Michigan State 85, Illinois 82 OT Postgame

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#551      
AirTran
Typical make victims of those that are actually at fault.
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This is Illinois board correct? We are famous for our complaining when we lose. Actually thought Steve Smith was good last night.
 
#552      
AirTran
A few random thoughts:
--Fears is really good...and really dirty. Both can be true. The trip on Mirk was not only intentional, it is one of his go-to moves. Until the B1G steps in, it will continue.
--When the Patriots upset the Rams in 2002, the way they stopped the Rams' offense was to grab Faulk every time he tried to go out of the backfield to run a pass route. The officials called it a couple times, but swallowed their flags another 20 or so times. The Patriots knew that the officials would not turn the Super Bowl into a flag fest. What MSU did on defense last night followed the same strategy on a basketball court. Wagler got hit on virtually every drive. They called a few, but looked the other way on many more. Fears got a much more favorable whistle against a team that is coached not to foul. The fact that the number of fouls called was pretty even is really misleading when one compares the level of contact.
--This the game where Boswell was missed the most. He will elevate this team when he returns and gets the rust off.
--Disappointed that a big opportunity playing with house money got away in the final minute...but this game may have prepared the Illini for a deep tourney run more than any other game. Wagler was off his normal game. Shots didn't fall. Very physical game. The refs played an outsized role in the outcome. Hostile crowd. Against a team that, while not as talented as the Illini, physically matched up with them about as well as any team. Yet they hung in until the end.
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How do you know the trip was intentional? Were you at the game? and how could three of the B1G best officials get it wrong? Did you listen to both coaches comments after the game about the trip? Neither of them had anything material to say about it. Brad was pretty complimentary of Fears. But you are right about one thing, If Boswell plays, Fears doesn't dribble to the basket for the entire second half.
 
#553      
HensonHall71
Deep said:
I also need to get this off my chest.
I'm tired of Brad kissing Izzo's behind.
If I was him I would be pissed at what Fears did to Mirk.

Kudos to Dusty May for calling Fears and Izzo out.
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I hear you- I listened to the postgame hoping Brad would go fire and brimstone on Fears’ foul bating/ Izzo coddling him and why our stars foulest get a call when they drove and got hacked and Fears got a call literally every possession in OT

But after calming down - I think Brad and Mirk/Andrej in their postgame comments were right in taking the high road and moving on- we are clearly the better team, they should not waste an ounce of emotional energy on a flopping/dirty player like Fears- simply forget it and move on- we have bigger goals. Dusty May whining/calling out Fears just pulls his team into that MSU circus

It’s hard to do after the emotion of the game but ultimately the right decision to flush it from the players minds
 
#555      
bleedsorangenblue
Reading all this, there is not much more to add. Wagler had a tough game, but I think it was as much due to MSU's game plan on him than anything going on with him. He was doubled and mugged all night. The other guys all played pretty well but could see fatigue taking a toll on the shooting in the second half. Lots of good looks but we just weren't making them. Officiating aside, we had our chances to win this and just couldn't put it away. Couldn't outrebound MSU and couldn't stop their drives/fast breaks. Really our best hope was to outscore them, and we just couldn't get it done. Kudos for being in this to the end, given all the adversity at Breslin. Tough place to win at but we gave it a good shot. Doesn't hurt us much at all but it sure would have been a heck of a win to get. Need to take care of business and put a big bullseye on MI.
 
#557      
CleverHandle1
Second place is 1st loser said:
Here's another reality that people got WAY out of hand in projecting how the season would play out.

This absolute nonsense that we were going to run the table and win the conference by going 19-1, winning 20 in a row(or whatever it would have been) is absolute nonsense and ridiculous. Teams have tough nights, players had tough nights, it's really hard to win in the road, etc. That's life in ANY sport.

Heck, look at Michigan at home vs Wisconsin. Look what almost happened to Purdue yesterday.

There's a good chance that we might end up with another clunker, ESPECIALLY on the West Coast. That UCLA game is going to be no joke. They're getting back to the team that the preseason polls thought they'd be. UConn just went through the same experience with St. John's. They're back to playing to expectations and got a W.

We are down a senior PG, are relying in a true freshman and went 2-1 during a stretch where we played 3 top 10 teams, on the road, in three consecutive weekends.

20-4, 11-2... Keep the train rolling and RELAX.
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They really need to hold the home court next two games. Get through those, I am confident they win both games on the West Coast.

