Pregame: Illinois vs Texas, Tuesday, December 6th, 6:00pm CT, ESPN

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#31      

LvilleILL

LvilleILL
LvilleILL
Jason Sudeikis Good Luck GIF by Apple TV+

ILL. Let's get our big win on the big stage.
 
#32      

thehass

T
thehass
Interesting similarity between the 4 football losses and the 2 bball losses is that all were winnable yet we did not win them.
 
#33      

hoopsfan47

H
hoopsfan47
altgeld88 said:
I have no worries. This winter is going to be a great ride. I see us utterly destroying Miznoz on the 22nd.
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After reading this statement, and living in Missouri, I had to look up Mizzou's season results to date. They are 8-0 and have not been tested except by Wichita State. Other than that, they have feasted on competition from mostly bottom feeders. But they can score. Isiah Mosely, a star at Missouri State and a Columbia native, was a two-time MVC 1st team and led the team in scoring for 2 years, going for 40+ a few times......and he comes off the bench for Mizzou and is averaging 10.5 per game.

Bottom line is that I see Mizzou, with a rotation of 8 guys scoring 92 per game, as a dangerous team who will be highly motivated and capable....and playing on a neutral floor with half the seats filled with black and gold clad fanatics. We know how much energy they bring to this game. I will take a solid Illini win but don't expect any destruction to get done.
 
#35      

Spokane Illini

Spokane Illini
Spokane Illini
After watching Texas destroy Gonzaga and dominate Creighton for most of the game, this will be the toughest half court defense we have faced. Ball pressure on the guards will be intense. On the other hand, Illinois will be the toughest defense that Texas has faced. The turnover battle will most likely determine the winner.
 
#36      

Godard

Godard
Godard
thehass said:
Interesting similarity between the 4 football losses and the 2 bball losses is that all were winnable yet we did not win them.
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Really good parallel. We failed to close out all of those games and let them slip away. I think that flaw will be overcome as this team starts to gel as a cohesive unit.
 
#38      

danielb927

danielb927
Orange Krush Class of 2013
Rochester, MN
danielb927
One thing I noticed - we have a few inches on them at almost every position. It'll be interesting to see how much our length bothers them vs. how much their quickness (I assume) bothers us.
 
#40      

altgeld88

altgeld88
Arlington, Virginia
altgeld88
hoopsfan47 said:
After reading this statement, and living in Missouri, I had to look up Mizzou's season results to date. They are 8-0 and have not been tested except by Wichita State. Other than that, they have feasted on competition from mostly bottom feeders. But they can score. Isiah Mosely, a star at Missouri State and a Columbia native, was a two-time MVC 1st team and led the team in scoring for 2 years, going for 40+ a few times......and he comes off the bench for Mizzou and is averaging 10.5 per game.

Bottom line is that I see Mizzou, with a rotation of 8 guys scoring 92 per game, as a dangerous team who will be highly motivated and capable....and playing on a neutral floor with half the seats filled with black and gold clad fanatics. We know how much energy they bring to this game. I will take a solid Illini win but don't expect any destruction to get done.
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Agreed with their record and competition. I see them as a team that, were they playing another squad of our stature, would give us a fairly close game. But the nature of the rivalry and that, in recent seasons, the Illini players "get" how important it is lead me to believe that the boys will bring their A game and Miznoz won't withstand it. I recall seasons when both teams were Top 20 and the Illini won by 15. That isn't this year. Miznoz has been hovering around 50 on Torvik.

However, I'll allow that this game is often a wild card, that the motivation works both ways, and that I haven't seen them play and have no idea how they match up with us.
 
#41      

Roundball Sage

R
Roundball Sage
FeelYourPaign said:
I do hope that Texas wears white. I don't like that stuff they call orange at all.
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Texas is a place that lives and breathes FOOT-ball. They play the roundball game because it is expected of them to do so but their hearts are out there on the big wide green field inside the stadium walls.

The State of Texas has great ball talent, no question. But they play in a State that lacks true passion for game such as the Prairie State does.

Their University does snag some great talent from various locales... if anyone in Texas cares to notice.

What does this all mean when it comes to The True Orange against The Burnt Orange?

This game is being played in a roundball Mecca known as New York City. Where They also live and breathe... great ball.

The players will love playing on these hallowed grounds. The court will be packed with talent on the floor and on both benches.

ESPN will be carrying this game to all corners of the Globe. The Planet will avert their eyes from the smaller-size ball being kicked around in Qatar to the bigger-sized ball being bounced and making sweet music in the Big City.

And win or lose... when it’s all over... Texas will still love football more and Illinois will still be the true basketball heart and Mecca of the Planet.

And Our shade of Orange will still look better than Their shade.
 
#44      

hoopsfan47

H
hoopsfan47
altgeld88 said:
Agreed with their record and competition. I see them as a team that, were they playing another squad of our stature, would give us a fairly close game. But the nature of the rivalry and that, in recent seasons, the Illini players "get" how important it is lead me to believe that the boys will bring their A game and Miznoz won't withstand it. I recall seasons when both teams were Top 20 and the Illini won by 15. That isn't this year. Miznoz has been hovering around 50 on Torvik.

However, I'll allow that this game is often a wild card, that the motivation works both ways, and that I haven't seen them play and have no idea how they match up with us.
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Seems no one knows that to think of this game...but all Illini fans would love to see a beat-down...as always. It definitely is a wild card this year and one would expect an Illini win. But how many times have the expectations of this game come true? It is definitely a top event on the schedule most years, and in view of the history and resources of the two programs, the Illini should have the upper hand...but who knows with 20 yr. old kids?
 
#45      

hoopsfan47

H
hoopsfan47
danielb927 said:
One thing I noticed - we have a few inches on them at almost every position. It'll be interesting to see how much our length bothers them vs. how much their quickness (I assume) bothers us.
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Good info Daniel. Did not expect that. Maybe it will be a positive for Illini. We will know soon.
 
#46      

Manual3for4peat

M
Manual3for4peat
Monticello said:
I didn't really feel Epps had that bad of a game. He got caught early doing what everyone does and it disrupted any possibility of him getting into a flow. If he gets one less foul, he probably plays his usual game, and we're talking about Epps being a hero. But that's not the way the zebra Gods worked.

I don't like losing, but I didn't feel it was a bad loss either. We saw CoHawk step up again, TSJ was welcomed to the B1G and didn't back down, and we played down a number of guys for whatever reasons (Harris, Mayer, Epps, Goode).

I remember some of the insiders talking about Rodgers running the point and being our best freshman during the preseason, but I see he only played 9 minutes last night. Was that all hype? He's a stud, no doubt, but is there a bigger learning curve than expected?

And Maryland's press seems to be much more effective than whatever we are attempting to run.
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Rodgers is the only freshman with a tougher road to playing time. We have this All American in front of him. He will be fine.
 
#47      

altgeld88

altgeld88
Arlington, Virginia
altgeld88
hoopsfan47 said:
Seems no one knows that to think of this game...but all Illini fans would love to see a beat-down...as always. It definitely is a wild card this year and one would expect an Illini win. But how many times have the expectations of this game come true? It is definitely a top event on the schedule most years, and in view of the history and resources of the two programs, the Illini should have the upper hand...but who knows with 20 yr. old kids?
Click to expand...
You're right. It has often proved surprising (sometimes to our chagrin.) That's part of what makes it fun, I suppose. Like any rivalry, it's most fun when our opponent is strong and we prevail anyway.
 
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