Illinois 82, Kansas 75 (Exhibition) Postgame

#278      

zentrails

Z
zentrails
blackdog said:
He really plays at his own pace and doesn't let the defense speed him up. There were a couple plays where he got to his spot, was patient, and made possible tough shot look easy.
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Yep, I loved seeing that nice seemingly effortless mid range turnaround jumper go in.
That guy that used to play for PSU used to torch us with that kind of shot
 
#279      

grue2

G
grue2
Piotyr said:
No, that's why flagrants and technical fouls exist.
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When the rules get changed so that there are no "good" fouls to take, then we can talk about eliminating foul caps. Personally, I'm in favor of the offended team getting a point and the ball on all fouls and eliminating the boring / game slowing free throws. Shooting fouls in the last 15s are the offensive teams choice of the value of the shot or 1 pt and the ball.
 
#280      

EyeoftheIllini

EyeoftheIllini
EyeoftheIllini
RockfordIllini said:
Assist total was definitely lower than I would have liked, but we did shoot 32 free throws. Good ball movement can beat good defense and lead to fouls/foul shots rather than an assist, so I think our assists will be better than last night assuming ball movement remains the same.

Thought Ty did great actually. Highest assist total on the team (albeit only 3) and I couldn’t find TO stats but pretty sure he had a positive A/TO %. Only had his pocket picked once or twice and one I remember Harris poking away on a Ty layup sure looked like a foul the way it squirted out of Ty’s hands. All ball generally goes straight down rather than squirt out.

Anyways. Lots of room for growth but like what I saw for an exhibition game.
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Ty played much better in first half. Didn’t play particularly well in second half — 0-2 from field, 1 reb, 0 assists and 2 TOs. Could be why along with his FT shooting that he didn’t play down the stretch.

After one game, I’m not willing to proclaim we have no worries at PG. Passed the first test last night, but I want to see it on a consistent basis over the first 5 games or so to feel a bit more confident. The overall experience of team certainly does help though.
 
#281      

ejam21

E
ejam21
Perry Range said:
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.
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I think there's evidence to the contrary.....Mccular, HD, and Adams were jawing with our players quite a bit, especially mccular. Both teams were diving on the floor for loose balls. Their bench was getting plenty excited when they made their surge. Hunter Dickinson likely doesn't do his best "Bill laimbeer in the playoffs" foul impression if the game isn't much to him.

Considering BU hasn't even installed the full offense, we have some strategic hold back as well.

And we played 12 schollie players while they didn't go out of their 6-7 deep rotation.

BUt overall, I don't really see people overreacting? A few posts saying we might be good, could make second wkend, compete for b10? That's what some have been saying before today
 
#283      

ugottabjoshinme

ugottabjoshinme
ugottabjoshinme
I thoroughly enjoyed watching these big time exhibition games. It is certainly better from a fan's perspective than the super secret scrimmages of years past. I hope this continues as a year to year tradition not necessarily with just Kansas.

The teams treated it like a big time game more than I expected them too. MSU-UT felt like a tournament game. Quality day of meaningless basketball.
 
#285      

frozenrope9190

frozenrope9190
Aurora, IL
frozenrope9190
This felt like a regular season game. Both teams really wanted to win. There's no way KU or UofI were holding back effort and intensity because it's exhibition.

We beat the #1 ranked team virtually wire to wire, and looked good doing it. Something to really springboard us into the regular season.
 
#286      

BRucks

BRucks
BRucks
Illinifan74 said:
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.
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fightingillini.com

Men's Basketball vs UCLA on 11/18/2022 - Box Score - University of Illinois Athletics

The official box score of Men's Basketball vs UCLA on 11/18/2022
fightingillini.com fightingillini.com
 
#287      

BRucks

BRucks
BRucks
21ChampaignSt said:
I understand the "It's just an exhibition." brake-pumping. But I don't think anyone is saying we should be anointed the #1 team in the country based off last night's win or that we should have Final Four expectations.

Did we require stellar games from our best players to win? Yeah, but to beat the #1 team in the country, you need your best players to play well. That's always been true whether the game is played in October or April.

What last night showed me is that we have more dudes and less egos this year. We weren't outclassed by Kansas in the talent department. The inside outside, right to left ball reversals and movement off the ball was night and day compared to last year. Keep that up and we'll be tough to beat whether the shots are falling or not.

Kind of cliche but if everyone can just keep their eyes on the team prize and not individual goals/accolades, I think we're in for a pretty fun ride.
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I didn't notice the ball "sticking" so much on the perimeter last night.
 
#288      

2qtslow

2qtslow
2qtslow
How does this Kansas team compare to the UCLA and Texas teams that we beat last year?
 
#291      

Ransom Stoddard

Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Ransom Stoddard
2qtslow said:
How does this Kansas team compare to the UCLA and Texas teams that we beat last year?
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I think this KU team has a much higher ceiling if they can play together better. I felt like there was a bit of hero ball yesterday, but McCullar is a stud. Dickinson's good for 12-16 points and 8-10 rebounds every game, but he also ought to be fouling out just about every game. I will not be surprised to see them run the BXII, but I'd love to see them implode like the Death Star.
 
#292      

DJM

D
DJM
I saw at least 3 instances where Terrance drove to the bucket going to the right. It wasn't from a pass, it was him taking his defender one on one to the bucket going to his right. He looked strong and had a step on the defender and I believe was fouled each time. With this in his arsenal, even if only 2 to 3 times a game it will help keep defenders more honest and over playing to his left as much as they had last year.
 
#294      

iron

I
iron
DJM said:
I saw at least 3 instances where Terrance drove to the bucket going to the right. It wasn't from a pass, it was him taking his defender one on one to the bucket going to his right. He looked strong and had a step on the defender and I believe was fouled each time. With this in his arsenal, even if only 2 to 3 times a game it will help keep defenders more honest and over playing to his left as much as they had last year.
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He was clearly so so so much more comfortable going right.

Coleman looked much stronger going towards the basket off the bounce too
 
#295      

Illiniguy13

Illiniguy13
Illiniguy13
This team looks balanced & dynamic on offense. Shannon is going to pop off and go All-American mode in some games this year. Domask looks "steady & heady". Harmon will have his moments. IMO the real keys to success this year are:

1. Consistency from Coleman & Quincy...man, if we see more of what those two brought to the table last night...look out.
2. Cleaning things up defensively. This team still has some work to do, especially in transition.
3. The Dainja zone...Dain is going to be a problem for most backup bigs. Can we exploit that?
 
#298      

Emerson Bigguns

Emerson Bigguns
Emerson Bigguns
iron said:
He was clearly so so so much more comfortable going right.

Coleman looked much stronger going towards the basket off the bounce too
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TSJ is going to be the best athlete on the court for the vast majority of our games. Kansas has some serious talent (The KJ Adams dunk was spectacular & McCullar is a fabulous player), but no one could keep up with him. He's an absolute stud.

Coleman looks so much more fluid. He has always seemed like he was in a hurry. You could speed him up with pressure and he would make mistakes. It appears the game is finally slowing down for him. He looks much more confident. If he consistently plays with the pace he had last night, he is an extremely difficult matchup, and will make everyone else better.

The 5th year transfers were all really solid. They can all do a little of everything.

While there wasn't a huge volume of assists, there was much better ball movement, leading to defenders out of position or exploitable matchups. They did a great job of keeping the Jayhawks a half step behind them.

Poise and hustle carried the day. If we can keep those as priorities, we're going to be pretty happy around here.