Time to unwrap Kipper and let him show his capabilities - turn him loose!
i think Kipper will be seeing LaTulip type minutes this year.
If so, will be a misuse of a valuable resource even though he's the new guy.
The gauntlet begins! Our first 4 are...
@Maryland
Ohio St
@Indiana
Michigan
Just for fun, would you rather go 1-3 but that win is @Indiana or 2-2 (losing to Indiana)? Initially I was thinking I would rather beat IU because there aren't as many chances at elite wins as there normally are in the B1G. But I'm on the fence so I would love to here some other opinions.
Or maybe we just overhyped the hell out of an unranked player.
He has 9 B1G teams in and although Illinois isn't currently one of them (Maryland is), it shows that the conference is deeper than past years although not necessarily full of elite teams. 10-8 would get them in and I would bet that 9-9 would get them in depending on who they beat.
Previous Lunardi Brackets:
4/Purdue
4/Wisconsin
5/Indiana
9/Michigan
10/Michigan St.
10/OSU
12/Northwestern
Most Recent:
4/Purdue
4/Wisconsin
5/Indiana
7/Maryland +
9/Michigan
10/Michigan St.
10/OSU
11/Minnesota +
12/Northwestern
Maryland and Minnesota slot in, which are the next two teams that likely deserve mention that weren't in the previous list.
I guess we agree that 10-8 likely gets them (maybe needing 1 BTT win too), but I wouldn't be betting on 9-9 getting the Illini in this year. Illini went 10-8 in '09-'10 and didn't get in and the B1G looked pretty tough that year.
Here's how the Illini's schedule plays out against those 9 teams:
1 @Purdue
1 Wisconsin
1 @Indiana
2 Maryland
2 Michigan
1 Michigan St.
1 OSU
1 Minnesota
2 Northwestern
That's 12 games. So if the Illini just win the 6 games against teams who aren't in the above list, all they need is to win 3 of those 12 games to go 9-9. Suppose Illinois beats tOSU, Minnesota and Northwestern at home and then drops all of the rest? That puts them at 5-4 at home and 4-5 on the road with no good road wins. Do you think that 9-9 deserves to get into the NCAA tourney? The opening road game at Maryland is already starting to look pretty big.
By the way, that schedule doesn't look all that strong for those who are saying how good the B1G is this year. This Illini team definitely has the talent to win at least 11 B1G regular season games.
Go Illini!
I do too but not for this season. What kind of production do you realistically expect from him this year?
I say this a lot, but I think this game is all about the bigs. The Terps are injured inside, they are thin inside, and they are not skilled inside. Big Bo and Mav need to get their 7'1" center in foul trouble early. Thorne has started but Mav has had more minutes the last two games. I wonder if that pattern will continue.
Yup, looks likely to be a game of our bigs against their guards to me. An interesting contest and the final result could fall anywhere in a 15 point range.
UM not being overly athletic, big, or a solid 3 point team bodes well for the Illini.
Or maybe we just overhyped the hell out of an unranked player.
I agree that this is a winnable game, but College Park ain't Champaign. Xfinity Center has it's own stop on the DC Metro and the bulk of the student body probably lives within an hour or so drive, so not on campus doesn't mean they aren't nearby.
There's also this: http://www.umterps.com/ViewArticle.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=29700&ATCLID=211007532
I expect a near sellout for their B1G opener.
Also too early to start quoting Lunardi, that guy has too be the most overhyped person in the history of sports.
Maybe the crowd will put some life in our guys as well. I thought that the small, quiet crowd at the Miznoz game didn't give them a spark.
Edit --> I wonder if the weather will affect the size of the crowd?