Pregame: Illinois at Michigan State, Saturday, February 7th, 7:00pm CT, FOX

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#326      
hoopsfan47
My feeling on this game is that MSU cannot beat the Illini with superior play. We simply have too many offensive weapons and are sufficiently capable on defense for the Illini to score enough to win.

HOWEVER.....we all have seen, and I hope remember, the too numerous games over the course of basketball history when the basketball gnomes decide to garner all the attention by placing one of their own on the heel of the rim and quietly tipping away too many Illini shots and eliminating a chance for an Illini victory. That, coupled with them laughing away and allowing circus shots to go in for Sparty are the real culprits and always a threat.

I sincerely hope this game is played hard but without senseless and stupid taunting and dirty play, by either team. And no injuries is always a desire for all. If a team needs to play that way to win, they deserve no success or respect. Win by outworking, out planning, and out playing your opponent. If you cannot do that, work harder and get better. Take your loss with some class and move on. I hope the Illini play great and if they lose, tip their cap and get even more determined to reverse the result next time. That is what champions do....champions do not need to play dirty.

We will soon know how Sparty responds...win or lose.

But the bottom line is if our guys go 5 for 27 from the arc, the win.streak is likely to end. I hate those gnomes!!!
 
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#327      
OrangeBlue98
Retro62 said:
I will be making my first trip to the Breslin Center on Saturday. My previous first was to the Chrysler Center last year, and we saw how that turned out. Also, @altgeld88 has assured me that it will, like it was in Ann Arbor, be very cold, and, again as was the case in AA, that he will park well away from the arena and make me walk--sacrifices must be made.
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greater good sacrifice GIF by SYFY
 
#329      
socalini
Second place is 1st loser said:
This is literally one of those we couldn't have picked a worse time to play them games.
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I don't get this. Sure, we could lose, but:
They just lost a top 6 guy in their rotation for the season.
All eyes are on them for cheap shots.
They're coming off 2 losses where they didn't look unbeatable by any stretch.
We're coming off of 2 great road wins against top 5 teams, playing as well as we have all season.

Timing seems fine to me. Not feeling it's a sure thing by any means, but I'm more confident than I was going into Purdue or Nebraska.
 
#330      
fatboyslim
Second place is 1st loser said:
I'm not a big Jeff Goodman fan, but he's right. It's unfathomable to think that an Izzo coached team will come out flat, at home, in a backs totally against the wall, us against the world scenario......laying an egg. Their starts to these last few games are what have killed them.

We're homers. Of course we're going to disagree with him. However, if they were playing literally anybody else, we'd feel the exact same way.

This is the most emotionally charged game that we'll have all year. For us to win, we're going to need an out of this world performance. I'd say the exact same thing if MSU was playing Arizona.

Can we win? Of course! Would I ever bet against an Izzo team in this situation. No way. I totally see where he's coming from.

I would not be shocked to see us winning, I would not be surprised us losing a close one and I wouldn't be surprised if we got run out of the gym.

This is literally one of those we couldn't have picked a worse time to play them games.

I think both guys can be right, thus the -1.5 spread.
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Why is it unfathomable? I'm pretty sure MSU at home has been in this situation and come out flat, lay an egg and whatever else. We might be homers but some of us don't think MSU can just flip a switch whenever they want because they are coached by Izzo

And yes many of us would bet against Izzo in this situation because he doesn't have the better team coming into this game. Add to the fact that they just lost a key member of their bench for the rest of the season.
 
#331      
NarrowJ
fatboyslim said:
Why is it unfathomable? I'm pretty sure MSU at home has been in this situation and come out flat, lay an egg and whatever else. We might be homers but some of us don't think MSU can just flip a switch whenever they want because they are coached by Izzo

And yes many of us would bet against Izzo in this situation because he doesn't have the better team coming into this game. Add to the fact that they just lost a key member of their bench for the rest of the season.
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Kid they lost was their starting SG and the guy that plays PG when Fears isn’t in the game. I didn’t really have any issue with Goodman’s analysis though, outside of his assertion (and scoffing at Rob’s skepticism) that this would just be a Sparty auto-win.
 
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#333      
AirTran
hoopsfan47 said:
My feeling on this game is that MSU cannot beat the Illini with superior play. We simply have too many offensive weapons and are sufficiently capable on defense for the Illini to score enough to win.

HOWEVER.....we all have seen, and I hope remember, the too numerous games over the course of basketball history when the basketball gnomes decide to garner all the attention by placing one of their own on the heel of the rim and quietly tipping away too many Illini shots and eliminating a chance for an Illini victory. That, coupled with them laughing away and allowing circus shots to go in for Sparty are the real culprits and always a threat.

I sincerely hope this game is played hard but without senseless and stupid taunting and dirty play, by either team. And no injuries is always a desire for all. If a team needs to play that way to win, they deserve no success or respect. Win by outworking, out planning, and out playing your opponent. If you cannot do that, work harder and get better. Take your loss with some class and move on. I hope the Illini play great and if they lose, tip their cap and get even more determined to reverse the result next time. That is what champions do....champions do not need to play dirty.

We will soon know how Sparty responds...win or lose.

