Pregame: Illinois at Penn State, Saturday, January 3rd, 6:00pm CT, BTN

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#77      
Our recent record At Penn State

2020 W 62-56
2023 L 81-93
2024 L 89-90
Angry Office GIF
 
#80      
16-3 going into West Lafayette is the goal if we want to be taken serious nationally.
It really should be the expectation. Iowa is the only real challenge on the schedule though I have a feeling they will grind the pace to halt, force Illinois into jacking up too many jumpers, and win that game despite the Illini being far more talented.

Penn State, Rutgers, and Maryland are all very bad though Buzz is always capable of winning a game out of nowhere. I like Medved but this years Minnesota team lacks talent and Northwestern is entirely reliant on Martinelli.
 
#81      
It really should be the expectation. Iowa is the only real challenge on the schedule though I have a feeling they will grind the pace to halt, force Illinois into jacking up too many jumpers, and win that game despite the Illini being far more talented.

Penn State, Rutgers, and Maryland are all very bad though Buzz is always capable of winning a game out of nowhere. I like Medved but this years Minnesota team lacks talent and Northwestern is entirely reliant on Martinelli.

I feel like the past few years we've matched up better with the Iowa archetypes better than the inverse. I've always preferred our chances against teams who rely on defense.
 
#82      
Can we please resurrect the orange Flyin' Illini uniforms from their undeserved graves for this one?? I'm sure the smart money is on navy Flyin' Illini or orange Script (or God forbit the regular orange 1LL1NO1S rags...), but I think it would be a good time to bring those back and shake off some of the bad juju from last year's Duke loss.
Have been worried the orange throwbacks were being outright replaced by the new orange throwbacks. Don’t like that!
 
#83      
I feel like the past few years we've matched up better with the Iowa archetypes better than the inverse. I've always preferred our chances against teams who rely on defense.
I don't know they are a tough and well coached team that is going to slow the game down and make it ugly which I think tends to be something a more finesse team like Illinois might struggle with.

Plus, they have Bennett Stirtz who is in my opinion the best point guard in the big10(maybe the country).
 
#84      
I don't know they are a tough and well coached team that is going to slow the game down and make it ugly which I think tends to be something a more finesse team like Illinois might struggle with.

Plus, they have Bennett Stirtz who is in my opinion the best point guard in the big10(maybe the country).

No arguments on them being well coached and tough. I’m under no impression it will be easy, and anyone chalking it up to a win is nuts.

I just prefer the Iowa states and Tennessee’s of the world instead of crazy dynamic offenses.
 
#87      
We will be in the Palestra and I suspect there will be quite a few other Illini as well. There’s a good turnout for Penn State and Rutgers basketball games for those who are out east. Folks are hungry for Illini action.

We were so loud at Rutgers with the ILL/INI that the tv announcers commented on it (although that was after our guys had driven their guys off the court and their fans out of the area; the RAC can be very loud when the Scarlet knights are doing well).

Last year we had tickets from SeatGeekfor Penn State but they pulled them from us. Watching on tv I saw only two people wearing Orange in all the crowd shots, if they want a home court advantage they should play at Rec Hall all the time. We’ve been there for volleyball. It’s like Huff Gym but a little larger. Imagine Illinois playing a home game at Huff.

We will be at Bryce Jordan for the women’s game. I cannot imagine how empty that will be.
 
#88      
After several upsets in recent years, Penn State is way past due for an old fashioned Illini beat down. They cannot match our height, elite shooting, guard play, rebounding, deep bench, or improved defense. Penn State may hang for a while and try to establish a slower pace than we prefer, but the Illini will pull away and win. My guess is 83-54. There's going to be some cryin' lions.


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#90      
Why is this game being played on UPenn's court in Philadelphia? Assuming they drive and we fly, we may have the shorter commute. I looked and couldn't find any reason for the game not being played at Bryce Jordan which appears to be fully operational as they played a game there on 12/29 and are scheduled to play there against UM on 1/6.
 
#92      
Why is this game being played on UPenn's court in Philadelphia? Assuming they drive and we fly, we may have the shorter commute. I looked and couldn't find any reason for the game not being played at Bryce Jordan which appears to be fully operational as they played a game there on 12/29 and are scheduled to play there against UM on 1/6.
Same reason Illinois plays in Chicago, Iowa plays in Des Moines, OSU plays in Cleveland, Purdue plays in Indianapolis, etc. A major metro where your school (A) has a lot of fans/alumni but (B) is trying to pick up more casual fans, too. This is their UC game.
 
#94      
The Photoshop was where you mailed your roll of film to get it developed. You paid for each picture no matter how horrible it might be.

Yeoman Janice Rand was removed from the series because they wanted Captain Kirk to be able to have romantic encounters with alien women, and an occasional human.
 
#95      
Don't let Rice or Stewart get going from three. Take away Mingo's driving lanes and make him a jump shooter.
Other than that, this team probably doesn't have the firepower to outscore the Illini over 40 minutes.
 
#96      
Same reason Illinois plays in Chicago, Iowa plays in Des Moines, OSU plays in Cleveland, Purdue plays in Indianapolis, etc. A major metro where your school (A) has a lot of fans/alumni but (B) is trying to pick up more casual fans, too. This is their UC game.
yeah - I'd thought about that, but am more used to those events being non-conference games. I suppose it does make sense given students are not on campus. Thanks all.
 
#97      
Why is this game being played on UPenn's court in Philadelphia? Assuming they drive and we fly, we may have the shorter commute. I looked and couldn't find any reason for the game not being played at Bryce Jordan which appears to be fully operational as they played a game there on 12/29 and are scheduled to play there against UM on 1/6.
And The Palestra is a temple of eastern hoops, much like Fenway and Wrigley are beloved outdated stadiums.
 
#98      
And The Palestra is a temple of eastern hoops, much like Fenway and Wrigley are beloved outdated stadiums.
Adding to your thought.
Should be a great experience for the team playing in a historically significant, east coast gym.
Now, lets beat the piss out of the lions.
 
#99      
yeah - I'd thought about that, but am more used to those events being non-conference games. I suppose it does make sense given students are not on campus. Thanks all.
There are some important differences with this for PSU, too, which make it worth it for them:

1. Whereas we are trying to draw a crowd well over 100% of our home arena’s capacity when we play at the UC (and thankfully have regularly succeeded over the years!!), PSU is playing in a very small gym where they might actually get a near-capacity crowd and charge more money per ticket due to the novelty factor.

2. Whereas we are bringing our product to the UC as a sort of gesture to our many Chicago Area fans and picking up some casuals on the Illini bandwagon is an added bonus, PSU Basketball is reminding the Philly Area that it exists! If and when PSU gets things rolling, they want to be able to remind casual Philly fans that they don’t have to be reversible jacket PSU Football/Villanova Basketball fans.
 
#100      
What will be the opening line? Illinois -22? Penn St has an EM of +3.5. Wow. Only Rutgers is worse at +0.2. These are not good mid major team numbers.

a side Michigan is -22.5 against USC tomorrow. Yikes.
 
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