Another game where Ben is an unsung hero. Didn’t necessarily fill up the stat sheet, but huge minutes and huge plays when it mattered.
Illinois 88, Purdue 80 Postgame
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For almost having a triple double Braden wasn’t very efficient….
In the last cpl min when KR spun around Ben - wow.
Great move, but Ben has got to learn to do something, anything.
I mean, spread your arms, maybe growl and look fierce??
Great move, but Ben has got to learn to do something, anything.
I mean, spread your arms, maybe growl and look fierce??
8-19 for 18pts for Smith….they made 5 3’s we will take them taking 2s didn’t want them to get hot from 3
Hopefully the beef house is still open.
It seemed Smith really missed some clean looks at 3s the last 6 minutes besides the one from the top.of the key. I loved seeing him miss. No more sleepy time Smith lol I hope you think about those misses and have nightmares all night about going 2 of 9 missing clean looks.
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This should be the end of any talk of the Illini being an 8/9th seed in the Big Dance now. It only goes up from here.
I’m a man of my word Congratulations to Underwood and Iliini basketball . I talked a lot of crap about Brad he did something I didn’t think he could do. Congratulations but still skeptical on Brad Underwood
If you add a healthy Morez Johnson to the team that fought down the stretch with more heart than we have seen for much of the season, I like our chances to make a deep run in both the BTT and NCAA tourney. That was fun to see them battle back when it looked like Purdue was about to close us out. I would especially like to see us get another game against MSU when we are fully healthy.
FINALLY DOUBLED my god.I want to give credit where it's due ... Would have been SO EASY to quit and pack it up after getting absolutely obliterated against Duke ...
This team came together ... We are seeing the best version of Tre White (what I like to call summer Tre) and the best version of Ben tonight ...
Get Morez back in the fold ... We will be cooking with gas ...
My one negative tonight ... The defense ... Hamer has GOT TO GO ... And that is all I will say about that ... Do not want that one negative to outweigh all the positive tonight ...
Is anyone surprised Brad has the team playing their best ball at the end of the season? He does this year after year and this year all the more impressive. Playing freshmen, missing key starters for half the season, no experience collectively, rebounding from a potentially devastating game against Duke and more I haven’t even thought about. Why is he the Rodney Dangerfield of the BiG? Did anyone really think we were going to march thru the season with a new team of very young players who had never played together. More impressed than ever Brad. Bravo.
Nah. I'm not goin.
Purdue came here as the champ.
And they left in paign.
We ain't done.
And they left in paign.
We ain't done.
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Regret missing the second half with family obligations. Checking YouTube in 3, 2, 1, . . . .
Painter seems to be on track to be the next Izzo with all that whining. I don’t recall an egregious Loyer flop resulting in a foul, only the turrible call on KJ blocking the shot. Heck of a dagger by KJ, I wish he would have pulled out one of Smiths celebrations.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
So funny to hear both Illini fans and Purdue fans claim online that the refs 110% screwed their teams.
And the funny part is Big Ten refs are so bad that they’re probably both right!!!!Say it ain't so, Joe!
but he's become a treat to watch in the time we have left.
Painter ran him into the ground. He looked dead tired by the end. Couldn't get much lift on his shot.
I will be among those who mea culpa after believing this time might lose out to end the season. They did not, and we finish the season surging with 20 wins for the sixth straight year, another winning record in conference, and momentum heading into the BTT and NCAAs.
36% from three tonight, and that's all we need typically. Our cutting and scoring inside was really good against a team that is top ten in the country in defending the paint. Will Riley made buckets in the mid-range when we needed them. Tre White played his !!! off tonight on both ends. But maybe more important than all of that was that we limited turnovers. 20 assists to 8 turnovers is one of our best performances on that front all year.
First half was really tough defensively. TKR is a more well-rounded offensive player than Edey ever was and he put guys in the spin cycle, step-throughs, you name it. Ivisic was frankly overmatched and was not tough enough. And I think the whole team was slow at times to get back in transition.
Ironically, it was Ben who put a better body on TKR in the second half and forced some tough shots out of him, though he got cooked a couple times too. Much as we criticize Ben, he is capable of serving in the backup role when we need it, but he's never going to be a lockdown defender. But if he can do that, while making 40% of his threes, we should welcome whatever he has left to contribute.
That phantom foul call on KJ was one of the worst I've ever seen. Anticipation call if I've ever seen one. Changed the game at a point when we had the momentum. People always say not to blame refs for their calls, but that one is inexcusable and if he makes that later in the game or it sets KJ into foul trouble, it's completely game-changing.
36% from three tonight, and that's all we need typically. Our cutting and scoring inside was really good against a team that is top ten in the country in defending the paint. Will Riley made buckets in the mid-range when we needed them. Tre White played his !!! off tonight on both ends. But maybe more important than all of that was that we limited turnovers. 20 assists to 8 turnovers is one of our best performances on that front all year.
First half was really tough defensively. TKR is a more well-rounded offensive player than Edey ever was and he put guys in the spin cycle, step-throughs, you name it. Ivisic was frankly overmatched and was not tough enough. And I think the whole team was slow at times to get back in transition.
Ironically, it was Ben who put a better body on TKR in the second half and forced some tough shots out of him, though he got cooked a couple times too. Much as we criticize Ben, he is capable of serving in the backup role when we need it, but he's never going to be a lockdown defender. But if he can do that, while making 40% of his threes, we should welcome whatever he has left to contribute.
That phantom foul call on KJ was one of the worst I've ever seen. Anticipation call if I've ever seen one. Changed the game at a point when we had the momentum. People always say not to blame refs for their calls, but that one is inexcusable and if he makes that later in the game or it sets KJ into foul trouble, it's completely game-changing.
With DGL struggling, I do agree. Let's hope DGL can find a rhythm and contribute consistently. KB is stepping up for sure!
Smith played all 40 minutes. Fatigue is a factor on 3s.
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