As we all know, though, one game at a time.
 
#560      
derrick6
Very late post here. I watched the game live in a bar with no sound and nobody interested in the game except me on a small tv. I couldn’t really tell what was happening other than by sight.

I subsequently rewatched it on replay.

Two words: Kylan Boswell.

That’s it.
 
#561      
NASchamp
MadtownIllin said:
Did anyone else notice that almost every time their bigs rolled down to seal our bigs for Fears'drives, they would wrap their arms around the backs of our guys to hold them? Never called...
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Same with the moving screens they set near the top of the key for Fears. The announcers kept praising those and they were clearly moving and holding us.
 
#562      
Battle89
illini510 said:
No shame in losing on the road to MSU. I didn't necessarily expect a win but it was a closely contested game throughout and I think this team has proven it can deal with hostile road environments very well. It will serve them well in March.

Couple of items:
A. Wagler played terrible from an offensive standpoint and he still comes away with 16 pts. That's just a sign of someone who still finds a way to get points even when his shot isn't going. Good job though on that last three and the steal to give a shot for tying the game in OT.

B. Who was sick to their stomach listening to Jason Benetti make Fears a sympathetic figure....going on his redemption tour? Redemption tour of what? He's a goon, he's a dirty player, and he proved it again on the "intentional" trip. Fears took the game over in the 2nd half and that's great for him but he's still a dirty player and that is his current reputation until he proves otherwise by not doing acts like that for the rest of the season
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It’s the standard nowadays unfortunately. Everyone gets a trophy and hero status for simply not kicking someone in the nuts one game.
 
#563      
Jimbo
This game stings a little, not because i think it ends our ability to hit our season goals, but because MSU plays such a low brand of basketball. I appreciate the tough defense and aggressive rebounding, but the extracurricular just to muck things up is tiresome to watch. But in the end this might be a good game for our team to experience. We could face a similar opponent in the dance.
 
#564      
kyillinifan
When Keaton drove inside they collapsed on him I wonder how many times he was fouled and not called. I kept thinking drive and kick it out to an open player. Keaton will be back.
 
#565      
blackdog
NASchamp said:
Same with the moving screens they set near the top of the key for Fears. The announcers kept praising those and they were clearly moving and holding us.
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The worst was one they showed a replay of Fears taking a midrange jumper and Cooper was sliding like an offensive tackle blocking Andrej. A lot of times they let bigs get away with it if they are rolling to the basket but he was squared up Andrej the entire time....
 
#566      
Kernal12
HensonHall71 said:
I hear you- I listened to the postgame hoping Brad would go fire and brimstone on Fears’ foul bating/ Izzo coddling him and why our stars foulest get a call when they drove and got hacked and Fears got a call literally every possession in OT

But after calming down - I think Brad and Mirk/Andrej in their postgame comments were right in taking the high road and moving on- we are clearly the better team, they should not waste an ounce of emotional energy on a flopping/dirty player like Fears- simply forget it and move on- we have bigger goals. Dusty May whining/calling out Fears just pulls his team into that MSU circus

It’s hard to do after the emotion of the game but ultimately the right decision to flush it from the players minds
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I get the sense Brad realizes it isn't wise to question refs (especially High Knees) publicly or else it's only going to be worse in future games. Last year when we were screwed in Breslin I recall Brad biting his lip and saying that something like "well Jeffery Anderson is one of the best officials in the country so they must have been good calls..." In the press conference last night you could tell he was suppressing his true feelings, going with the "they didn't call it so it must not have been a foul."

Brad does like and respect Izzo, and recruited Fears, so he's not going to rag on them publicly or privately.
 
#568      
Se Il Illini
PleaseMakeABowlGame said:
Guys, I get the frustration, but was anything really that surprising? Before the game if anyone told me we’d lose with subpar officiating, I would not call them crazy one bit.

I think every one of us knew the zebras weren’t going to be in our favor. It’s what you face going to Breslin, at least for as long as Izzo’s there.
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I have been watching Illinois basketball for over 5 decades. This was a pretty typical road game experience. That is the way it has been. As one poster mentioned, that is why road game wins are so sweet.
 
#569      
Dee_4_Three_83
Deep said:
I also need to get this off my chest.
I'm tired of Brad kissing Izzo's behind.
If I was him I would be pissed at what Fears did to Mirk.

