Illinois 96, Northwestern 66 Postgame

#152      

ILLFAN67

I
ILLFAN67
AEX said:
Went back to watch Dain’s minutes in the first half to see if there’s anything that would draw Brad’s ire. Dain does a lot of things well, but, tonight at least, he wasn’t putting a lot of effort into rebounding. Goode is getting minutes right now because of effort on rebounding and D, not because of offense. Offense isn’t an issue right now, and Brad’s been stressing rebounding all season.

Does that mean Dain doesn’t deserve more minutes? Tough call. But Brad’s clearly sending a message.
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Dain had 2 rebounds in 4 mins. He played well while he was in. 1 was offensive with a put back which we know BU loves! I don’t think that was the problem.
 
#153      

1970 John

1970 John
1970 John
skyIdub said:
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Gif of the week. Drinking game: Every time you see this, take another drink.
 
#157      

Bucktown

B
Bucktown
illini510 said:
I don't think anyone is saying Dainja deserves 25 mins per game. He was brought in as a transfer(therefore cannot transfer a 2nd time without having to sit out a year), had a solid season last year, and has clearly gotten lots of run against lower level teams when it comes to matchups. So, this isn't a problem regarding practice and that he isn't bringing it. Underwood even mentioned a few games ago that he needs to find ways to play Hawkins and Dain together. So, why isn't he doing it? If you're a fan of the team, you are also a fan of all these kids having success and getting a fair shot when they deserve a fair shot. I'm not talking about DGL. I'm talking about a former starter who shouldn't be playing 4 mins in a game that was a blowout. I feel for the kid, who by all accounts, is a good kid not getting a fair shake. Underwood can find ways to get him 10-15 mins a game if he really wanted to.
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Maybe he could graduate and transfer as a graduate student.

That being said, I hope he would stay, and they’d find a way to exploit his skills around the basket because he is such an efficient scorer.
 
#161      

Tacomallini

T
Washington State
Tacomallini
illini510 said:
I don't think anyone is saying Dainja deserves 25 mins per game. He was brought in as a transfer(therefore cannot transfer a 2nd time without having to sit out a year), had a solid season last year, and has clearly gotten lots of run against lower level teams when it comes to matchups. So, this isn't a problem regarding practice and that he isn't bringing it. Underwood even mentioned a few games ago that he needs to find ways to play Hawkins and Dain together. So, why isn't he doing it? If you're a fan of the team, you are also a fan of all these kids having success and getting a fair shot when they deserve a fair shot. I'm not talking about DGL. I'm talking about a former starter who shouldn't be playing 4 mins in a game that was a blowout. I feel for the kid, who by all accounts, is a good kid not getting a fair shake. Underwood can find ways to get him 10-15 mins a game if he really wanted to.
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Don't think that's a thing anymore, or at least it is still playing out in the court of law - Adam Miller and Andre Curbelo are playing now as 2nd time transfers w/o waivers. Don't think either are grad transfers. Someone can correct me if I'm wrong.
 
#164      

Piotyr

P
Piotyr
Either their best or second best result of the year. A+ on both offense and defense. Game plan on offense exploited Buie with post-ups by Domask and abused Barnhizer with Coleman and Guerrier. Every player that saw at least 3 minutes was a plus on offense and defense Game Score, which is the first time that's happened this year. Domask, Harmon, Hawkins and Guerrier had it rolling all night, and Goode provided good team defense with Rodgers in foul trouble and limited to 19 minutes.

As for Dainja, he just clogs the lane when he's in there, really slows down the offensive flow and can't switch defensively. He got 2 rebounds in 4 minutes and had a putback, which is a good effort, but he's mostly there right now in case Hawkins or Guerrier get in foul trouble, which didn't happen today. I expect him to get more time in Purdue this weekend.
 
#167      

Loyalillini10

L
Urbana, IL
Loyalillini10
I have an honest to goodness question: what is it about being an Illini fan that makes one not be able to enjoy a blowout victory over a rival? We do not have our best player and have blown out our last two opponents. The Illini have shot very well and played great defense. They have been very positive during what has to be a very uneasy time. BU and staff have done a great job this season and have put together one of the best teams we have seen in years. Yet, for some folks it just isn't enough.

