And both were things of beauty. From far away, but both laser beams right on the money, Mirk and Keats IIRC
Illinois 78, Nebraska 69 Postgame
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I had these games back to back as a split as well
I would say IU is a decent team. Top 30ish across net and kenpom.
But don’t forget ucla beat Purdue and took Arizona to the wire (4 point loss)
Statistically kenpom gives us just more than a 50/50 shot coming out of the west coast trip 2-0
I’m more confident now than a couple weeks ago but I don’t think itl be easy
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
For any of the ball knowers out there, what did we do differently on D this game compared to the first time we played that worked so well?
Seemed like they couldn’t get anything going inside the three point line all game. I believe at one point Nebraska had 47 points and 13 threes. Which means 39 of their 47 points came from three. At that point, I knew we would win. They’d need something like 20 threes to win and there’s just no way they could do it.
Seemed like they couldn’t get anything going inside the three point line all game. I believe at one point Nebraska had 47 points and 13 threes. Which means 39 of their 47 points came from three. At that point, I knew we would win. They’d need something like 20 threes to win and there’s just no way they could do it.
Communicated on switches lol
I've really respected Hoiberg as a coach up until now, but that BS really fractures the respect I had for him. I'm not sure what he thinks he's accomplishing by publicly whining about the officiating like that. Does he think he's going to influence zebras that way? Refs are human. Catching wind of BS like this is just going to piss them off.Keaton got absolutely manhandled the entire game and he’s whining about the refs?
For me, though, there's a much worse consequence of a coach behaving this way in their postgame presser. There is no leader more important or more influential than the head coach of a team. If his players see him whining about the refs, players look to that as their example for what's acceptable for them to focus on, instead of focusing inward...on how they could have player better. I think this sort of rant can be a culture killer on a team.
Whiny Fred not a good look....lost some respect for him today with this and his team trying to kill Keaton.Keaton got absolutely manhandled the entire game and he’s whining about the refs?
I might be more impressed that Sandfort went 5-11 in 38 minutes, then I would be if Sandfort when 1-19 in 38 minutes.
Way to limit the looks. And 2 of those looks came on broken loose ball scrambles, notable court screwups
Way to limit the looks. And 2 of those looks came on broken loose ball scrambles, notable court screwups
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The communication is way better now and there were tons of busted switches in the first game. The zone and bigger lineups in this game seemed to give them some differrent looks. It was sort of weird though, we gave up a few wide open looks with the zone and then went man toward the end of the 1H and they made a few at least moderately defended threes. Then they played mostly man in the 2H and seemed to get some better defense on three point shooters as they only shot 4-15 from 3 in that 2H.
Excellent!
Even though they might have had Half Mast, they were at full strength!!! Unlike us.
Avenged earlier season loss. Top 5 team!!! Two weeks in a row demonstrated that!
Tomi impactful on D! Got hand in passing lane for a turnover late in game and rebounded with the block out!
Wagler might weeble and wobble but he doesn’t fall down! He’s the real deal of stability!
Andrej had 4 assists!! Broke them down and didn’t force every time. GROWTH!
Hum is Goody but with better D without fouling. Block on layup attempt with about 7 minutes left was critical!
Davis good on O & D! Perfect for O & B! He is better at moving to find his rhythm shot.
X was in at the end! Excellent! Nebby wouldn’t dare try a layup with his presence felt.
Let’s recruit Sandford for next season.
Great win! I missed the second to support our Women in their victory!
When is the last time men and women won against top 25 on the same day????? I’m guessing never.
The funny thing is, this piece was written before the Purdue game.
Illinois’ Keaton Wagler was No. 261 in his class. Now he could be an NBA lottery pick
Wagler went mostly overlooked as a high school recruit, but is the leading scorer for a Final Four contender as a freshman.www.nytimes.com
"Williams made his case to high-major coaches, and most passed. But when he sent the tape to Illinois assistant Tyler Underwood, he found a believer . . . the film popped for Tyler Underwood, and the first thing that sold him was the passing. Underwood’s father, Illini coach Brad Underwood, loves players who can pass because he equates the skill to basketball intelligence, and Wagler played with his head up, advanced the ball at every opportunity and made every read."