Kudos to Dusty May for calling Fears and Izzo out.
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I understand and I am tired of that as well. But, considering Brad's stature in the league, I think he wants to be the next ambassador of the B1G Conference once Izzo retires. I am sure he is privately very pissed about the whole thing. I also think that this would be a different situation if this were a tournament game.
 
#570      
Navy_illini
Deep said:
I also need to get this off my chest.
I'm tired of Brad kissing Izzo's behind.
If I was him I would be pissed at what Fears did to Mirk.

Kudos to Dusty May for calling Fears and Izzo out.
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Brad did call out Izzo. He challenged the play. He can complain about it like an all day long like us. However the refs watched the replay and determined incidental

I thought his kick in the Minnesota game was worse and the Big Ten should have told Izzo don’t worry about benching him he is suspended x games. If the Big Ten doesn’t see a pattern of misconduct then a coach complaining post game looks like whining

It doesn’t matter if we see events differently
 
#571      
OrangeBlue98
Kernal12 said:
I get the sense Brad realizes it isn't wise to question refs (especially High Knees) publicly or else it's only going to be worse in future games. Last year when we were screwed in Breslin I recall Brad biting his lip and saying that something like "well Jeffery Anderson is one of the best officials in the country so they must have been good calls..." In the press conference last night you could tell he was suppressing his true feelings, going with the "they didn't call it so it must not have been a foul."

Brad does like and respect Izzo, and recruited Fears, so he's not going to rag on them publicly or privately.
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Plus, coaches are subject to fines and suspensions if they publicly criticize officiating after the game. The last thing we need is Underwood suspended for a game.

He knows the officiating was bad last night. We know it was bad. The rest of the college basketball world outside of MSU fans knows it was bad. Unfortunately, criticizing officials is met with automatic punishment. It would be cool if any of us could be in a position where we are immune from criticism and punishment, but being an official at that level pretty much gives you immunity.
 
#572      
Se Il Illini
Roundball Sage said:
Last night’s game was an old-style Big Ten brawl where a football game broke out on the basketball floor. On that level, it was fun and entertaining.

From a basketball fundamentals point-of-view, the Illini lost this game for two main reasons. First, Wagler was having a rare off-night. No shame in that – it happens to everyone. But the problem was he kept forcing his game time and again when it just wasn’t there. Ill-advised drives into traffic and rushed and poor shot selection. That caused numerous failed possessions with no Illini points.

But the main reason the Illini lost was their horrendous interior defense. They let Fears Jr. drive to the hole all game long with ease – and Fears had his way with the Illini. The Illini are supposed to have size and length – where was that in protecting the paint? It was completely absent. That’s the main reason the Illini lost. And even with that terrible interior defense the Illini almost pulled it off to steal one after such a poor defensive performance.

Come Tournament time the Illini cannot afford this kind of effort. Refs are going to be refs. You can't control that. But you can control how (and IF) you play defense and how you're going to best use your offensive possessions. If they allow this to happen again (and you can bet the video of this will be viewed repeatedly by Illini opponents)... it will be a too-early exit for an Illini team that should be capable of Final Four status.

It could have been a glorious night. Instead... that Michigan State Green just turned us all Blue in the face and sick to our stomach...
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Say what you want to say about the Spartans, I thought they had a good defensive game plan for Wagler. And even with his rare off night and Boswell's injury, Illinois had every opportunity to come home with a W.
 
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#573      
rjeffreys
Deep said:
Benneti and Smith were terrible last night.
Worst listen of the year
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Couldn't get varsity app to pause on my android as audio was ahead of stream.

So I booted up windows laptop and could synch audio to tv. Much better experience.

Now my goto.
 
#574      
Battle89
Kernal12 said:
I get the sense Brad realizes it isn't wise to question refs (especially High Knees) publicly or else it's only going to be worse in future games. Last year when we were screwed in Breslin I recall Brad biting his lip and saying that something like "well Jeffery Anderson is one of the best officials in the country so they must have been good calls..." In the press conference last night you could tell he was suppressing his true feelings, going with the "they didn't call it so it must not have been a foul."

Brad does like and respect Izzo, and recruited Fears, so he's not going to rag on them publicly or privately.
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So clearly the ‘be nice’ strategy did not work. High knees is gonna high knee.

But in the big picture I agree with Brad (and you) despite the satisfaction when May called it out.
 
#575      
SescIllini
Their bigs would make great pulling guards on the football team, lots of moving screens.
 
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