Agreed. No way we should be losing to Mizzou but seems to be one of those rivalry games where you can always throw out the rankings and assume it will be a grind until the end.
Illinois 83, Duke 68 Postgame
TheAngryBavarian
- Charleston/Collinsville
delete
I think we’re looking at a 7 man rotation for the foreseeable future if not the year. There might be a game here or there when Hawkins or Grandison get more minutes than they got tonight, but I think for the most part those two will see a combined 10 minutes a night.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
I think we looked better vs. Baylor than Duke looked vs. us.
And that’s why we dropped one spot.
Frankie was infuriating. Disappear for a half, then own the second half, walking the ball up the court in a close deficit score. Still, he was the All-American closer the way Ayo is...just ask Minnesota.
GREAT WIN. Love this team.
Kofi was a presence, but he should have dominated. They had nothing inside that resembles the Big 10. I'm worried Kofi has not improved to be the force he should be. He made too many mistakes with the ball tonight. Definitely not yet ready for the next level. Hope to see a gradual improvement for him this season. Still glad he is on our squad.
Kofi was a presence, but he should have dominated. They had nothing inside that resembles the Big 10. I'm worried Kofi has not improved to be the force he should be. He made too many mistakes with the ball tonight. Definitely not yet ready for the next level. Hope to see a gradual improvement for him this season. Still glad he is on our squad.
I'd say this game was bigger:
Illinois vs. Gonzaga Box Score (Men), December 8, 2012 | College Basketball at Sports-Reference.com
Illinois vs. Gonzaga Box Score (Men), December 8, 2012
www.sports-reference.com
I think Kofi is already really good and it's sort of a win-win situation. If he stays where he is, great, we have a star center for 4 years. If he gets better, great, he hits the NBA and raises the school's profile for other big guys.
Frank and Dee are the two most exciting ball handlers I’ve seen for the Illini in 40 years of watching. Curbelo has shown potential of joining them if he can learn to limit turnovers. Kid can be special.
We must be about the same age. I became a lifelong Illini fan starting in the '50s watching those guys, Bogie Redman and others.
If not for Purdue crumbling against Miami, the Big 10 would have had a clean 7-0 sweep against the ACC tonight.
Yup don't get any more perfect than this hahaIllinois wins at Duke.
Illini fans argue about Frank Williams and Deron Williams.
Curbelo is a water in the desert player for me. He is exactly the what we have needed on our team for the last 10+ years. Someone who is constantly and fearlessly attacking agressive perimeter defense, getting into the lane at will, creating havoc with creative passes and having the ability to finish. He still doesn't always know what to do when he gets there(hence the careless TO's) but it's easy to see the type of impact player he can become. There is nothing passive about his game and that is something we have needed for so so long. Think he can become a 97 Miles Simon from AZ player for us eventually if he can develop a killer floater.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Also a testament to how everyone was contributing on offense. Duke didn't have to shut down just one or two guys; eñ nearly everyone was a threat to score.
Nice bounce back after Baylor game. Team handled Duke, even though they didn't play a great game. That is what excites me most. Players all stepped up and answered every punch with a combo of their own. Now whip Mizzery!
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
That was a lot of fun. It felt surreal to be up that much throughout the whole game. I kept having this thought in the back of my head that "it wouldn't be an Illini game if they didn't come roaring back." Felt realllllly nice to just dominate Dook from start to finish.
I was yelling at the television for the first time in years. I think its because I've been complacent knowing (in the past years) that the team wasn't that good and wasn't realistically going anywhere. Wins were gravy. This year, I think they actually can accomplish something, and here, with Duke's terrible shooting, they had had a chance to really make a mark. Ultimately they did, but a Wake Forest-like rout was possible and I too was pissed off during the game by SO MANY missed dunks, missed freethrows, turnovers, and given-up offensive rebounds (12 at one point!). Play like that in the B1G, its likely a loss, isn't it?
People sometime say a close win over a mediocre opponent is good springboard to improvement. Here's hoping that this is even better.
TheFameProtector
- Champaign
Duke is definitely the opposite of Baylor -- talented team (probably not as much as prior years, but they have guys and Jalen Johnson will be a stud down the road) that is just young and inexperienced at this level. I think they'll get better as the season progresses (same can be said of us).
As for our guys, Curbelo is THE perfect example of a "No no...yes!" guy, a little similar in that respect to Giorgi. So many times where he starts doing something and my reaction is "oh no please don't do something stup...ATTA BOY CURBELO!!!!" I love that guy's ability but he's still learning a lot out there -- I also love that BU is letting him play through his mistakes even in high stakes games. They seem like they're going to have an awesome relationship and be a great player-coach duo for years to come.
Hoping that Adam Miller is able to shake whatever that was off!!
As for our guys, Curbelo is THE perfect example of a "No no...yes!" guy, a little similar in that respect to Giorgi. So many times where he starts doing something and my reaction is "oh no please don't do something stup...ATTA BOY CURBELO!!!!" I love that guy's ability but he's still learning a lot out there -- I also love that BU is letting him play through his mistakes even in high stakes games. They seem like they're going to have an awesome relationship and be a great player-coach duo for years to come.
Hoping that Adam Miller is able to shake whatever that was off!!
May be true but don’t believe they would be .500 against the BIG. However, put Belo on that team and it would be a different story.
Agreed. They looked a lot like Kentucky looks in the early season. Only two seniors on their team, and it showed.
BMoreIllini
- Baltimore, MD
I know there was talk about how we never "put them away", but I went through the play-by-play this morning and we led by double figures for 54 minutes and 51 seconds (according to my numbers). We went up 12-2 with 15:53 left in the first half and Duke only got the score within single figures 3 times after that (durations of 10 seconds, 40 seconds, and 12 seconds) and they never got closer than 8. I have to imagine that's as dominant a non-conference foe has ever played at Cameron Indoor (at least in the last 35 years).
Curbelo is going to be scary when the game slows down for him as most of his turnovers were from just going too fast. We haven't had a pure PG that can create like him in about 15 years. Just 5 games into his collegiate career and he's already able to create shots for others and himself with the drive. It opens up so much for us on offense. I hope Trent can clean things up, maybe it's bias and overlooking Curbelo's freshman mistakes and the game moving fast, but it seemed Trent's TOs were mostly from being sloppy as a senior you shouldn't be making the same mistakes as a freshman. Regardless of his TOs, Trent is still a valuable leader for the team and like several mentioned, a lock down defender.
Curbelo is going to be scary when the game slows down for him as most of his turnovers were from just going too fast. We haven't had a pure PG that can create like him in about 15 years. Just 5 games into his collegiate career and he's already able to create shots for others and himself with the drive. It opens up so much for us on offense. I hope Trent can clean things up, maybe it's bias and overlooking Curbelo's freshman mistakes and the game moving fast, but it seemed Trent's TOs were mostly from being sloppy as a senior you shouldn't be making the same mistakes as a freshman. Regardless of his TOs, Trent is still a valuable leader for the team and like several mentioned, a lock down defender.
Anyone who thinks Frank is not in that conversation never REALLY watched him play. He was absolutely a man among boys at Illinois.