as an added bonus, it wouldn't have affected us at all since coleman's 4th foul was so bad i refuse to believe it would actually be called in a game where he could foul out.
Illinois 82, Kansas 75 (Exhibition) Postgame
Bigtex
- DFW
Agree - good comp
I liked what he flashed on the offensive end, and while I'm not sold on his on-ball man defense, I think his support defense has been solid. He's certainly got some good fast hands. That said, I'd like to see him have a quicker first step when guarding as thus far in all games he's primarily been defending out of scramble mode trying to recover after losing that initial step.
I expect both coaches got what they wanted out of tis game. Brad got a confidence builder and hopefully some buy-in to the roles he is selling, and Self got a tough road environment for a top team with no risk of a real loss, plus a realization that they need to be at their best to win despite their ranking. I was shocked by Kansas not playing deeper - they basically played 6 guys, 4 of them 34 minutes or more.
In a real game, I think Brad would've gone all the way to the parking lot over it.
It was a fun game to watch. We have a tough schedule. Should prepare us for the Big Ten.
Dickinson would have been ejected for his loser hack on dain as well so two fantom fouls would not have even happened
No, that's why flagrants and technical fouls exist.
Unpopular opinion, but I feel like we are overreacting a bit.
You know who’s likely very happy with losing this game? Bill Self. It’s a chance to get his #1 team’s attention without tourney implications.
It meant more to us. But it’s still an exhibition to them. Maybe they also hold back strategically from what they plan to do when it counts.
Pleased to see us play well, but we saw that last year. The jury is very much still out, and we do have reasons to be hopeful. But it really was an exhibition.
You know who’s likely very happy with losing this game? Bill Self. It’s a chance to get his #1 team’s attention without tourney implications.
It meant more to us. But it’s still an exhibition to them. Maybe they also hold back strategically from what they plan to do when it counts.
Pleased to see us play well, but we saw that last year. The jury is very much still out, and we do have reasons to be hopeful. But it really was an exhibition.
Was at the game, and this team is already better than the team we had last year - no way we win a game like this last year, not this early anyway. Everyone seems locked in - nobody really looking to show off and get "theirs". Good ball movement, and looking for the guy in the right position to score. TSJ is a man among boys - he is going to have a monster year. Certainly things that can be improved (especially on the defensive end), but this is going to be a fun team to watch gel, and I am all for that.
This team is in no way last year’s team less freshmen and more experienced players making better decisions that in more quality shots being made sharing the ball and making your teammates better often results in better shooting as a whole
Chilliniwek
- Chicagoland
Also, the best thing about this game was this, above all else. It raised over one million bucks for our fellow citizens in Hawaii. Ain’t That America?!
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Bigtex
- DFW
Obviously not enough data on 23/24 squad to make a definitive statement. I think the game/team vs UCLA last year, would have given this Kansas team a good fight and likely a win. The 22/23 team peaked in preseason and kept fighting all season but not showing improvement. Hoping the 23/24 version builds on this effort and despite a very tough schedule they continue to grow and improve.
Nice to see Illinois not get behind by double digits (which regularly happened in 22/23).
People keep saying this and I really don’t see it. Don’t get me wrong, I like Harmon and think he’s a great addition but he doesn’t conjure up the ghost of Felix for me. Maybe the role he’ll play is similar to the one Feliz played, but their games don’t seem that similar to me. Maybe I’m missing something.
Yes. Although, if I were a betting man, I would probably say that Domask may be our 3rd highest scorer behind CoHawk and TJ. I foresee his usage numbers being pretty high and he can score at all three levels. Not a knock on Q, but Domask is probably our most important portal pick-up. FWIW, Loved being able to go "old" at the end of the game!
It might not be popular, but it's the truth. If we would have lost, some would be jumping off of the ledge and screaming for BU's job.
Just the nature of playing scrimmages in a relaxed setting. Who knows what it looks like with high stakes, a capacity crowd and true pressure (especially on the road)
Of course it's nice to win.
The key takeaway is that BU and staff got teachable situations on tape. He also got a feeling of who could potentially be out there in end of game situations.
All that said, the ball movement was great, there looked to be a ton more maturity than last year....it looked good.
It's going to take a while to mesh things together and find roles/combinations that work.
Always nice to be on the bigger number on the scoreboard.
It's almost like you guys on the inside predicted that the team would be pleasantly surprising.......Amazing.
Long season ahead, BUT I for one am even more excited for the games to start counting than I was before!
I agree for the most part, though it being an exhibition game doesn’t take much away from the win for me. I think this squad played better as a “team” than last year’s, which is encouraging, and I like the transfers so far. But it’s one game. And people posting we wouldn’t have won this game last year? We beat the #2 and #8 teams last year during nonconference portion of season for heaven’s sake. I’m too lazy to look, but I’m guessing most everyone was pretty bullish on last year’s team after the UCLA game. And the Bruins at that time were a better team than Kansas is at this time in my opinion.
Still last night was a great first step. Now we need to see if they can build upon it. Certainly seem to have the pieces to do so.
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
I personally feel more positive about what I saw than at anytime last year. We had 5 guys on the floor who can put the ball on the rack at any time and score. There were a few bad threes but most of the were open due to better ball movement. This team is going to win a lot of games this year.
Among the positives of winning this game is, throughout the season when the announcers are talking about our record and resume, they’ll say “plus they beat number one Kansas in a preseason exhibition game.”
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
It sure wasn't played like some sort of NBA All-Star game, from a pace of play perspective.
The only thing that looked "exhibition-y" about this game was the fact that people couldn't foul out. Both sides played as hard as they could, so far is it looked to my eye.