Pregame: Illinois at Iowa, Saturday, February 18th, 1:00pm CT, BTN

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#51      

WesterveltVictoryCigar

WesterveltVictoryCigar
WesterveltVictoryCigar
Illiniguy13 said:
I'm right there with you. It's a strange feeling. On one hand I'll never bring myself to root against the beloved, but wins at this point are just awkward. With that said, I was pretty pleased to get a W at Northwestern & give em a bad loss.
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It's their worst loss, but still not a bad loss. Unless we lose out...
 
#54      

BlindLoyalty

B
FartNoiseMotivation
BlindLoyalty
This is the reunion game for Iowa's 1980 Final Four Team and fundraiser for Kenny Arnold.


76-68 Iowa. This young Iowa team is improving, the Illini are not.


I predict that we are going to lose out. (Yes, even to Rutgers...but it will be a battle in NJ.)
 
#55      

DoctorofJazz

D
DoctorofJazz
BlindLoyalty said:
This is the reunion game for Iowa's 1980 Final Four Team and fundraiser for Kenny Arnold.


76-68 Iowa. This young Iowa team is improving, the Illini are not.


I predict that we are going to lose out. (Yes, even to Rutgers...but it will be a battle in NJ.)
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Given this teams consistent inconsistency, it's entirely possible they could at least win a game or two just to thwart expectations.
 
#56      

FatGreg

F
FatGreg
I know I'm in the minority, but I actually still think we'll go 3-2 over the last five games of the season and potentially win one in the BTT. That would put us at 18-15 (including 1-1 in the BTT) and on the NIT bubble. Would we get an NIT bid in that case? Assuming we fire Groce after either the regular season or the BTT, would we decline a postseason invite?
 
#57      

Dan

Dan
Admin
Dan
Game Notes

BTN: Kevin Kugler and Jon Crispin

http://www.fightingillini.com/news/...ini-head-to-iowa-city-for-saturday-hoops.aspx
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Groce previews Iowa-

Groce: We've had a really good week off. Been able to clean up a couple things. Add a couple new things.

Groce: Thought we've practiced well the last two days.

Groce: Rewatching first game vs. Iowa, defended Jok well. Didn't do great on the glass. Press offense wasn't great. Can play better.

Groce: All in all, thought we got a lot done during the bye week mentally and physically to get ready for the stretch run.

Groce: Practiced 4 days this week and took 2 days off. Took Sunday off. Then first 2 days, focused strictly on us.

Groce: Challenged our older guys a little bit in terms of leading our younger players. Mentoring them a little bit.

Groce: Our energy level has been really good this week. They really haven't had much of a choice. That's how we do it.

Groce: I think Leron has another gear. Think he can be even better on the glass. Talked with him about it this week.

https://twitter.com/DPiperScout
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[youtube]peWCCK2Gi74[/youtube]
 
#58      

Adnarel

A
Adnarel
Dan said:
Groce: Challenged our older guys a little bit in terms of leading our younger players. Mentoring them a little bit.
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I trust this doesn't indicate this is the first time he has ever brought this up. Mercy on all of us, if so. Also, it's easy to play defense on Jok when Jok is all but crippled. =P

I'll be listening to the game on the radio! Go Illini!
 
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#59      

EJ33

E
San Francisco
EJ33
I realize it's a press conference, but some of these statements are just so outrageously clueless, like:

Groce: Challenged our older guys a little bit in terms of leading our younger players. Mentoring them a little bit.
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He should be challenging the older guys to play like Tejon and Kipper. It's also well past the time for "a little bit."

Really looking forward to new leadership.
 
#60      

alaskaillini

A
alaskaillini
Is pride enough? For Groce and his staff? For the players? I'm still rooting for them, so I hope that it is.
 
#61      

CoalCity

C
St Paul, MN
CoalCity
EJ33 said:
I realize it's a press conference, but some of these statements are just so outrageously clueless, like:



He should be challenging the older guys to play like Tejon and Kipper. It's also well past the time for "a little bit."

Really looking forward to new leadership.
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Yes this is ridiculous. :tsk:. The end of the season can't come soon enough. Go Josh!!
 
#62      

illini80

illini80
Forgottonia
illini80
Groce: Our energy level has been really good this week. They really haven't had much of a choice. That's how we do it.

Groce: I think Leron has another gear. Think he can be even better on the glass. Talked with him about it this week.
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That's how we do it? Really??

Leron can be even better on the glass? A lot better than what, the 2 rebounds he had vs Penn State or the 1 rebound he had vs. Northwestern? Yes, I think he can be a LOT better.

:lalala:
 
#63      

jjh22003

J
Maricopa, AZ
jjh22003
illini80 said:
That's how we do it? Really??

Leron can be even better on the glass? A lot better than what, the 2 rebounds he had vs Penn State or the 1 rebound he had vs. Northwestern? Yes, I think he can be a LOT better.

:lalala:
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Leron's minutes are down because Kipper is playing better plain and simple.
 
#64      

ILL in IA

ILL in IA
Iowa City
ILL in IA
Let's be real. At this point anything he says people are going to be mad about. Not cluless. Not lost. Just over it coming from him.
 
#66      

FatGreg

F
FatGreg
No good place to put this, but Oakland beat Valpo tonight to pull to within one game in the Horizon (currently 20-7 overall, 10-4 in conference). They're going to be really good next year when Kendrick Nunn is eligible. Nunn, Stevie Clark, Martez Walker, and Jalen Hayes is a lot of firepower. I won't be surprised to see them win 27-30 games and upset a team or two in the tournament. Nunn could end up scoring 25 a game with the pace they play at.
 
#67      

AEX

AEX
Danger Zone
AEX
FatGreg said:
No good place to put this, but Oakland beat Valpo tonight to pull to within one game in the Horizon (currently 20-7 overall, 10-4 in conference). They're going to be really good next year when Kendrick Nunn is eligible. Nunn, Stevie Clark, Martez Walker, and Jalen Hayes is a lot of firepower. I won't be surprised to see them win 27-30 games and upset a team or two in the tournament. Nunn could end up scoring 25 a game with the pace they play at.
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Crazy to think that Kendrick Nunn might compete in an NCAA tournament and Malcolm Hill never will.
 
#69      

Stucash

S
Stucash
AEX said:
Crazy to think that Kendrick Nunn might compete in an NCAA tournament and Malcolm Hill never will.
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I know that there are no moral victories, but I'm still glad we bounced him. That said, we are a tourney team with Nunn I have no doubt. Life is not always fair, especially to the good guys like Hill.
 
#71      

DragonIlliniFan

D
DragonIlliniFan
Disconnect.

Like when you think in your brain "I should grab this cup" as you're almost simultaneously grabbing the cup. In our situation the brain is thinking, I'm almost positive, but the hand isn't grasping anything.

I can't imagine how frustrating that would be. Groce is living it.
 
#72      

ILLHangOut

I
ILLHangOut
jjh22003 said:
Leron's minutes are down because Kipper is playing better plain and simple.
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The problem I have with this is that after Kipper's best game Groce said he was playing out of position at the 3 and that's why he didn't get minutes. The whole lineup is a disaster.
 
#74      

JIllini

J
JIllini
Nunn wouldn't necessarily make us a tournament team, but I don't think there's any question that we'd be better with him. I think he'd help us win an extra game or two at least. I don't think people realize how crucial he was to our team last year. That being said, kicking him off was still the right decision.
 
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