Great age. Mine walked for about a day, then ran. Get your track shoes ready.
Illinois 84, Purdue 70 POSTGAME
Great age. Mine walked for about a day, then ran. Get your track shoes ready.
Wow what a game. With so many young guys we can't expect this every game but it is great for them to see what they can accomplish when they bring the intensity on defense.
Realize that in general we are a manic depressive board. Extremes on both sides, unfortunately. We will continue to have highs and lows....but if we execute like this I expect to be competitive ( which is all I aim for given our challenges).
LEBHH! Low expectations, but high hopes...
I really thought this team turned the corner with the tOSU game despite the loss. The MSU game had me scratching my head. Hope this game is confirmation of the team coming together and gaining an identity. So much of basketball involves intangibles of chemistry and trust in other players. I have felt that Groce teams take awhile to build identity. The discontinuity due to injuries and transfers has probably contributed to this to some degree. Hopefully, this is in the past and the team we saw tonight is the team we have moving forward.
Great point!
Can you believe that the Illini actually shot 28 free throws in a game. I love the aggressive attitude on both sides of the court.
IlliniRon
Illini Basketball Fan Forever
- Ft Worth, Texas
Nice game tonight, kudos to Coach Groce on the defensive scheme to help on the Purdue bigs. We looked so strong on offense all game long, really great leadership by Hill and Nunn. I was even happy with the rebounding most of the game.
Not sure we will get this effort often, but a nice turnaround game for the Illini. Maybe we need to give away more bobbleheads?
Not sure we will get this effort often, but a nice turnaround game for the Illini. Maybe we need to give away more bobbleheads?
This was the first big ten game under Groce that Illinois has shot over 50 percent! Other than Purdue's two 7 footers, I don't see much talent difference between Illinois and Purdue (even with our injuries). It may be biased to say that after a home win where we played our best game all year, but I think we still have a team that is talented enough to make the tournament. Unfortunately, we have put ourselves in terrible position to make the tournament with our poor record. At least we have a high SOS, maybe that will give us a chance.
Maintain low expectations and you may be surprised...and you shouldn't be disappointed.
HoustonIllini
- Houston, TX
WOW . . . just . . .WOW
Yeah, he's been plenty mobile for a while, just hasn't wanted/needed to do it on his own.
I think that's gonna happen here too, lol.
I will say that the refs in this game were out of control. I don't think it really favored either team, but way too many whistles, IMO. It did play to our favor in the 2nd half, we were in the bonus really early and capitalized on it.
I don't know how late Kendrick Nunn's absence from the MSU was known to the team, but I imagine they had a game plan that heavily involved him, and then at the (somewhat?) last minute he was not going to be available. It could be easy for that to mess with the team's collective heads, on top of the fact that MSU is a good team and we were playing at their place.
The next couple of games will be important. Can we keep up the energy? Can we continue to shoot well (not always 54% well, but still)?
We should beat Nebraska at home. That *ought* to be an easy game. Of course, we know that there is no such thing as an easy game at Illinois.
I think Minnesota is a toss-up. It's a road game. Those are always hard. On the other hand, they are not so good, and we seem to be hitting our stride.
We should lose at Indiana. But, of course, we should have lost tonight too...so....we'll see I guess.
DaChief4ever
- Urbana
Fantastic game....LOU looked happy too! Had to put with the mouthy Purdue people before the game....Once we got on a roll..they left early!!!
Just a tremendous game plan by Groce. I really like how we kept doubling their bigs to prevent them from getting the ball inside. Hopefully Froling was there to watch this one as we can use another big. Still not expecting great things from this team but I do believe we may be able to get a couple of more upsets if we play hard and make our shots.
Wait, we score 84 on Lou's 84th birthday! Nice! :thumb:
1. This was a great win, and a badly needed win. It is rare that a single game can turn around a season -- the Indiana game in Groce's first year comes to mind -- but this could be that kind of game.
2. The dominant player in the game was obviously Malcolm Hill. He did everything: scoring, defense, rebounding, sell popcorn, you name it, he did it. He is clearly playing at a first team All B1G level.
3. The turning point in the game was the explosion by Kendrick Nunn to start the second half. He didn't quite match Hill for the whole game, but he was the guy who turned the game around.
4. While Malcolm and Kendrick did a lot of things, probably one of the biggest things was their 13 rebounds to keep the rebound margin from being truly lop-sided. That could get lost with their 52 points, but it was huge.
5. Kudos to Finke and Mav. They didn't totally negate the Purdue bigs, but with the swarming defense any time the ball went inside, we made it into a three-point shooting contest, which was the key to us winning. Most of us realize that Finke is a really good shooter, but Mav is becoming a real plus on offense with his consistent mid-range shooting. Way to go, Mav!
6. JCL contributed 10 points and really played solidly for the most part. Malcolm and Kendrick don't need a lot of help, but they do need some, and JCL contributed.
7. The shooting numbers for this game were fantastic against a Purdue team that is known for its defense. College basketball is mostly about match-ups, and Purdue was just to slow to match up with us with the way we shot in this game.
8. For once I kind of wish we didn't have a week off before the next game. I don't want the intensity of this game to fade in the meantime. We need the Nebraska win to keep things moving in the right direction.
9. As I noted earlier, this could be a turning point. We have a long way to go, but the rest of the schedule is really not that intimidating if Malcolm and Kendrick can play anywhere close to this level the rest of the way. Obviously we won't shoot this well every game, but if our two leaders play with the intensity they showed in this game, the Illini could make a nice run against some beatable teams on our remaining schedule.
Go Illini!
2. The dominant player in the game was obviously Malcolm Hill. He did everything: scoring, defense, rebounding, sell popcorn, you name it, he did it. He is clearly playing at a first team All B1G level.
3. The turning point in the game was the explosion by Kendrick Nunn to start the second half. He didn't quite match Hill for the whole game, but he was the guy who turned the game around.
4. While Malcolm and Kendrick did a lot of things, probably one of the biggest things was their 13 rebounds to keep the rebound margin from being truly lop-sided. That could get lost with their 52 points, but it was huge.
5. Kudos to Finke and Mav. They didn't totally negate the Purdue bigs, but with the swarming defense any time the ball went inside, we made it into a three-point shooting contest, which was the key to us winning. Most of us realize that Finke is a really good shooter, but Mav is becoming a real plus on offense with his consistent mid-range shooting. Way to go, Mav!
6. JCL contributed 10 points and really played solidly for the most part. Malcolm and Kendrick don't need a lot of help, but they do need some, and JCL contributed.
7. The shooting numbers for this game were fantastic against a Purdue team that is known for its defense. College basketball is mostly about match-ups, and Purdue was just to slow to match up with us with the way we shot in this game.
8. For once I kind of wish we didn't have a week off before the next game. I don't want the intensity of this game to fade in the meantime. We need the Nebraska win to keep things moving in the right direction.
9. As I noted earlier, this could be a turning point. We have a long way to go, but the rest of the schedule is really not that intimidating if Malcolm and Kendrick can play anywhere close to this level the rest of the way. Obviously we won't shoot this well every game, but if our two leaders play with the intensity they showed in this game, the Illini could make a nice run against some beatable teams on our remaining schedule.
Go Illini!
It's absolutely freezing out here in IA today, so I've been lounging in an old Illini hoodie today. Will be in it again for the next game too!
illinitrav
- NW Suburbs
Take care of business against Nebraska... Indiana is a likely loss.... then there's a chance to stack some W's. Get Thorne and Black back. This season isn't over folks.
Future Walk-On
- Peoria, IL
Unreal. Could have beaten anyone today.
Let's do it again.
Let's do it again.