Illinois 87, Nebraska 84 OT Postgame

#251      

RockfordIllini

R
RockfordIllini
If Nebraska makes the tourney (I think they will), they will be a dangerous team. A bunch of good offensive sets and great shooters. And their defense always forces a lot of 3’s. In a single game if they manage to be hitting their 3’s and you aren’t, you’re cooked.

If we aren’t one of the best offensive rebounding teams in the country, we lose that game by 10+. Glad we have so many different ways to win, and actually pretty impressive to win a game against a team that good when they are on and we can’t make a 3.

That said, let’s start playing our best ball from here on out, starting Saturday in East Lansing.

Excited to see if we can get some things cleaned up/tightened up with a week to just work on us.
 
#252      

FloridaMan

F
FloridaMan
Seems like not a great sign when an obscure assistant that nobody really knows much about suddenly becomes relevant during a postgame discussion. Agree, why was he calling timeouts, if that is what happened? What are his qualifications to have as much hand as has been suggested in coaching the defense for a top 15 team? Genuine questions, because I just am not familiar with him at all until last night.
 
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#253      

john1952

john1952
john1952
Often it seems is not the team with the best players who wins, but the team with the best shooters

From 3 Shannon 3-10, Goode 0-6, Harmon, 0-4.

If not for Hawkins 4-7 we would of lost the game.

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#254      

Brosky

B
Brosky
Those geniuses on the halftime panel never mentioned the three point shooting. Nebraska was pouring in the three point shots, some unconscious. In fact, for the entire game, Illinois got zip from Goode; he was zero for six, while Harmon, both proven three point shooter, was nothing for four. That's zero for ten between them, all of them open looks. We're lucky we won.
 
#255      

Bbuck21

B
Bbuck21
Hope For The Best!!! said:
I’m very concerned about this team. With TSJ out we finally started using the length and athleticism combined with player and ball movement on offense and looked impossible to guard. We scored with efficiency inside the lane which opened up open outside opportunities. Now we are back to watching booty ball and relying on hitting threes. Outside of Domask we now look tentative on offense and as good as he can be, good coaches in this league will take his effectiveness away. With Quincy and Justin looking hesitant to shoot in rhythm and Terrance still not shooting well we aren’t likely to shoot people out of the gym. I’m concerned we will allow this talent to go to waste if coaching doesn’t improve. This team is playing well below its ability right now.
Don’t get me started on how ineffective we are on out of bounds execution. Definition of insanity…
Glad we won but there is a difference between winning ugly in a hard fought game and getting fortunate when you don’t play/coach well. I’m not a Brad-hater, I love the talent he’s brought and the passion he possesses but this has been an underwhelming season based on coaching. Again…hoping we get it turned around.
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Seriously?
 
#256      

Goillinikobd

Goillinikobd
Southeastern US
Goillinikobd
I am a little concerned with the “a Win is a Win” so just go home and be happy approach.

Not all Ws are created equal.

It’s not that a W is ever a bad W, it’s just that some are better than others and you can bet that when two schools are on the NCAA bubble, the quality of the Ws is a factor.

I hope the coaching staff continues the “we won, but we could have done better” attitude
 
#257      

blackdog

blackdog
Champaign
blackdog
Everything I've read posted on here makes it seem like BU has no respect for the guy. Why is he on the staff?
 
#258      

Bbuck21

B
Bbuck21
NASchamp said:
Phew.

Hats off to Ty and Goode for the constant hustle plays and rebounds. Despite nothing going down for Goode today.

Glad we were able to pull that one out but man was I about to lose it. Free throws and layups are our downfall this year. Oh and letting one (or two) player(s) go off on us.

And for the love of everything holy why are we so bad at inbounding the ball?! That dumb ‘line of scrimmage’ play was almost a turnover everytime, and we kept running it.

For what it’s worth, we won and I don’t think Nebraska could have played any better. They were shooting lights out for most of the game.
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I love that inbounds play. Just add more variations. Maybe one guy doesn't take off and you make an OB pass, then go.... The first time I saw it being used I thought this has so many good possibilities.
 
