As far as our offense is concerned we should have been better prepared for attacking their zone defense. All you had to do is watch a couple of Nebraska's previous games and you would see that they played zone defense a lot. Tyler should have had us ready for that. That's on him.
Nebraska 83, Illinois 80 Postgame
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Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
It's OK to be wrong. That feeling is probably just gas.
Illini in Italy
- Illini HQ, Florida Panhandle
Regarding Ben, this is just an ignorant comment. He has done what he has been asked to do, and has done it well. Defense, rebounds, the scrap plays that make a difference. He has the highest Defensive Defensive Efficiency rating on the team according to Evan Miya, and is consistently in the top 5 or 6 on every other Evan Miya rating.
As for the Z vs Tomi discussion, it's hard to argue that Z isn't the better player . . .thus far. Tomi has earned whatever minutes he gets, and no one really knows the impact his lost time has meant to his game. We have to hope that he continues to reciver and gets back to the player we saw last year.
There are other type of fans also. There are the ones who like to keep bringing up last year as a disappointment . Not making the the Sweet 16 was a bummer. However that was last years ceiling. That team did not have Elite 8 talent and for sure not Final 4 talent. That isn't just me talking . At no time last year did people nationally think anything different. Not ranked higher than 9 ? The seeding committee sure didn't. This years team will frustrate us. But the offense will bail out the Defense and this years team should make the second weekend. Anything after is gravy.
Yes. That is exactly what I am saying. Fortunately we have talented, skilled, offensive players, that can still score despite our bad offense. And, we get to the foul line which masks and distorts an otherwise very mediocre offense (in terms of metrics).
Oh my lanta...
You don't just roll the ball out there and get a top 3 offense, get real man... we've had a top 3 offense two years ago, 14th last year, 3rd again this year... wanna bet that the other teams at the top of those rankings also have skilled offensive players? This weaponized incompetence and willful ignorance type of stuff is never ending.
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
Vegas Matt?
Vegas Matt?
Nope! Just an old guy who spent a lot of time with grandparents as a child and now as a grown up has a tendency to talk like I was born in the 1920s
My wife, being much younger than I am, has a very low tolerance for this and also dad jokes
Dee_4_Three_83
- Mahomet, IL
At this point, I'm just wanting another game to end this postgame thread, but now I am wondering whether it will ever truly end.
Yes, you are right. My bad. I forgot we were scoring all those points against basketball powerhouses like...
Jackson St.
LIU
Colgate
FGCU
UTRGV
My critical thinking skills are obviously lacking.
I have no clue how our wonderful offense resulted in a 0-30 run by UCONN.
My lanta indeed.
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
A whole lot of pages to argue about a simple problem.
Effort and toughness.
All they had to do was match Nebby effort and energy for the first 15 min and this is a W.
Remove craniums from rectums. (Side eye at Mirk)
The Euros getting a crash course in what B1G basketball is.
Better learn to crash harder.
Effort and toughness.
All they had to do was match Nebby effort and energy for the first 15 min and this is a W.
Remove craniums from rectums. (Side eye at Mirk)
The Euros getting a crash course in what B1G basketball is.
Better learn to crash harder.
The offensive ratings referenced are adjusted for opponent strength
We've faced a very strong schedule to date
Sorry about your facepalm
Am I reading that correctly, our adjusted ranking based on strength of schedule is...31st?
I guess we can all agree that up to this point, it takes more than a top 3 offense to win a NCAA championship.
Oh yes- fully agree with you here- I should've stated for our team- switching all the time is just straight lazy and bad scheme for our team makeup. You need to have a center that is uber athletic and quick laterally to truly and effectively switch at all 5 spots. I don't mind occasional switches, especially amongst our guards (Kylan, Keaton, and Andrej can all exchange a guy without much issue). What I do think is lazy defense or poor defense (however you want to call it) is Kylan just easily conceding he's beat when he's picked by a center, and then he leaves a guy like Tomi on an island with a guard. HE HAS to REFUSE to get screened there IMO.
Do you think a final 4 caliber team will have a guy like Ben averaging 21.9 minutes per game?
Add Jake Davis' 14.1 minutes, Ben and Jake are playing 36 minutes a game... And often at the same time- I don't believe a final four team plays both of these guys nearly 40 minutes a game...
I have no issue with Ben, I've actually liked what he's offered with hustle and effort- think he's a fine player. IMO- he should be an energy guy off the bench that contributes 8-12 minutes a game. When I said meaningful minutes- I should've specified what I mean- as in 20 + minutes of playing time.
