They were more physical yet it was us getting loose ball rebound fouls time and time again
There was one late where two of our guys got pushed in the back and the foul was on us lol
Michigan State 85, Illinois 82 OT Postgame
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There was one late where two of our guys got pushed in the back and the foul was on us lol
Yep, KW caught a good shot to the face, hope he can recover quickly from that.
Everyone else seemed to come out fairly healthy
He's clearly PO'D like most, but his frustration lead to a terrible way of pointing out issues.
We lost this game because we got pounded on the boards, were 10/36 from three(a lot of wide open looks), our "go to guy" posted a 2/16 and we got outscored 22-0 in transition points.
Some of the questionable calls came at bad time, but ultimately, we took more free throws than they did.
We played hard and our guys left it out there in the floor. That guy is frustrated, but calling the effort into question is totally misguided.
We need Boswell back ASAP.
We lost this game because we got pounded on the boards, were 10/36 from three(a lot of wide open looks), our "go to guy" posted a 2/16 and we got outscored 22-0 in transition points.
Some of the questionable calls came at bad time, but ultimately, we took more free throws than they did.
We played hard and our guys left it out there in the floor. That guy is frustrated, but calling the effort into question is totally misguided.
We need Boswell back ASAP.
Noblesville Illini
- Nappanee, IN
It was basically a tie
The refs would have just fouled him out.
MSU will only stay at 10. We fall back to 8 
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Boswell would have been helpful tonight. That Wagler kid clearly needs another year or two in the orange and blue. (Just a joke)
I feel today is the first time he looked like AS with his drives. The team and KW will learn from this.
Where was the "outhustle"? Purely subjective. Fast break points are not an indication of hustle when we're playing a deliberate offensive game. Loose balls? How many loose balls did they get compared to us? 50-50 at most. MSU was not the tougher team.
A lot of emotion clouding rationale analysis. Let us “blow out the lines” on here lol.
My honest feeling is that we just missed too many open 3’s and despite all the other shortcomings, we should’ve won by 10 points easily. We won’t play that poorly against MSU if we see them in the B1G tourney, which I hope we do. I hate those guys.
My honest feeling is that we just missed too many open 3’s and despite all the other shortcomings, we should’ve won by 10 points easily. We won’t play that poorly against MSU if we see them in the B1G tourney, which I hope we do. I hate those guys.
Off game for KW, but his 3 at the end of regulation was just an inch off winning it for us.
I told my dad I think this loss will be basically meaningless for seeding purposes after all is said and done. We were playing with house money. And the house did not like that.
I agree. Illinois played with the lead most of the game but never really had a chance for a kill shot bc MSU was so fast coming back at us the other way.
It was really a contrast of styles and they beat us playing their game. They won it in transition. 22-0 is hard to overcome. It’s hard to execute half court sets over and over again. I think IL only turning it over 4 times was the reason it was even close. I do think out half court defense was very good. We dorked their guys, sat 3 in the paint most of the night, but Fears still made it work.
The key play of the game to me was IL was up 3, and Fears blows thru the defense for an easy layup. Just too many lapses like that against a team that has very little offensive talent at all.
I think Illinois had better basketball players. But MSU outscrapped us.
It was really a contrast of styles and they beat us playing their game. They won it in transition. 22-0 is hard to overcome. It’s hard to execute half court sets over and over again. I think IL only turning it over 4 times was the reason it was even close. I do think out half court defense was very good. We dorked their guys, sat 3 in the paint most of the night, but Fears still made it work.
The key play of the game to me was IL was up 3, and Fears blows thru the defense for an easy layup. Just too many lapses like that against a team that has very little offensive talent at all.
I think Illinois had better basketball players. But MSU outscrapped us.
The confidence issue with Keaton has to be real. Going 2 of 16 will rattle anyone, especially a kid. Unfortunately, what comes with stardom is increased attention and criticism.
It would be really nice for Boswell to come back and take some heat off.
It would be really nice for Boswell to come back and take some heat off.
Externally? Yes. Internally with staff and this team? I am sure they'll remember this.
blackdog
- Champaign
Just pointing out that Illinois also had 15 offensive rebounds same as MSU. Lower overall rebound rate though. Only 4 turnovers when they were playing a lot of pressure is really good. We wont see many teams as athletic and physical as MSU and they use their athleticism well to make up for the fact that they are incredibly unskilled for a D1 basketball team.
Keaton was definitely struggling to handle the physicality of their defense and got out of sorts. His next evolution as a player is going to come not from taking what the defense gives but making the defense do what he wants them to do but he's not there yet.
End of the day Illinois had the looks like they needed in the 2nd half but couldn't knock them down.
Keaton was definitely struggling to handle the physicality of their defense and got out of sorts. His next evolution as a player is going to come not from taking what the defense gives but making the defense do what he wants them to do but he's not there yet.
End of the day Illinois had the looks like they needed in the 2nd half but couldn't knock them down.
We didn't lose confidence after Nb loss. Beat the Badgers.
Don’t you know any team that loses is automatically out hustled, out toughed etc.
Pretty much since I've been following Illinois basketball (which is what, some 28 years) Michigan State has recruited and been known for tough rebounders. It's always their strong suit. They aren't necessarily bigger. They just are elite at boxing out and getting position. We were often late to position tonight and fighting from behind.
This happened more frequently later because we were gassed. For the first time, we were affected by a lack of depth.
As far as glaring issues...
Z missing two alley oop dunks is not good. One of them was maybe not his fault as the ball got there earlier than he was ready but he could have reset and gotten a layup anyhow. Jake missed a wide open three which was followed up by a three on the other end. Any of those plays make a difference.
In the end, Keaton pressed just a bit. He didn't need to tonight. Not with Mirk proving himself as a capable backup point. I mean he didn't need to prove himself even. Mirk was a point guard before growing too 6'8". He has the skills already.
I'll get flame for this, but Fears is an incredibly talented player when he isn't playing dirty. And I've lost a ton of respect for Izzo for not punishing him at all. At the very least, he didn't have to imply that Fears did something wrong only to back off his words. I honestly think the conference should step in.
I think this game goes differently if we have Kylan to lock up Fears.
Beyond this, I am not concerned at all. We missed some open looks. Sometimes that's how it goes. We fought hard to the end. I must say I don't understand why we let twenty seconds go down under a minute to go in OT in a two possession game. That was the one bonehead play I thought we made all night.
This happened more frequently later because we were gassed. For the first time, we were affected by a lack of depth.
As far as glaring issues...
Z missing two alley oop dunks is not good. One of them was maybe not his fault as the ball got there earlier than he was ready but he could have reset and gotten a layup anyhow. Jake missed a wide open three which was followed up by a three on the other end. Any of those plays make a difference.
In the end, Keaton pressed just a bit. He didn't need to tonight. Not with Mirk proving himself as a capable backup point. I mean he didn't need to prove himself even. Mirk was a point guard before growing too 6'8". He has the skills already.
I'll get flame for this, but Fears is an incredibly talented player when he isn't playing dirty. And I've lost a ton of respect for Izzo for not punishing him at all. At the very least, he didn't have to imply that Fears did something wrong only to back off his words. I honestly think the conference should step in.
I think this game goes differently if we have Kylan to lock up Fears.
Beyond this, I am not concerned at all. We missed some open looks. Sometimes that's how it goes. We fought hard to the end. I must say I don't understand why we let twenty seconds go down under a minute to go in OT in a two possession game. That was the one bonehead play I thought we made all night.
I would have like to see us double Fears on the high ball pick. Make him give it up. None of those other stiffs can create a shot on their own. Gosh I hope we play these guys again in the big tourney
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