But the bottom line is if our guys go 5 for 27 from the arc, the win.streak is likely to end. I hate those gnomes!!!
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Offensive rebounding, Defensive rebounding, stop their transition and MAKE FREE THROWS. The rest of the discussion is certainly interesting but its all going to come down whether our 5 bigs can guard MSU. I am certain that they have watched enough tape to know that the only way to score consistently agains our MTM is staggered screens off the dribble. Now it helps when you have Braden Smith, but Izzo has always been able to find the best way to attack an opponent. Particularly us.
 
#334      
Ga65
I would be happier to see them lose all remaining games.
 
#336      
CDRUSN
To Izzo's credit, he has produced more wins with Fears and average players than most coaches would be able to. The refs will be watching Fears closely for signs of dirty play, especially if we take control and he gets frustrated. We simply have too many shooters and too much talent across the board to lose to MSU, which has been spiraling lately. Illini 82, Fighting Elves 70.
 
#337      
lstewart53x3
NarrowJ said:
Kid they lost was their starting SG and the guy that plays PG when Fears isn’t in the game. I didn’t really have any issue with Goodman’s analysis though, outside of his assertion (and scoffing at Rob’s skepticism) that this would just be a Sparty auto-win.
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Was he a starter? I haven’t watched a whole lot of their games this year, but he’s 6th in minutes and only averages 16 minutes per game

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#338      
GoodePodzMelendez
They are deep and will try to get us in foul trouble. We need to play our game tomorrow. We need to keep up with Michigan for the conference lead.
 
#341      
Fly Illini Fly!
socalini said:
I don't get this. Sure, we could lose, but:
They just lost a top 6 guy in their rotation for the season.
All eyes are on them for cheap shots.
They're coming off 2 losses where they didn't look unbeatable by any stretch.
We're coming off of 2 great road wins against top 5 teams, playing as well as we have all season.

Timing seems fine to me. Not feeling it's a sure thing by any means, but I'm more confident than I was going into Purdue or Nebraska.
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This was their stretch of games when we won @Breslin in 2022:

IMG_0153.jpeg
 
#342      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
Second place is 1st loser said:
I'm not a big Jeff Goodman fan, but he's right. It's unfathomable to think that an Izzo coached team will come out flat, at home, in a backs totally against the wall, us against the world scenario......laying an egg. Their starts to these last few games are what have killed them.

We're homers. Of course we're going to disagree with him. However, if they were playing literally anybody else, we'd feel the exact same way.

This is the most emotionally charged game that we'll have all year. For us to win, we're going to need an out of this world performance. I'd say the exact same thing if MSU was playing Arizona.

Can we win? Of course! Would I ever bet against an Izzo team in this situation. No way. I totally see where he's coming from.

I would not be shocked to see us winning, I would not be surprised us losing a close one and I wouldn't be surprised if we got run out of the gym.

This is literally one of those we couldn't have picked a worse time to play them games.

I think both guys can be right, thus the -1.5 spread.
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I actually agree with this. Can we win? Absolutely. Is it more likely that we do? No.

And there’s pretty much zero chance that MSU gets off to another bad start. They’ll be very motivated, coming back home, chance to pick up a top5 win.

All in all, I think likeliest scenario is that we have a loss kind of like UConn to St John’s today. Not a terrible performance, but a loss.

Overall, even if we get run out of the gym, I wouldn’t be the slightest of disappointed with a loss. This team hasn’t lost a game in TWO months - including beating two top 5 opponents on the road.

This is a house money game. We’re still firmly in the title race as long as we bounce back against Wisconsin, Indiana.
 
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#346      
Sedino
Ranking the fight names this game has been given in just this thread:

1. Pizza Hut parking lot fight
2. Street fight
3. Bar fight
4. Rock fight
 
#347      
illinifan1987
I'm tripping myself out right now. What if you were to do something crazy like combine two of those 2's? How many days has it been since the Spartans last game? How many losses do they have? Coincidence? I think not...
fox technology GIF by Mental Samurai
 
#349      
rbse
I'm still really pissed about when Ayo Dosunmu got nose getting broken by Mich. ST's center, who was rightfully ejected, but that doesn't change the facts. They are dirty, taught and encouraged to be dirty by Izzo. Draymond Green was the poster boy. I urge Underwood to get in front of this before the game even starts, demanding the referees get a handle on excessive rough play. This is the perfect opportunity after Fear's disgusting acts. The referees are so intimidated by Izzo, surprised he doesn't make them wear Mich. St cheerleaders outfits.
 
#350      
travelin' man
Curbelo Fanboy said:
This would be a good time to have a end of the bench like Jakstys available. I know he is out for the year. We need a guy on the bench ready to go blow for blow if needed. I hate ball being played that way but if one of the MSU guys tries to pull the Ayo type !!!! on us Brad needs someone to go in the game right then & pay it back. It's time to call Izzo on his BS.

Izzo is a great coach historically speaking but since about 2015 or so he has just basically coached thug ball & has become a Coach K level ref baiter. A shell of what he used to be IMO. The thugball needs to be responded to but I don't want it done with a guy that could get suspended that is a valuable player on the team.

I know that may sound harsh, but it's eye for an eye kind of stuff. And I'm a guy that is still pissed at the Bears 40 years later that they never paid back Green Bay for the dirty hit on McMahon. I never advocate that stuff but if the other side goes there it should be responded to in kind immediately. That's the best way to stop it.

Failing all that maybe our Soviet bloc connections on the roster have some old Russian mobsters we could call in. LOL!
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Let's keep it local! I know a coupla guys from Chicago, Rocco and Stosh, that fit the bill.
 
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