I was watching the IlliniHQ podcast and some joker writes in with a: it's a Sweet 16 or bust for Underwood and a tired of mediocrity message. Seriously? Right now? Why don't we think about Purdue first? We aren't even close to that time of year. We just beat NW by 30 and are ranked in the top 10 and all you can think to comment is an ultimatum for our coach? I am flabbergasted. I cannot imagine how unfun it must be to be that kind of "fan." We are having an incredibly successful year and there are those who only wish to dwell on BU's past shortcomings.

We have a really great and extremely likeable team, folks. Let's try to enjoy them together, one game at a time. And...you know...maybe, give BU a little credit.
 
#168      

Piotyr

P
Piotyr
Early on here in the B1G (almost every team has played 2 games), it looks like effectively a 5 team league, with Ohio State a clear 5th. Top 4 of Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan State look to be a good step above the rest. After that, who knows?

- Northwestern looked like the 6th best for a while but looked bad against Chicago State and again tonight.
- Nebraska beat MSU and Kansas State, but lost to Minnesota
- Iowa beat Seton Hall but is now 0-3 in the B1G with a home loss to Michigan
- Michigan has wins over Iowa, St. Johns and Stanford on the road, but is 6-7 overall with home losses to McNeese State and Long Beach State
- Rutgers has a road win over Seton Hall and a home win against Georgetown, but lost big to Illinois at home.
- Minnesota beat Nebraska but nobody else, and lost by 18 to San Francisco.
- Indiana is 2-0 in the B1G with a road win at Michigan, but were blown out by Auburn and UConn and haven't beaten anyone else of note.
- PSU and Maryland are somehow worse than the rest.

I will say the B1G doesn't look like it has an automatic win like it has in past seasons, but there is a mountainous gulf between the top 5 and the bottom 9.

That said, watch the Illini lose to Maryland next weekend because Illinois can't beat Maryland for whatever reason.
 
#169      

IMPE Legend

I
IMPE Legend
illini510 said:
Dainja deserves to play more than 4 minutes in this game. I'm sorry but if you're a fan of this team, you have to be open minded to call out things that need to be called out. There's no world that I see where Dainja deserves only 4 mins in a game that they win by 30 pts. I have to imagine that deep down, Dainja is not happy with it, even if he accepts the situation for what it is
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I agree that Dain played well and 4 minutes doesn't seem like it makes sense, but his lack of 2nd half PT seems like a direct result of turning the game over to Domask. His post up game doesn't work with Dain in there. And I see that half as preparation for their game plan at Purdue. What is Edey going to do when he has to defend Hawkins outside? That preparation was ultimately more important than getting Dain a few more minutes.

That being said, the sequence I enjoyed the most tonight ended with the Dain assist to Harmon. I've never seen so many people stand to acknowledge a pass before when there isn't a timeout called or the game isn't otherwise stopped.
 
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#173      

cjw1901

C
cjw1901
Illiniskier said:
Great performance! Incredible defensive tenacity. Northwestern has excellent guard play. Keep in mind, we probably won't shoot 63% from the field for another 20 years. However, we had excellent ball movement and had a lot of great looks. Also, the referees let us play a physical game on the defensive end. With that said, don't expect the shooting percentage to be anywhere near that high the rest of the year and expect to get a lot more ticky tack files on the road. Finally, I think we're seeing that this team is actually very well-rounded and has a lot of very good players. Go Illini!!!
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Excellent point on how unusually awesome the team's shooting has been for the last two home games. I'm more worried about road games where we possibly can't dominate inside (if 3s aren't dropping), and we don't have a fantastic transition guy that was incredible at getting to the rim and hitting his free throws. It's going to take a huge team effort to continue this on the road against the BT. Go Illini!
 
#174      

PepeSilvia

P
PepeSilvia
illini510 said:
I don't think anyone is saying Dainja deserves 25 mins per game. He was brought in as a transfer(therefore cannot transfer a 2nd time without having to sit out a year), had a solid season last year, and has clearly gotten lots of run against lower level teams when it comes to matchups. So, this isn't a problem regarding practice and that he isn't bringing it. Underwood even mentioned a few games ago that he needs to find ways to play Hawkins and Dain together. So, why isn't he doing it? If you're a fan of the team, you are also a fan of all these kids having success and getting a fair shot when they deserve a fair shot. I'm not talking about DGL. I'm talking about a former starter who shouldn't be playing 4 mins in a game that was a blowout. I feel for the kid, who by all accounts, is a good kid not getting a fair shake. Underwood can find ways to get him 10-15 mins a game if he really wanted to.
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He sat out a year during his first transfer so he could absolutely transfer and play immediately without sitting.