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New Mexico State 74, Illinois 69 POSTGAME
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<blockquote data-quote="Ransom Stoddard" data-source="post: 1359530" data-attributes="member: 10336"><p>Proven coaches worth that type of money aren't going to jump to a decimated program like UIUC--that's why an incremental improvement is necessary. I still think Lovie can get us to that point in FB, and I've no reason to believe Underwood can't turn this thing around in hoops, but it takes more than 13 games to demonstrate the potential for that leap.</p><p></p><p>But for everyone out on the ledge, or those that have already leapt, here's why I'm staying calm--</p><p></p><p>In our 5 losses, none were by over 7 points. Average margin of loss in those 5 games was 4.8. That is a massive improvement over the last few years in my book. Would I prefer to see these guys be able to finish close games better--of course, but they're playing hard and playing to win. There are things that must be better (slow first halves, turnovers, dumb decisions), but we're competing in every.single.game. Other than the 1st half against NMSU, I've enjoyed watching this team play, even in defeat. I couldn't say that during a couple of Groce seasons, and definitely not during the last 4-5 years of Weber-ball.</p><p></p><p>Our adjusted tempo is significantly better than last year, defense--despite some obvious holes) is improved, and offensive rebounding is incredible right now. </p><p></p><p>3 point shooting, interior defense, 3 point defense, and fouls are what's hurting us, along with the aforementioned stupid mistakes. None of those things are likely to improve against B1G competition, but hopefully we see better decisions made in passing and the physical side of things as the season goes on.</p><p></p><p>Per KenPom we are the 307th least experienced team out of 351 but use our bench more than all but 7 other teams. The combination of those 2 things makes me think we could be even worse than we are, but we should be see improvement throughout the year, and definitely next year.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Ransom Stoddard, post: 1359530, member: 10336"] Proven coaches worth that type of money aren't going to jump to a decimated program like UIUC--that's why an incremental improvement is necessary. I still think Lovie can get us to that point in FB, and I've no reason to believe Underwood can't turn this thing around in hoops, but it takes more than 13 games to demonstrate the potential for that leap. But for everyone out on the ledge, or those that have already leapt, here's why I'm staying calm-- In our 5 losses, none were by over 7 points. Average margin of loss in those 5 games was 4.8. That is a massive improvement over the last few years in my book. Would I prefer to see these guys be able to finish close games better--of course, but they're playing hard and playing to win. There are things that must be better (slow first halves, turnovers, dumb decisions), but we're competing in every.single.game. Other than the 1st half against NMSU, I've enjoyed watching this team play, even in defeat. I couldn't say that during a couple of Groce seasons, and definitely not during the last 4-5 years of Weber-ball. Our adjusted tempo is significantly better than last year, defense--despite some obvious holes) is improved, and offensive rebounding is incredible right now. 3 point shooting, interior defense, 3 point defense, and fouls are what's hurting us, along with the aforementioned stupid mistakes. None of those things are likely to improve against B1G competition, but hopefully we see better decisions made in passing and the physical side of things as the season goes on. Per KenPom we are the 307th least experienced team out of 351 but use our bench more than all but 7 other teams. The combination of those 2 things makes me think we could be even worse than we are, but we should be see improvement throughout the year, and definitely next year. [/QUOTE]
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New Mexico State 74, Illinois 69 POSTGAME
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