Pregame: Illinois at Northwestern, Wednesday, January 24th, 8:00pm CT, BTN
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There are lots on both the east and west side of the football stadium that you can park in. ~$15. Getting in is usually fine, getting out can be miserable. Alternatively you can park in downtown Evanston and hop the purple line a couple of stops to Central. About a 10 minute walk to/from arena to the stop. The purple line runs every few minutes, better option than Metra which will on a fixed schedule (Metra also about a 10 minute walk too)
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Username checks out1. Northwestern is 59th is kenpom
2. We beat them by 30 without our best player
3. A Northwestern home game = an Illinois neutral court game
I ain’t worried
Matt P would like a word with you1. Northwestern is 59th is kenpom
2. We beat them by 30 without our best player
3. A Northwestern home game = an Illinois neutral court game
I ain’t worried
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Why not thirty? Certainly not past the realm of possibility. I’m not going to predict it. That invokes a Curse. On the other hand…
Are those signs new or are you referring to the ones that have always been there from previous years? Last year when I went I just had to find a street that didn't have a sign.
IlliniKat91
- Chicago, IL
Matty P was the cautionary tale that put the Big Ten on notice.Matt P would like a word with you
I'm also still waiting for TSJ to show BooBoo who the second best player in the conference actually is
TSJ will be interesting
It is his first road game and since NW renovated their arena home court has improved. How will he handle the heckling? Understand there will be a lot of orange
Defensively and his transition games still appear to be one of the best in the nation. Offensively in the half court he has rust.
His shot looked good but it was not there. Didn’t do well behind the arc or free throw line
I suspect it will take a few games to get him back to peak performance but it would be nice to see him shut down Boo
GrayGhost77
- Centennial, CO
That would be Edey.
Lmao look I’m not saying we can’t lay an egg, just saying that I don’t buy into any of the “Northwestern is great at home”-type narratives. We should beat this team easily.Matt P would like a word with you
We're not going to be much of a favorite in this one. You sound like you're holding a winning lottery ticket. Go put that money down!
I never feel good about us playing in their building. Last year was a house of horrors and was it the year before where it took a Podz three and DW put back stuff to pull it off?
Just get out of there with a W. That's all.
8-10 from the line is actually higher than his season avg of 77%
JJB
- Chicago, IL
They finally permitted alcohol sales beginning in January 2023 and our game in Evanston was the first wet event in Welsh-Ryan. It is the only thing that got me through that debacle.
You should be. Getting a B1G road win against a team of their talent is always a questionable task. We could win by 25 or lose by 20. So much depends on so many things that take place between the ears.1. Northwestern is 59th is kenpom
2. We beat them by 30 without our best player
3. A Northwestern home game = an Illinois neutral court game
I ain’t worried
That said, this team has 7 guys capable of scoring on any possession, and none afraid to take the shot. Never had a team like that. It is difficult to win against the Illini if they come with a mindset to not let you score...even once...and to find the teammates that are open. Very difficult....if that Illini team shows up.
Illini will be favored...which means nothing...and so was Purdue.
Northwestern's defense revolves around being aggressive in pick n rolls and doubling in the post. Basically trying to disrupt any offensive flow. Luckily we are very good at handling both of those things, moving the ball, and finding the open man. Our offensive flow is almost impossible to stop. Collins is going to have to make some adjustments.
OTOH, they scored 92 against PU and 88 against MSU. Both those teams are statistically better than us defensively. I didn't watch the MSU game, but Boo tore Edey apart in PnR's. I don't think they will have as much success against our switching defense. Force their centers to beat us (they can't).
Now that TSJ is back, we need to start seeing some of that championship caliber defense we saw early in the year. Like BU said....offense wins games, defense wins championships. In a 6 game tournament you are bound to have a game where shots aren't falling and need the defense to pull one out.
OTOH, they scored 92 against PU and 88 against MSU. Both those teams are statistically better than us defensively. I didn't watch the MSU game, but Boo tore Edey apart in PnR's. I don't think they will have as much success against our switching defense. Force their centers to beat us (they can't).
Now that TSJ is back, we need to start seeing some of that championship caliber defense we saw early in the year. Like BU said....offense wins games, defense wins championships. In a 6 game tournament you are bound to have a game where shots aren't falling and need the defense to pull one out.
There is one thing I have noticed. NW has really soft rims that is a big advantage for jump shooting teams
Chad Fleck
- Eureka, IL
It seems to me that Illinois, specifically Domask, hasn't handled the double team's quite as well as since the NW game. In that game, the double was really picked apart, nearly everytime. Since then, my memory informs me that he has turned it over more times due to doubles.
I'll be watching for how NW looks to use the double, and how Illinois can take advantage.
I'll be watching for how NW looks to use the double, and how Illinois can take advantage.
Wilmette posted the new parking restrictions on some streets near the stadium this fall for many of the home NU basketball games.
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Joel Goodson
- respect my decision™
Interesting that the social media team has yet to highlight Terrence. His breakaway dunk can’t be found anywhere on the Instagram or twitter feed. It is part of the YouTube highlights from the game, however. Will this continue? Was he in the pregame video? Just curious.
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