So does this mean drop in BOTH the AP & coaches poll this week?? Or just one again
Illinois 73, Syracuse 44 Postgame
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Brad said Sincere's injury is not serious and added, "that's good because we are going to need him on Friday."Nice second half boys!
Hope Sencire heals up fast!
Suck it Jimbo.
by March, MM will be in full on Nicolas Cage/Con Air mode.Lol at BU calling for the return of the MM mullet…
(that's a complement btw) such a badass movie character
Could have had 30 points if he shot the open 10-15 ft jumpers he had all night in the middle of the zone especially in the first half only light complaint of his awesome night.
MDchicago
- Lake Norman NC
It was primarily the defensive efficiency (we improved 1.9 points in KP defensive efficiency, rising from 18th prior to the game to 10th in the country) and the reduced weighting of pre-season expectations (tapers off over the first 12 games iirc; KP had us ranked 33rd at time of our 1st game) noted above. In the KenPom era, NCAA champion average rank in defensive efficiency has been 9.6, so top 10 is a great place to be.
Our KP offensive efficiency actually decreased slightly (0.3 points to 110.0, moving Illini from 35 to 38th nationally). Not overly surprised that Illini defense is ahead of the offense at this point in the season, but hope for a significant jump up in offensive efficiency over the course of the season.
blackdog
- Champaign
Something not commented on much is Jayden Epps. Death, taxes, and Epps getting buckets. Kid is average 11 ppg as a freshman and he makes it look so easy in the flow of the offense with good efficiency. Could we be seeing an all-time great scorer for the Illini in his infancy?
My fav of the freshman. Kid seems tough as nails.
Epps has been very impressive and consistent. Guessing he's our highest % 3pt shooter?
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Reminds me of what we wanted Ace to be (Ace was still solid as a fresh, but I’ll take Epps).
DB11Headband
- Chicago Burbs
The Frank Mason comp for Jayden is within the realm of possibility. He is going to be a special player.
He’s fine
blackdog
- Champaign
It's funny because it's not even just within the realm of possibility it's not hard to see him exceeding it if he keeps it up through the season. Maybe getting a little ahead of the game but Mason only averaged 5.5 as a freshman and around 12.5 as a sophomore and junior with nowhere near the same efficiency as Epps. He didnt really breakout until his senior year. We will have to see whether Epps can hold up during B1G play but 14 against UVA is a good sign he can do it.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Under appreciated stat: We ended last year ranked 20 in KenPom. Then we lose our All American center, all 5 starters, and 86% of our scoring, yet we’re now 5 spots higher in KenPom this year than we finished last year.
That... would sure be something. Popped some Mason highlights on def see why they make the comparison. If he comes even somewhat close to what Mason ended up being...the possibilities will become very fun to consider. Can't wait to see what he looks like as a Jr after getting Fletch'd out some more.
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And what about Epps on D? He's lockdown on defense. Looked like they put him on the fastest guy on Cuse's team and he just stuck him. We've got some really great kids on this team and they all bring something different. This is a fun team to watch and they're only going to get better.
It can't be overstated how well our program, thanks to JW and BU, have navigated the new challenges and opportunities of building a roster in the NIL and Transfer Portal era.
But also we'd be pretty screwed this year if TSJ had ended up at Michigan, lol, so definitely happy that one worked out for us.
Would be sick if we could retain all 4 four Freshmen and Dain who is like... a Junior that is also sort of a Freshman as you don't want to have to rely on Portal Gold like that every year.
Would be sick if we could retain all 4 four Freshmen and Dain who is like... a Junior that is also sort of a Freshman as you don't want to have to rely on Portal Gold like that every year.
Yeah, returning all five of those guys with the incoming class we have coming in would be huge.
All 5 have been heavily involved so far and that probably doesn't change much depending on how Goode returns in Jan. Bodes well for getting them all back. RJ + Goode and those 5 make a great base for next year(not to mention the freshmen). Can definitely see another TSJ level transfer wanting to come be apart of that.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Yep:
Skyy
Epps
Harris
Rodgers
Dainja
RJ
Goode
Hansberry
Gibbs-Lawhorn
Perrin
Then grab a piece or two from the portal.
Wasn't Mason an inch or so shorter....?
I don't think I....or most of of us have realized how quickly our new 8 or so players have bought in so far defensively..wait till we have some more games under our belt....
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Boeheim in the postgame presser: We made it three-quarters across the Dan Ryan, doing well, and then we were hit by a track. Then another. And we tried to get up, another truck.
But on our behalf, Illinois didn’t win just because Syracuse was bad. We also won because we were good. And we broke Syracuse.
But on our behalf, Illinois didn’t win just because Syracuse was bad. We also won because we were good. And we broke Syracuse.
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