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Ohio State 87, Illinois 81 Postgame
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<blockquote data-quote="Fighter of the Nightman" data-source="post: 1577707" data-attributes="member: 590800"><p>I have a few comments based on various posts I have seen in this thread and a day of reflection/clarity:</p><p></p><p>- <strong>We were not going to be an 8-seed last year</strong>. We finished as the 4-seed in one of the toughest conferences in the country, and we were 21-10 overall. Yes, we had bad losses early on to Miami (FL) and Mizzou, and our NET was not fantastic (#39). However, I maintain that the NET is used as a guideline, especially for teams on the Bubble. If you are a major conference team that is solidly in the Tournament (i.e., well above #50 or so), other more "human" factors are going to come into play that they're allegedly not supposed to consider, like how you finished the season, your AP ranking and other things like that. We had some nice Quad 1 wins, including over #23 Wisconsin on the road, TWICE vs. #24 Michigan, and a plethora of Quad 2 wins, including vs. #30 Rutgers, TWICE vs. #32 Purdue, vs. #34 Iowa, a road win vs. #35 Penn State and vs. #42 Minnesota. Considering they had logistical concerns like not having us face a regular season opponent until the Sweet Sixteen and not wanting to screw over a higher seed with a Second Round matchup vs. a hot Illini team ranked #21 ... and considering that the way we were playing, a BTT run (including AT LEAST another win over Iowa, if we kept it up) would not have been out of the question ... I think we were cruising for a 6-seed or a 5-seed, with a 4-seed on the table, depending on the BTT.</p><p></p><p>- <strong>To say we have not played like a "top 15 team" yet this season is both false and undermining of just how frustrating our lapses have been</strong>. Minnesota has beaten #5 Iowa, and they just handily beat an undefeated #7 Michigan team yesterday. We D-E-S-T-R-O-Y-E-D them, with the game never being in doubt and our Illini showing very few weaknesses. That was not like the second half of the NU game, where our outstanding play was combined with an inept opponent; we just simply outclassed what proved to be a very capable Minnesota team. Additionally, whatever you think about Duke, they're a talented team ... and we went into their house when they DESPERATELY needed a win (prime time Challenge game at home after just being beaten by another Big Ten team on that very floor a few days ago??), and we took every punch they gave us and responded. Additionally, we fought with what is proving to be a near-unstoppable Baylor squad on a neutral floor until we simply ran out of gas - a result that would be indicative of maybe not a top 5 team (as we were ranked then) but absolutely a top 15 team. Now, we have also played like a Bubble team (vs. Ohio and vs. Maryland) and a mere borderline top 25 team (at Missouri, at Rutgers and vs. OSU), and THAT is the part that is so frutstrating.</p><p></p><p>I am not giving up hope yet. Maryland was a TRULY disappointing loss that really sounded the alarm bells, and OSU was so disappointing because it COULD have been a *great* win to set us on the right track. With that said, a loss to this year's OSU team isn't going to break anyone. Our concern right now should be what this team is capable of going forweard, not the record it has put together currently. We have one bad loss and two good wins. The rest of our wins and losses are par. So, if we keep that up (a bad loss mixed with a good win mixed with mostly average results), we'll likely skate into the Tournament ranked something like #25 or receiving votes and MAYBE score as high as a 6- or 7-seed if the NET rankings save us. </p><p></p><p>What is infuriating is that, EVEN NOW, if this team could just turn a corner in regard to mental toughness ... we'd still be set for a top 4-seed and a possible Tournament run. I mean, if we started to play with the toughness of last year's squad, the only "expected" losses left on the schedule, IMO, are vs. Iowa, at Michigan, at Wisconsin and at Ohio State. That would be a 20-9 (13-7) record with some great wins. If we REALLY got it going and played to our true potential, there is no reason we couldn't split those games and STILL fight for a conference title, with a bit of luck and help from other games.</p><p></p><p>Unfortunately ... if we keep up our current habits - showing up sometimes and playing WELL above average and being more than capable of crapping a game away due to a lethargic "break" - we could easily be looking at an under .500 record in the Big Ten. <img src="data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAAAAAP///yH5BAEAAAAALAAAAAABAAEAAAIBRAA7" class="smilie smilie--sprite smilie--sprite3" alt=":(" title="Frown :(" loading="lazy" data-shortname=":(" /> I hope to God these guys come out fired up to whoop PSU and start making us all feel better, because God knows we need this season as a fan base.