Pregame: Illinois vs Iowa State, Thursday, March 28th, 9:09pm CT, TBS

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#878      

altgeld88

altgeld88
Arlington, Virginia
altgeld88
#880      

Chad Fleck

Chad Fleck
Eureka, IL
Chad Fleck
Flyin' Illini said:
March 28 2024 - Biggest sports day since ____________.

For me, I can't think of a more exciting sports day since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. The Illini in the Sweet 16 and also MLB/Cubs Opening Day. That is hard to top!
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Only topped by it being Cardinals opening day!

st. louis cardinals GIF by MLB
 
#882      

Second place is 1st loser

S
Second place is 1st loser
Flyin' Illini said:
March 28 2024 - Biggest sports day since ____________.

For me, I can't think of a more exciting sports day since Game 7 of the 2016 World Series. The Illini in the Sweet 16 and also MLB/Cubs Opening Day. That is hard to top!
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The Big Ten Championship game two weeks ago.

This is a big game, but it's not the be all, end all. If we were to win tomorrow and be in a regional championship game on Saturday.... that would be a whole different vibe.

Getting OVERLY amped up for a Sweet 16 game really tells us what we've been through over the past 19 years.
 
#883      

FlotownIllini

FlotownIllini
FlotownIllini
I've heard/seen it said many times, in various ways and by various people, that defense is largely about effort, focus, intensity, etc. In that regard, I think it's more possible to "turn it up" on D than it is on offense. In other words, I don't think that it's as possible to "effort" your way to a great offensive game as much as it is to "effort" your way to a great defensive game.

That being the case, I just have a feeling that the Illini are capable of better than they've shown, on average, when it comes to defense. We've seen glimpses of it, of late.

I feel more confident in this team and its level of composure and maturity than any team since '05. I am expecting them to come out absolutely locked in and ready to give that 110% effort that is needed to play a transcendent level of basketball...the kind that wins huge games like this, on the biggest of stages. I think this team, at long last, has the hunger and the drive and the connectedness to meet a moment this big.

Less than 24 hours now and I CANNOT wait!

I-friggin'-L-friggin'-L!
 
#885      

derrick6

D
Illini Dawg
Seattle
derrick6
Pikeillinifan said:
Most of us, myself included, have been blocking this out (IMHO).

The question is, are we peaking now, or will we revert back to those droughts/games if we get punched in the face?

I can't wait to find out!
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I think it’s more than peaking. We are different.

The games we lapsed in scoring did not feature Dain much at all. We now have that option with his improved defense.

The last couple games showed way better help defense from everyone, especially Coleman, Dain and Goode.

Our free throw shooting has been way improved from the early part of the season, and as late as Coleman missing two critical ones in the Penn State loss.

Finally, have you noticed our assists?

Now, imagine Guerrier and Ty showing up for most of the game. I’m sure the focus is on having those two locked in.

We are a very different team pre-B1G tournament and have 5 games of experience being different. That’s a lot to unravel to become that team with those collapses. We have become more adaptable to the situation at hand.

Well, that’s how I’m viewing this team and tomorrow.
 
#886      

derrick6

D
Illini Dawg
Seattle
derrick6
illini0440 said:
Illinois vs. Iowa State

Matchups: The 3 of Gilbert, Lipsey and Momcilovic will be guarded by TJ, Ty, or Domask. If Dain is in with Coleman then you could see Coleman on Momcilovic. Quincy on Tre King(Thrives on getting loose balls).

They play their best defense(in terms of steals) in ball screen actions(luckily we don't run a ton).
Avoid over dribbling into the help.
We have to avoid throwing it into the corner on BLOBS and if they full court us.
They will detach from shooters randomly...there is no rhyme or reason to how they defend really in terms of normal principles. We have to reverse it and you will see skip passes from us.
When Marcus gets in on the wing or elbow they will send the low man on a double(full reversals will be key here)
Get out and run!!! In transition and after makes! Again don't attack the help though, find the weak spot.
We can't detach from Ward he loves OREB and putbacks.
They crash the offensive boards HARD. Rebound like we can and we will be alright and win the 50-50 balls!

Nothing earth shattering but this is some of what Brad will tell the guys.
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This is great!

Can’t wait to see how we handle their traps and doubles on Domask. Seems like opportunities for some back door cuts rather than waiting at the 3. Hope we don’t stand around watching!
 
#887      

TriangleIL

T
TriangleIL
It's been a long drought to be sure. I'm way more giddy for a S16 game than I should be. This is how I felt in 2005 for the E8 game. Hopefully this becomes our new normal again and I'll be disappointed if we aren't in the S16 year in and year out.
 
#891      

the national

the national
the Front Range
the national
CyTarmac said:
This! No lies though, I grew up a Hawk fan. I was a freshman at Iowa State when BJ Armstrong, Roy Marble, Ed Horton, Kevin Gamble were playing. I rooted for that team, but then fell in love with Hilton Coliseum. Some of the Big 8 matchups with Kansas and Oklahoma State, Missouri were just awesome. The Johnny Orr days were really fun as a Cyclone! Can't stand the Hawks at all these days...
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I had forgotten about Kevin Gamble. He graduated from Lanphier high school in Springfield. How did he end up a Hawkeye?
 
#892      

IlliniFaninHoosierLand

IlliniFaninHoosierLand
IlliniFaninHoosierLand
the national said:
I had forgotten about Kevin Gamble. He graduated from Lanphier high school in Springfield. How did he end up a Hawkeye?
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I asked a question similar to this about him and Ed Horton and how they ended up in Iowa City about 4 years ago, right when covid first hit. A couple posters on here explained it like this. At the time, they only had 2 scholarships available and Lou was targeting Lowell Hamilton and Benji Wilson. Hamilton had signed with Illinois about a week before Benji was shot and killed. Horton was told they wanted to have him redshirt and he refused. At the time, it looked like he was going to end up at Purdue but when Gamble signed with Iowa as a juco player coming from Lincoln College, Horton followed him to Iowa City. Pretty strong recruiting class for Iowa that year when you consider they had those two, B.J. Armstrong, Roy Marble, and Les Jepsen.
 
#894      

CyTarmac

C
CyTarmac
the national said:
I had forgotten about Kevin Gamble. He graduated from Lanphier high school in Springfield. How did he end up a Hawkeye?
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Not sure how he ended up in Iowa City. George Raveling recruited most of that squad, but Tom Davis capitalized on the talent in their elite 8 run. They had the Runnin’ Reb team down 17 at half and blew it. But Gamble was the least heralded member of that group but he was a great college player.
 
#897      

RockfordIllini

R
RockfordIllini
I’ve decided the 2 key numbers for this game are 15 and 30.

We need to keep under 15 turnovers. That’s a lot, but they turn teams over a lot. 15 is manageable and hopefully most of them are of the dead ball variety. Under 15 turnovers should limit easy baskets for them and keep our shots about equal. We have the more efficient offense so if we shoot the same number of shots we likely win.

We need to shoot over 30% from 3. They are in the 350s as far as % of total shots from the 3 point line they allow. Those shots will be there and we will need to knock them down. 30% or more would be about 1 point for every shot taken. Not sure their offense can match that level of efficiency.

Under 15 and over 30 and I like our chances.
 
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