#262      

Retro62

Retro62
North Bethesda, Maryland
Retro62
I didn’t watch the presser, so this may have been answered, but is it possible he was yelling time out to BU as a suggestion and was too loud or animated, so the ref heard him and called it? I don’t know, it just seems more plausible than some lesser assistant deciding he had that authority.
 
#266      

Bevoillini

B
Bevoillini
BalloonsTheElephant said:
I know we will need TJ to reach our full potential, but he is killing us right now.

He's shooting 22/61 (36%) from the field and 7/36 (19%) from 3 since his return. It is trending up, but he needs to shoot at a lower volume until he gets his shot back. I'm not sure his defense is making up that difference right now either.
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I agree with you, but I’ll tell you TJ worked his butt off on defense, he had to have tired legs. He was on Tominaga most of the night. He was getting banged up going through screens. That’s part of the shooting woes as well.
 
#268      

Bbuck21

B
Bbuck21
Indy Illini Fan said:
Hamer called the TO … Looked to me like Tyler was holding Brad back …
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Without placing blame (we know it was a mistake he'll probably never do again), but what could have been the logic for the TO in the first place? I thought Neb called the TO. I was so confused.
 
#269      

alexander58

A
alexander58
RabidDawgClassic said:
Has anyone mentioned giving up that sixth foul with 20+ seconds left? I hate hate HATE that! We had an advantage there where we could play extra-aggressive defense and not worry about putting them in the bonus. So what happens next? We foul Tominaga on a drive and put him at the line. What is the effin strategy there???
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They are still kids. Maybe Rodgers got a little anxious? This years team makes good choices most of the time. Last years team? Not so much.
 
#270      

aaeismacgychel

A
aaeismacgychel
I definitely agree with the assessment that overall the biggest issue we had this game was that our typically reliable 3pt shooters couldn't hit the broadside of a barn despite getting wide open shot after wide open shot in rhythm. And meanwhile, Nebraska was draining stepback rainbows with a hand in their face. Games like that happen, you just hope they don't occur for the entire 40min.

The way we handled those final 4 minutes was 2005 Arizona Elite 8 -esque. Started playing not to lose and went away from what was working all game and a never say die team taking advantage of every mistake they forced. Hell, I think I even saw Nebraska send out Jack Ingram there late in regulation to steal the inbound pass from Coleman to erase the deficit they were facing.

That all said, I thought this was by far the best defense we've played since TSJ came back. We played with energy, were aggressive, and didn't give Nebraska all that many high quality shots. We also gave ourselves great looks on offense, and we obliterated them on the boards through sheer effort. And speaking of, since Purdue, Ty has been our best player game in and game out. We won another one today on his willpower and determination alone. When there was a stop we needed to have, he shut them down and took the rock. When we desperately needed to not have an empty possession, he'd impossibly come out of nowhere to give us a 2nd chance rebound. Plain and simple, Ty needs to be on the floor especially during clutch time and it shouldn't be a surprise to anyone, let alone Brad, that when he's on the bench late, the other team immediately goes on a run. Brad needs to stop getting cute with these offense-defense switches late. Ty should not leave the court. Period.

We got out of this with a win, thats all you can ask for all things considered. Now let's storm into Breslin, and start making the push for a Big 10 Title run.
 
#272      

IriteI

I
IriteI
chiefini said:
This win is for my big brother (74) who I lost this morning to a heart attack, the guy who initiated my passion for all things Illini. He’s the reason I went to Illinois as he was a senior when I was a freshman. There ya go, Charlie! This one’s for you! 🧡 💙

:chief::hailtotheorange::chief:
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So very sorry for your loss...
 
#275      

LoveIlliniHoops

L
LoveIlliniHoops
Goillinikobd said:
I am a little concerned with the “a Win is a Win” so just go home and be happy approach.

Not all Ws are created equal.

It’s not that a W is ever a bad W, it’s just that some are better than others and you can bet that when two schools are on the NCAA bubble, the quality of the Ws is a factor.

I hope the coaching staff continues the “we won, but we could have done better” attitude
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Has anyone witnessed the way this season has gone for all the top teams? Take the win and be grateful for not enduring what so many great programs have this week. We won!!!! Move on, learn from this one and it’ll help us come March.