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Fighter of the Nightman, post: 1577707, member: 590800"] I have a few comments based on various posts I have seen in this thread and a day of reflection/clarity: - [B]We were not going to be an 8-seed last year[/B]. We finished as the 4-seed in one of the toughest conferences in the country, and we were 21-10 overall. Yes, we had bad losses early on to Miami (FL) and Mizzou, and our NET was not fantastic (#39). However, I maintain that the NET is used as a guideline, especially for teams on the Bubble. If you are a major conference team that is solidly in the Tournament (i.e., well above #50 or so), other more "human" factors are going to come into play that they're allegedly not supposed to consider, like how you finished the season, your AP ranking and other things like that. We had some nice Quad 1 wins, including over #23 Wisconsin on the road, TWICE vs. #24 Michigan, and a plethora of Quad 2 wins, including vs. #30 Rutgers, TWICE vs. #32 Purdue, vs. #34 Iowa, a road win vs. #35 Penn State and vs. #42 Minnesota. Considering they had logistical concerns like not having us face a regular season opponent until the Sweet Sixteen and not wanting to screw over a higher seed with a Second Round matchup vs. a hot Illini team ranked #21 ... and considering that the way we were playing, a BTT run (including AT LEAST another win over Iowa, if we kept it up) would not have been out of the question ... I think we were cruising for a 6-seed or a 5-seed, with a 4-seed on the table, depending on the BTT. - [B]To say we have not played like a "top 15 team" yet this season is both false and undermining of just how frustrating our lapses have been[/B]. Minnesota has beaten #5 Iowa, and they just handily beat an undefeated #7 Michigan team yesterday. We D-E-S-T-R-O-Y-E-D them, with the game never being in doubt and our Illini showing very few weaknesses. That was not like the second half of the NU game, where our outstanding play was combined with an inept opponent; we just simply outclassed what proved to be a very capable Minnesota team. Additionally, whatever you think about Duke, they're a talented team ... and we went into their house when they DESPERATELY needed a win (prime time Challenge game at home after just being beaten by another Big Ten team on that very floor a few days ago??), and we took every punch they gave us and responded. Additionally, we fought with what is proving to be a near-unstoppable Baylor squad on a neutral floor until we simply ran out of gas - a result that would be indicative of maybe not a top 5 team (as we were ranked then) but absolutely a top 15 team. Now, we have also played like a Bubble team (vs. Ohio and vs. Maryland) and a mere borderline top 25 team (at Missouri, at Rutgers and vs. OSU), and THAT is the part that is so frutstrating. I am not giving up hope yet. Maryland was a TRULY disappointing loss that really sounded the alarm bells, and OSU was so disappointing because it COULD have been a *great* win to set us on the right track. With that said, a loss to this year's OSU team isn't going to break anyone. Our concern right now should be what this team is capable of going forweard, not the record it has put together currently. We have one bad loss and two good wins. The rest of our wins and losses are par. So, if we keep that up (a bad loss mixed with a good win mixed with mostly average results), we'll likely skate into the Tournament ranked something like #25 or receiving votes and MAYBE score as high as a 6- or 7-seed if the NET rankings save us. What is infuriating is that, EVEN NOW, if this team could just turn a corner in regard to mental toughness ... we'd still be set for a top 4-seed and a possible Tournament run. I mean, if we started to play with the toughness of last year's squad, the only "expected" losses left on the schedule, IMO, are vs. Iowa, at Michigan, at Wisconsin and at Ohio State. That would be a 20-9 (13-7) record with some great wins. If we REALLY got it going and played to our true potential, there is no reason we couldn't split those games and STILL fight for a conference title, with a bit of luck and help from other games. Unfortunately ... if we keep up our current habits - showing up sometimes and playing WELL above average and being more than capable of crapping a game away due to a lethargic "break" - we could easily be looking at an under .500 record in the Big Ten. :( I hope to God these guys come out fired up to whoop PSU and start making us all feel better, because God knows we need this season as a fan base. [/QUOTE]
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Ohio State 87, Illinois 81 Postgame
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