Illinois 76, Minnesota 71 (OT) POSTGAME
illinoisfan11
- Peoria, IL
Except Rutgers and Minnesota, I'm not sure there is another Big Ten team we could have beaten tonight, but I'm just happy to get the win. Maybe this will give the guys a little momentum.
Not a bad idea. It negates some of their lack of perimeter quickness.
Chris Yates
Recruiting Correspondent
- Michigan
Whew! What a relief to get a road win! :thumb:
Didn't shoot well but gutted out a win. That is a positive step for this team. It might only be Minnesota but I am going to enjoy this.
Wow! I want to keep defending JG, but we officially have three good players now... So we should expect to win these. Not ripping on anyone here - just complimenting Finke in that he is now a player who should be mentioned with Hill and Nunn as the heart/talent of the team
IlliniRon
Illini Basketball Fan Forever
- Ft Worth, Texas
I like the bigger line up with Finke and Morgan in there. Makes the interior defense better and we have some size for defensive rebounds. Good adjustment, Coach Groce. I'd like to see this more often, although I know the Gophers aren't the most talented team in the conference.
That guy did that one time, this gopher did it non-stop! Even the announcers chimed in about it.
TeamworkOrange
- Chicago
ILLINI
Great Road Win Tonight Guys!
I'll take a little credit as I called up my old college roommate and we did rally shots over the phone before the game, near the end of regulation when we needed it, and to start OT. I told him we need to start doing this more often to help our guys out
:thumb:
Great Road Win Tonight Guys!
I'll take a little credit as I called up my old college roommate and we did rally shots over the phone before the game, near the end of regulation when we needed it, and to start OT. I told him we need to start doing this more often to help our guys out
:thumb:
Yea....I think the camera man was in the tank for the gophers
Great Road Win Tonight Guys!
I'll take a little credit as I called up my old college roommate and we did rally shots over the phone before the game, near the end of regulation when we needed it, and to start OT. I told him we need to start doing this more often to help our guys out
You earned your username tonight
what is there to say? gritty road win. work on the alley oop Malcolm. let's get Ohio St. back. they are totally beatable. we are what we are. get out there and play.
That was great - we're far from down and out - keep it up Illini!!
A nice win and especially when Nunn doesn't shoot well. Finke played well and Mav was a nice surprise. When Finke, Nunn and Hill all play well we should be able to run with anyone. A nice future to build on.
Too many holes in that zone. A decent team will roast it.
Nice to get a win, but that is a really bad Minny team. We have a lot more talent than they do.
Yea....I think the camera man was in the tank for the gophers
The director decides which shots to use... he musta been a gopher shill too
Hard fought game, great 20-2 run to go from 55-60 up 75-62.
Biggest key to the game is Groce finally realizing that playing people out of position does not work. In previous games, with Thorne out, he would keep on substituting Finke/Mav for each other, playing Finke totally out of position, allowing the defense to extend to the perimeter. Tonight, he stuck with Finke and Mav together in the same lineup, allowing Finke to play PF and keeping Mav in the C/post. Obviously, Mav had a great game, which further freed the perimeter, but Groce really stuck with the scheme despite the short bench.
Biggest key to the game is Groce finally realizing that playing people out of position does not work. In previous games, with Thorne out, he would keep on substituting Finke/Mav for each other, playing Finke totally out of position, allowing the defense to extend to the perimeter. Tonight, he stuck with Finke and Mav together in the same lineup, allowing Finke to play PF and keeping Mav in the C/post. Obviously, Mav had a great game, which further freed the perimeter, but Groce really stuck with the scheme despite the short bench.
Anyone else see that Minnesota called 2 timeouts in OT?
1. I really enjoyed this game. It was a hard-fought, back and forth game, and a great one to win on the road. It wasn't a perfect game, but the Barn can be a tough place to play. Obviously we needed this win.
2. Malcolm Hill turned in another monster game. He just does it all. Again, he is not a perfect player, and he struggled a little bit early with his shot, but he came through with a huge game overall.
3. Kendrick Nunn struggled for a lot of the game, but when it mattered he hit two huge threes. It wasn't his best game, but it was enough.
4. Michael Finke had a fantastic game on the glass with 16 rebounds. Wow! That was a major factor in the game.
5. JCL continues to provide key scoring as a freshman, and we don't have a lot of scoring depth. He made a difference.
6. Mav was a force in this game. Without him, we lose this game. He has continued to slowly but surely get better -- and in this game he looked really good.
7. After a slow start, we really played well in the first half when our 2-3 zone just shut down the Minny offense. We played well for a lot of the second half, but we got down by 5 late when we went cold and had some turnovers -- including some frustrating calls. At that point this team showed a major gut check and took the game to overtime. That was big for this team on the road.
8. We came out on fire in the overtime and buried the rodents. That was fortunate because we made it a little more exciting than it should have been at the free throw line late, but we had a good lead and they could not overcome it.
9. Now the team comes home and gets ready for tOSU. A win against them is next on the agenda!
Go Illini!
2. Malcolm Hill turned in another monster game. He just does it all. Again, he is not a perfect player, and he struggled a little bit early with his shot, but he came through with a huge game overall.
3. Kendrick Nunn struggled for a lot of the game, but when it mattered he hit two huge threes. It wasn't his best game, but it was enough.
4. Michael Finke had a fantastic game on the glass with 16 rebounds. Wow! That was a major factor in the game.
5. JCL continues to provide key scoring as a freshman, and we don't have a lot of scoring depth. He made a difference.
6. Mav was a force in this game. Without him, we lose this game. He has continued to slowly but surely get better -- and in this game he looked really good.
7. After a slow start, we really played well in the first half when our 2-3 zone just shut down the Minny offense. We played well for a lot of the second half, but we got down by 5 late when we went cold and had some turnovers -- including some frustrating calls. At that point this team showed a major gut check and took the game to overtime. That was big for this team on the road.
8. We came out on fire in the overtime and buried the rodents. That was fortunate because we made it a little more exciting than it should have been at the free throw line late, but we had a good lead and they could not overcome it.
9. Now the team comes home and gets ready for tOSU. A win against them is next on the agenda!
Go Illini!
Against a bad team... but hey its on the road. Looked at the sked, the BEST we can hope for is 15-16. *sigh*
Hope for the best, expect the worst.
The best we can hope for is 21-10 :thumb: