Retro62
- North Bethesda, Maryland
Yes, well being far behind is obviously not my preference...just making a point about teams who consistently win despite facing a steep challenge.
Illinois 98, Penn State 81 Postgame
This is how I measure defense and also not fouling. We had that segment late in the first half where they just abused us on our ball screen coverages. No tough shots forced. Walk in layups and wide open kick out 3s.
In the second half we shut that down by stunting the next defender when the big popped to get in his vision and not give him a rhythm shot.
The 80+ is more concerning because this isn’t Baylor or Rutgers out there. The 94-62 run was definitely promising though.
You guys took it to us early on. Much respect to your boys. They pretty much abused our PnR defense (or lack thereof) for much of the game. They hit some tough shots to keep them afloat just when it looked like we would start to pull away at times. That was a high level basketball game.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
I didn't see it as a dive, and agree with those that said from Ayo's angle it looked like Wheeler extended his arm to push Curbelo down. AND the game was all but over at that point. AND Ayo/Wheeler have faced each other plenty enough over the past 3 years to have built up some grudges. AND Curbelo's assists per game should > Wheeler's points per game AND Ayo's looking out for a promising up-and-comer. AND there may have been some establish sh*! talking in this game. Unless the league does something stupid, I think this is good for the team and hopefully lights a fire. Good for Ayo.
I personally think what happened was that it looked worse than it was, to the naked eye, and that's what Ayo saw. Curbello knew he sort of fell on his own, so he tried to let him know.
IMO, everyone did exactly what they should have. No issues at all.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
Shame on me for mispelling Giorgi Bezhanishvili's name, lol.
I see a lot of digs against tonight's D.
I agree in the first half, there were still some lapses... and in previous games, no question... but to say it about tonight's game, IMHO, would be a mistake.
Illinois got bunnies while PSU had to hit 15-19 footers and tough shots, all night long. (And they did). The D largely did its job tonight. Pure "play", if PSU hits the % they should have, based on the difficulty of the shots, we win by 30.
so hats off to PSU for hitting a LOT of tough shots tonight.
D wasn't perfect, but believe it or not, it was a LOT better tonight.
I agree in the first half, there were still some lapses... and in previous games, no question... but to say it about tonight's game, IMHO, would be a mistake.
Illinois got bunnies while PSU had to hit 15-19 footers and tough shots, all night long. (And they did). The D largely did its job tonight. Pure "play", if PSU hits the % they should have, based on the difficulty of the shots, we win by 30.
so hats off to PSU for hitting a LOT of tough shots tonight.
D wasn't perfect, but believe it or not, it was a LOT better tonight.
Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
As many others have pointed out, the refs completely botched the call (took forever, to boot). Should've been a T on Ayo, simple call, end of story.
BIG officiating may be better than other leagues, but it's not been good.
Good win. PSU was an expected win, but didn't start off pretty but the guys toughed it out. Like how they brought a little more toughness to the boards and how we got second chance points, unlike our last game. I think this team teeters on overconfidence. We never think we are out of the fight which is good when we take the opponents first shots. Bad when we need to light a flame and get some urgency. It's like the 2005 team, without the same level of talent. Don't get me wrong, our guys are really good, but a team like the 2005 team could eventually wear down a opponent. This team isn't there yet and I don't know if we will get there by seasons end. They still need time to gel, which has been a trademark of BU teams...always slow to start but start coming together eventually. This will be for defense too. We had some rediculous lapses, but Trent was playing them as tough as you can without fouling and they just had better offense. I mean, you can only raise a glass to some of the shots they made. Anyways, good to see us take care of business but we need to win against recognized teams. They won't be as easy to put away as PSU was.
Be careful not to look at defense as raw # of points scored, because tempo plays into that a lot. A better metric to look at is points per possession, or the average # of points a team scores each time they have the ball. So far in a limited Big Ten sample size, teams are averaging 1.03 points per possession. Tonight, Illinois' defense allowed 1.13 points per possession, which was...not ideal but not among the bottom 5 worst defensive performance of the Big Ten season so far (that would be PSU's defensive performance tonight).
Through 3 conference games, Illinois is scoring 1.23 PPP )best in the league) and allowing 1.05 PPP (slightly below average). They were a lot better at not fouling overall tonight, but were still allowing too many easy looks on pick and rolls, which still need to be cleaned up.
Actually, now that Indiana played, each team in the B1G has played at least one game, so teams can be evaluated based on their efficiency in conference so far. So, based on net efficiency, here are the B1G standings after each team has played at least once:
Through 3 conference games, Illinois is scoring 1.23 PPP )best in the league) and allowing 1.05 PPP (slightly below average). They were a lot better at not fouling overall tonight, but were still allowing too many easy looks on pick and rolls, which still need to be cleaned up.
Actually, now that Indiana played, each team in the B1G has played at least one game, so teams can be evaluated based on their efficiency in conference so far. So, based on net efficiency, here are the B1G standings after each team has played at least once:
GallopingGhost
- Denver, CO
I know everyone is praising Curbelo, and rightfully so: he’s got a good niche in this team already. But I still think Adam Miller is gonna be our star in year 2-3. He has a very similar set to Ayo and can’t do much with it cause, well, Ayo. He can take good spot up threes and create some, but next year put the ball in his hands with one year games, practice, conditioning and strength training and he is gonna be scary.
Ubermensch
BOOM! Feed my ego.
Ayo is putting up crazy numbers.