I also generally dislike the fact that we are looking to Ben to be our energy guy/defender.. Ben was primarily brought in to be a knock down shooter- he's currently shooting his lowest 3 point average of his career with us (33.3%). He's not a knock down shooter, and while his defense has been solid- our 6'9 guy is averaging 4.5 rebounds per game (which is fine) and much improved for him overall. But I'd rather have an excellent athlete that is ELITE at defense and rebounding that can't shoot, then a Ben that is shooting ok, and playing solid defense, and rebounding at an average rate. (I think this is more a staff issue than a Ben issue, but still a problem). We are also comparing Ben's defense to what has been generally pathetic defensive effort by Tomi and Mirk, so it's not quite saying much that he's been better than them.
Do you like seeing Ben and Jake on the floor at the same time?
Ever since our Elite 8 matchup with UConn, I have tuned in more to UConn's televised games and followed their program a little bit more closely than years past. Despite the fact I find Hurley insufferable at times, what I have noticed with him, Painter, Oats, Izzo, Few, Scheyer, etc., is they are tactical geniuses that also just so happen to thrive at the other aspects of coaching as well.
If UConn goes on a bit of a slump, there is a designed play to get Karaban an open three in his spots. Or, they are running shooters off of screens at rapid speed as a decoy for a cut to the basket or a post-isolation. The dude is smart, and he manipulates the game with ease when his team isn't playing their best, which, to be honest, has already happened a couple times this year. Those small manipulations are the reason UConn hasn't lost 2-3 at this point.
Then, there is a different kind of upper-echelon coach that I call the elite motivator/ brand elevator; think Underwood, Barnes, Huggins, etc. These guys can recruit, sell the hell out of their brand, and light a fire when needed. But, they aren't manipulating the game at the level of the above guys. I'm not even saying it is intelligence, necessarily, just that those guys first mentioned are more cerebral about the game. They play Grandmaster chess, while the others are playing checkers or amateur chess.
Then, you will see some cerebral coaches that just can't recruit as well, sell the brand, or motivate, so although they are smart when talent comes in (think Gard), they typically aren't at that level. I think Hoiberg even fits this.
My thing here is this -- Underwood is a good coach, a great person, and he will win games, BUT, when things hit a wall, I just don't see him outsmarting the opposing gameplan. Occasionally it happens, like against Michigan last year, but that seems more pre-game game planning than manipulating the game while it is going on.
We get talent, and we let the talent do their thing in a very fluid, open-architect offense. For getting to the NBA, that is great, and talent will keep coming. For player enjoyment, that can be great as well, as they have more freedom. For winning the elite games and finding consistency, it doesn't appear to be very effective, though.
If UConn goes on a bit of a slump, there is a designed play to get Karaban an open three in his spots. Or, they are running shooters off of screens at rapid speed as a decoy for a cut to the basket or a post-isolation. The dude is smart, and he manipulates the game with ease when his team isn't playing their best, which, to be honest, has already happened a couple times this year. Those small manipulations are the reason UConn hasn't lost 2-3 at this point.
Then, there is a different kind of upper-echelon coach that I call the elite motivator/ brand elevator; think Underwood, Barnes, Huggins, etc. These guys can recruit, sell the hell out of their brand, and light a fire when needed. But, they aren't manipulating the game at the level of the above guys. I'm not even saying it is intelligence, necessarily, just that those guys first mentioned are more cerebral about the game. They play Grandmaster chess, while the others are playing checkers or amateur chess.
Then, you will see some cerebral coaches that just can't recruit as well, sell the brand, or motivate, so although they are smart when talent comes in (think Gard), they typically aren't at that level. I think Hoiberg even fits this.
My thing here is this -- Underwood is a good coach, a great person, and he will win games, BUT, when things hit a wall, I just don't see him outsmarting the opposing gameplan. Occasionally it happens, like against Michigan last year, but that seems more pre-game game planning than manipulating the game while it is going on.
We get talent, and we let the talent do their thing in a very fluid, open-architect offense. For getting to the NBA, that is great, and talent will keep coming. For player enjoyment, that can be great as well, as they have more freedom. For winning the elite games and finding consistency, it doesn't appear to be very effective, though.
NO! John Groce used to be our coach, remember? We were bad and lucky to even sniff the tournament. How dare you have such lofty expectations. I have been in heaven non-stop since 2020. In fact, I'm so content with each NCAA berth that I haven't even bothered to watch a single Illinois NCAA game!
Quit being a baby and support your team
Absolutely. He's a low-usage offensive player (connector that spreads the floor) who makes almost zero mistakes (1 turnover in 242 minutes) and plays good defense.
Go have a look-see at past Final 4 teams and you'll note they don't just have 6 guys that average 15ppg.
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