To me, the Flyin Illini were the quickest Illini team I have ever seen in almost every facet of the game. They were not tall, but they could re-jump quicker than any team I have ever seen. That is the reason for the effectiveness of inside offense as well as rebounding. And man, could they shoot and pass. If I had to watch replays of one team in college history, it would be the Flyin' Illini.
But this 25-26 bunch of sons of itches is quickly capturing my heart.
But this 25-26 bunch of sons of itches is quickly capturing my heart.
So tell him he is absolutely right. You can't argue with insanity. And I am not saying it would not have been a tougher game to win had Mast been healthy and rested. But nothing changes the fact that we won 78-69, and all the what ifs are just smoke.
The really odd part about Hoiberg’s complaint is that it simply didn’t happen. They were not holding or even being physical around the screens - I rewatched the second half and didn’t see it at all. if anything the Nebraska screeners were holding and bumping the defender. Andrej simply did a good job chasing over the top of the screen to run him off the line but most of the time we simply switched the screen and Keaton or Davis ended up on him. We were also in zone a fair number of possessions.Keaton got absolutely manhandled the entire game and he’s whining about the refs?
All of Nebraska’s 35 threes in the game were pretty wide open and they made 43% of them. He’s complaining about something that didn’t happen and was not the reason they lost.
All very good points. I saw the game the same way. I had to think more about why defensively Brad was happy to rotate and give up some open three point shots. After thinking about it, the Illinois coaching staff was fine with the rotation - we were just too big for them no matter the match up.
ptgrd23
- orange county CA
I just bought tickets for UCLA. Lots of tickets available direct from UCLA website (not resellers). Very reasonable price. Crazy since Pauley only seats 12,000.
Correct me if I am wrong, but this is what I have seen as the reasons...in order of importance....for the improvement over the past two months. ( It is just my humble opinion so it can't be wrong!)
1. Health = time to practice together, work on personal skills, and learn about teammates skills.
2. On offense the big key, other than above, is unquestionably ball-movement. The faster it moves, the quicker it finds a weakness in the defense and the more the whole team feels a part of success. Never met a player who enjoys watching a single guy pound the ball for 25 seconds and then throw up a highly contested shot. You do not see these teams often as they don't play on TV often. Also, each and every one of them, especially KW, is gaining confidence in their own ability to contribute when opportunity knocks, but no one has to. This was the one thing I found most impressive about the UConn champs two years ago...so many of them can get the job done on both ends.
3. On defense...and this is not profound because BU has stated as much pretty often in recent couple of weeks....these kids have and are working their tales of on defense. It is blatantly noticeable and has been so enjoyable for me to watch.
Our Fighting Illini team is learning to be a champion. I so hope they win something as they truly deserve it. They are becoming worthy of being talked about like the Whiz Kids, the Flyin' Illini or the Final Game Illini....The Sons of Vic's!!! (or would it be better for central Illinois farmers if we spelled it Vitches?)
1. Health = time to practice together, work on personal skills, and learn about teammates skills.
2. On offense the big key, other than above, is unquestionably ball-movement. The faster it moves, the quicker it finds a weakness in the defense and the more the whole team feels a part of success. Never met a player who enjoys watching a single guy pound the ball for 25 seconds and then throw up a highly contested shot. You do not see these teams often as they don't play on TV often. Also, each and every one of them, especially KW, is gaining confidence in their own ability to contribute when opportunity knocks, but no one has to. This was the one thing I found most impressive about the UConn champs two years ago...so many of them can get the job done on both ends.
3. On defense...and this is not profound because BU has stated as much pretty often in recent couple of weeks....these kids have and are working their tales of on defense. It is blatantly noticeable and has been so enjoyable for me to watch.
Our Fighting Illini team is learning to be a champion. I so hope they win something as they truly deserve it. They are becoming worthy of being talked about like the Whiz Kids, the Flyin' Illini or the Final Game Illini....The Sons of Vic's!!! (or would it be better for central Illinois farmers if we spelled it Vitches?)
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I just lost respect i had for hoiberg on that video.im rdwatching the game atm the moment I dont see anything hes describing in fact id say say his son was guilty of the that the whole game but only called once I seen.he should be saying they outplayed us in our house and im pissed off my team didn't show up in the second half instead we folded up like chairs to the great ILLINI offense ILL
"second top 5 road win in 8 days. 5th time that has ever happened."
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