Pregame: Illinois at Rutgers, Saturday, December 2nd, 3:00pm CT, BTN
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Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I wouldn't say I am quite to this point yet, but I DO think we will know within the first four minutes how this one is going to go. I am fully prepared for the unfortunate possibility that we come out flat, Rutgers builds an 8-10 point lead behind superior energy and our Fake Comeback comes up short. However, I remain cautiously optimistic that we are pumped up for this one and come out sharp.
Take something
In theory, the game should be a slugfest. Both teams have shown strong defensive capabilities and both block a bunch of shots. Rutgers is an extremely poor shooting team that tends to rush shots early in the possession while defensively buckling down forcing you to beat them 1 on 1 or on the boards. Omoruyi is a load inside and on the perimeter, they have guards very good at turning you over. Outside of that though, while the RAC is a tough place to play, if we're a good team, this is a game you would really want to win. Rutgers will win theirs in the B10 this year, but they just don't have the looks on paper of a team competing for a top 4 spot in the B10.
The biggest concern I'd have in this one is coming out super sluggish and just giving Rutgers easy buckets to go down double digits early as this will be a much tougher team to come back against. But if we don't do that and just show up to play our game, this should be 1 of the more winnable B10 road games this year. I like our chances in this one, personally.
See a doctor and get rid of it
Zorak
- Naperville
what does that even mean
Really no reason to be worried about this game.... We are the much better team.
Um, did you not read cjw’s post? There are like 15 things we MUST do in order to win. Sounds worrisome to me! /s
Any Big Ten road game can be a problem.
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Drink more Kool-Aid!
IlliniMike_Aurora
Straight outta Champaign
#3 not gonna happen, I can see the rest
As long as the biscuit goes in the basket when we're at the free throw line, we will be just fine.
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
If all of this happens, we win 89-46.
If Coleman dishing out triple doubles we might win out
I said "most" though. To keep it light-hearted, what is going on with Cliff Omoruyi's wrapped leg? The guy has incredible reach (very long arms at 6'11"), but he can't seem to jump much. I'm thinking he can't block Dain's shot, since he can't jump well off just one good leg. Maybe this means this is a "Dain game", and we are pretty good in Dain games. I want this road win, even though it seems hard for us to do.
Purdue also lost at NU last year in Evanston when Smith and Loyer both shot very poorly (1-13 combined on FG). There is a rare chance that this could happen again on Friday, since they are just sophomores this year. PU could start with a road loss, and we could start with a road win. That would be incredible! Let's choose to stay hopeful.
I think Dain being able to stay out of foul trouble and available to bang with Omoruyi is big in this one. If he picks up a couple quick ones, we'll be forced into some defensive mismatches, especially if CoHawk isn't feeling 100%. I'd also expect Amani to get some important minutes in this one as a backup to allow our other bigs to rest and to pick up a foul or two if necessary. Denying good entries should also be key to this one
Not in some respects. But then, there ARE a few roundball absolutes.
Like... the ball either goes in or it doesn't. Kind of ruthlessly binary.
Like... you have to score more points than your opponents to win the game.
And no game ends in a tie (unless the power goes out and doesn't come back).
And you have to shoot the ball within a prescribed and agree-upon period of time or you surrender the ball.
And -- as long as Coach Underwood is around these parts -- the Illini will always be an 'Elite' something.
And the State of Illinois will always be a 'Basketball' State. With fabulous fans that love the game. Absolutely.
chiefini
- Rockford, Illinois
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Loyalillini10
- Urbana, IL
Yuck. Reminds me of an Illinois-Penn State game I went to one time...
I doubt I'll feel confident about a big ten this season. Minnesota at home maybe?
I'll also be optimistic every night. A balanced volatile conference.
I'll also be optimistic every night. A balanced volatile conference.
splitter
- and not Nebraska
Another quote from MythBusters.
I’ve seen a half dozen games there. Not an intimidating environment. But quite impressive to see all the banners in the rafters.
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