOs and FTs, ..., but bad examples. KSU and ISU are NET 226 and 232. WI (19) > BYU (28) and Duke (67) > St Mary's (70) didn't push us either. non-BTN P5+3 conferences have 2-8 teams worse than Neb or much much worse than NW. Big 12 is solid except bottom 2 are very bad, yet teams have had to escape KSU (KSU last 3 games vs. TT, Texas, and OKSt - 11/3/7 points) and ISU (WVU, BU, Texas, WV, OU - 5/11/6/4/7 points whereas ISU has blown out multiple times, eg MissSt beat them by 39 and Iowa by 28: 105-77). BigEast, ACC, SEC, PAC have many very bad teams if we are equating NW with bad. Yes I wish all 40 min last night were like first 10 (= 25 to 7; 100-28 would have been one for the ages)
 
#145      
Baylor and Gonzaga are winning in runaway fashion night in and night out. Kansas State or Iowa State didn't take them to OT. Same with Gonzaga. BYU and St. Mary's didn't push them in the last five minutes. When those teams get a team down...it's over.

Again, it just a theory. Another poster brought up a very good point. This "lull" seems to have coincided with the postponements and scheduling changes. That's a very likely and valid factor.

My working theory is that because of inconsistency we are not a top 2 team this year. We very well could be top 3 and are definitely top 10.

There seems to be a pretty big divide between those who are excited we're back to being a top 10 team and those that are frustrated we are merely a title contender and not a title favorite.
 
#146      
Why should I be excited to continue to win. We have been a perennial winner the past 5 years blowing out competition every game. Ago plays hero ball, what a show off, we'll be better with out him. No coaching present in the games this year. The list goes on.
Take it from an Illini fan for 50 years we will long for a team like this sometime, maybe sooner than later. When we upset that Magic led Michigan State team back in the day it destroyed them. They barely won the NC game after that loss to us,, not.
I am in no way comparing this team to them but c'mon enjoy this team while you can. I don't think we are a top 5 team but definitely a top 10 team. We have holes for sure in our game ft shooting and turnovers. Hopefully our super talented 2 player's make the difference in games where those weak points are in play.
I'm just saying I think we have a fairly deep team this year going in to the tourney and 2 player's we won't have in years going forward. Could we loose the next game,, sure nothing is garenteed but we have a lot of pieces to make a deep run going into the end of the season.
 
#148      
Anyone else find it strange that Grandison starts, plays really well and is a huge part of why we jump out to an early lead, and ends up with just 12 minutes?
In the past 2 games, he has started, not gotten into foul trouble, and played a TOTAL of 18 minutes. 9 minutes/game as a starter. I'd love to know if that has EVER happened to another Illini (or anyone anywhere?).
 
#150      

pruman91

Paducah, Ky
In the past 2 games, he has started, not gotten into foul trouble, and played a TOTAL of 18 minutes. 9 minutes/game as a starter. I'd love to know if that has EVER happened to another Illini (or anyone anywhere?).
Last nite he started out great with a 15 ft shot and a 3 pter....then he comes out and I was thinking " why " myself....DMW has been playing great but I am glad grandi is starting now and wish he would get more tick...his hustle and rebounding is needed...
i guess we can just trust BU to play the lineups he thinks is doing it for us....I think he got a question last night on this topic but my mind is fuzzy this morning from the late night celebration of the Illini's win......