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Illinois 88, Missouri 63 Postgame
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<blockquote data-quote="The Galloping Ghost" data-source="post: 1690493" data-attributes="member: 5587"><p>Since I was the a$$ to bring up the United Center games, a topic we've covered at length previously, I'll bring back [USER=1]@Dan[/USER]'s fantastic post on the subject from 2019 for some context:</p><p></p><p>"Here's to the United Center Tradition streak, a fantastic, unique neutral site series (1994-95 thru 2018-19).</p><p></p><p>The series thrived due to Illini Basketball's connection with Chicago, and was sustained 25-straight seasons despite the challenging scheduling framework of having the non-conference opponent change year-to-year. That scheduling -- despite the wild swings in appeal of the game year-to-year -- was important as it allowed the UC to be an established part of Illinois Basketball completely on its own, without disrupting anything else on the schedule (and avoided it becoming a stale copy of the great Braggin' Rights series).</p><p></p><p>The UC tradition streak's downfall was brought about by the lowered excitement level of the program during this current NCAA Tournament drought. I still hate to see the series go out like it did last season -- in a disruptive fireball -- and remain skeptical of Josh Whitman's decision-making ability with regards to the schedule.</p><p></p><p>Last season's United Center game was a tradition-smashing mess-</p><p>* On a Wednesday (traditionally a Saturday game)</p><p>* Versus a B1G opponent (traditionally a non-conference game)</p><p>* Highly disruptive to move the B1G home-opener away from home (hallmark of the UC series was its non-disruptive nature)</p><p></p><p>If Illinois was obligated to play at the UC last year, there were 3 proper Saturday non-conference games on the schedule that would've worked. Otherwise, last season was the time to go on hiatus.</p><p></p><p>Moving forward, a good time to have future United Center games is close to New Year's. That way, it's during the heart of the holiday season with so many people already in Chicago (and Champaign-Urbana emptied out), it doesn't necessarily need to be on a Saturday, and you have a chance for additional buildup in interest with good outcomes in the early season. If the UC game has to be prior to Braggin' Rights in early December, then make sure it's on a Saturday (because then tipoff time is not a huge factor).</p><p></p><p>Which brings us to this upcoming season-</p><p>* Team showed flashes of goodness & greatness last season</p><p>* 9 returning players, bulk of the production is returning</p><p>* Best player, from Chicago, in most likely his final IL season</p><p>* 1 large, talented newcomer</p><p></p><p>There's real reason for optimism heading into this season. The excitement level, while not where it could be, is certainly on the rise. I thought this upcoming season would be a fine time to play at the United Center. Have the game around New Year's for max ticket-buying time, say this team's capable of having 9-10 wins after a Braggin' Rights victory, boom 10k in the UC and everything's on the up&up. Go Illini"</p><p></p><p>[URL unfurl="true"]https://www.illinoisloyalty.com/post/illini-basketball-2019-2020.25002/post-1469387[/URL]</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="The Galloping Ghost, post: 1690493, member: 5587"] Since I was the a$$ to bring up the United Center games, a topic we've covered at length previously, I'll bring back [USER=1]@Dan[/USER]'s fantastic post on the subject from 2019 for some context: "Here's to the United Center Tradition streak, a fantastic, unique neutral site series (1994-95 thru 2018-19). The series thrived due to Illini Basketball's connection with Chicago, and was sustained 25-straight seasons despite the challenging scheduling framework of having the non-conference opponent change year-to-year. That scheduling -- despite the wild swings in appeal of the game year-to-year -- was important as it allowed the UC to be an established part of Illinois Basketball completely on its own, without disrupting anything else on the schedule (and avoided it becoming a stale copy of the great Braggin' Rights series). The UC tradition streak's downfall was brought about by the lowered excitement level of the program during this current NCAA Tournament drought. I still hate to see the series go out like it did last season -- in a disruptive fireball -- and remain skeptical of Josh Whitman's decision-making ability with regards to the schedule. Last season's United Center game was a tradition-smashing mess- * On a Wednesday (traditionally a Saturday game) * Versus a B1G opponent (traditionally a non-conference game) * Highly disruptive to move the B1G home-opener away from home (hallmark of the UC series was its non-disruptive nature) If Illinois was obligated to play at the UC last year, there were 3 proper Saturday non-conference games on the schedule that would've worked. Otherwise, last season was the time to go on hiatus. Moving forward, a good time to have future United Center games is close to New Year's. That way, it's during the heart of the holiday season with so many people already in Chicago (and Champaign-Urbana emptied out), it doesn't necessarily need to be on a Saturday, and you have a chance for additional buildup in interest with good outcomes in the early season. If the UC game has to be prior to Braggin' Rights in early December, then make sure it's on a Saturday (because then tipoff time is not a huge factor). Which brings us to this upcoming season- * Team showed flashes of goodness & greatness last season * 9 returning players, bulk of the production is returning * Best player, from Chicago, in most likely his final IL season * 1 large, talented newcomer There's real reason for optimism heading into this season. The excitement level, while not where it could be, is certainly on the rise. I thought this upcoming season would be a fine time to play at the United Center. Have the game around New Year's for max ticket-buying time, say this team's capable of having 9-10 wins after a Braggin' Rights victory, boom 10k in the UC and everything's on the up&up. Go Illini" [URL unfurl="true"]https://www.illinoisloyalty.com/post/illini-basketball-2019-2020.25002/post-1469387[/URL] [/QUOTE]
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