As cliche as it sounds, I think at this point it's really a matter of the game slowing down for him. I still say I'd love to see him coming off the bench and developing a two man chemistry with Giorgi. He had a beautiful baseline drive +1 tonight and his shooting is pure as the driven snow. He'll definitely get there and the opportunities will come in droves next year.
That being said, Belo has a unique skillset out of all the point guards I've seen in 30+ years of watching the Illini. Not saying he's better than all of them (yet) but unique.
Reading this chart you might think Iowa actually knows how to play D... not buying it
The defense wasn’t great at times but man Penn St. made a ton on tough shots. Any word on Hutcherson, we could use another shooter off the bench.
It was this sort of play that made such a difference in this game over games that they lost. Grandison did it more than once. This clip (where it starts) actually has Grandison being active on 2 plays.
altenberger22
- South Carolina
Agree. Adam will be our #1 scorer, probably over each of the next two years. Curbelo will improve immensely each year, too. They should be our top two guys from the current roster. Just hope we get another high-quality big guy in the paint and a couple of Shooting Forwards who can relieve some of the scoring burden off Miller's shoulders.
altenberger22
- South Carolina
With Grandison re-emerging, our rotation is starting to take shape. I like it so much more when we have good balance. Ayo and Kofi need to score every game, peppered with 2-3 different contributors each game from the remainder of the roster. ALSO, I don't like the ball in Ayo's hands 100% of the time --- (i.e. like down the stretch vs. Mizzou and Rutgers). I like it best when everybody touches the ball in a possession. Rutgers was the epitome of this in the 2nd half of their 91-88 victory.
I'm still comfortable with our current starters, with both Curbelo and Giorgi dependably off the bench early. Grandison is providing some outstanding minutes as our 8th man, and can absolutely handle more PT, as required. He's surprisingly strong on the boards. Hawkins will ultimately be a really big contributor (beginning next season) and is a serviceable 9th man.
I'm still comfortable with our current starters, with both Curbelo and Giorgi dependably off the bench early. Grandison is providing some outstanding minutes as our 8th man, and can absolutely handle more PT, as required. He's surprisingly strong on the boards. Hawkins will ultimately be a really big contributor (beginning next season) and is a serviceable 9th man.
One of my favorite play was Ayo dribbling towards basket and bringing defenders to him then passing to Trent for a 3. Said before that Ayo needs to dribble for teammates, especially Trent.
This will make the team better and the offense more diverse.
This will make the team better and the offense more diverse.
Good win. PSU was an expected win, but didn't start off pretty but the guys toughed it out. Like how they brought a little more toughness to the boards and how we got second chance points, unlike our last game. I think this team teeters on overconfidence. We never think we are out of the fight which is good when we take the opponents first shots. Bad when we need to light a flame and get some urgency. It's like the 2005 team, without the same level of talent. Don't get me wrong, our guys are really good, but a team like the 2005 team could eventually wear down a opponent. This team isn't there yet and I don't know if we will get there by seasons end. They still need time to gel, which has been a trademark of BU teams...always slow to start but start coming together eventually. This will be for defense too. We had some rediculous lapses, but Trent was playing them as tough as you can without fouling and they just had better offense. I mean, you can only raise a glass to some of the shots they made. Anyways, good to see us take care of business but we need to win against recognized teams. They won't be as easy to put away as PSU was.
What was our OPPP last year?
It seemed like PSU made a lot of tough shots but then it also seemed like that with Rutgers. Think part of it is the difference in Belo’s defense vs Dre’s defense.
Only stat that is greatly reduced is Miller/Belo rebounding vs Dre/Griffin rebounding (5.2/9.5).
Offensive stats have been replaced nicely by newcomers.
Would like to see some variation in defensive schemes as teams seem well prepared for us. We were not middle of the pack defensively last year and not going to win conference with those nos.
It will be a very interesting how the BT season will shake out. The comeback was a thing of beauty. Beat IU and it will be a good weekend. I think one reason for slow start could be the difference of what the COVID protocol does to visiting teams.
There are people on this site who have to criticize this team. Penn State shot extremely well and made several contested shots. Give them some credit.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
I see a lot of similarities between Adam and what Aaron Henry from MSU went through his first year....I can't remember if Henry was a starter but you could see his talent....Both left handed , quick first step, etc....Henry struggled to adapt to the faster pace, better players in the college game...
Adam is further along , IMHO, than Henry was as freshman, and see where Henry is now....I think we can expect Adam to be there or higher in evolution when he gets experience and the game slows down for him....He really needs to follow the Ayo timeline and stay 3 years to enhance his draft position...
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Dosunmu scores 30 points, lifts Illinois to victory
Fighting Illini overcome 15-point deficit to win 98-81 at Penn State.
“Pretty good to have that on your side,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “It’s not going to be there every night. Ayo is a really good player. I keep saying it and I’ll keep saying it all year: He’s the best guard in the country. He scores it in a lot of ways. . . . He’s rebounding it better than he ever has, he’s guarding better than he ever has. When we get Ayo locked in at the defensive end, he might be as good as I’ve coached.”
Underwood longs for his team to dive on the floor or come up with 50-50 balls, and Grandison embodied that against Penn State.
“We came back from Rutgers and coach was pretty much just preaching to us about the effort plays and how the game rewards effort,” Grandison said. “He kind of called me out. He said, ‘If you want to play, do these things.’ He showed film of guys diving on the ball and what not. I just kind of buckled down and ate what he told me. I tried to come out, give everything I got and I did — I’m tired now.”
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I didn't see a soft Illini team last night.....hope the toughness and grit improves as the season grinds on...