Doesn’t matter. We are great at the point guard position. Nothing to worry about.
Pregame: Illinois at Rutgers, Saturday, December 2nd, 3:00pm CT, BTN
- Status
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
The B1G is weaker this year than previous years.
But still - 11 of the 14 B1G teams are in the top 75 in KenPom with (12) Indiana at 80 and (13) Penn St at 86 (Minnesota bringing up the rear at 120). So there’s a good chance that every road game for the Illini will be a Q1 opportunity (we don’t play Minnesota on the road).
There are currently 4 B1G teams in the top 30 in KenPom (not including us) so that’s 4 more Q1 home opportunities.
I realize the selection committee uses NET, so the numbers might be slightly different than KenPom, but my count we have:
15 Q1 opportunities
8 Q2 opportunities
So plenty of opportunity for big wins and very little opportunity remaining for big losses.
Last edited:
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
After that NU game today … we need this one.
Loyalillini10
- Urbana, IL
Oh here we go again with this nonsense. Do I want to, at least, get to the Sweet 16 this year, ofc. Do I want BU fired if we don't, of f&%$ing course not; I am a rational and sane individual. He hasn't done anything to warrant being on the hot seat.
Lord, help us sane Illini fans. Protect us and our mental health from the crazy ones. Amen.
It is way too early to think about the whether so and so has us in the tourney. The Illini will have plenty of chances to prove they belong in the Big conference. Now as for the upcoming game at Rutgers it seems the Illini have a tendency not to show up for that game. I think the free throw shooting and lack of consistency from 3 and CoHawks inability to guard Omiuyri will doom us again! Rutgers 73 Illini 68.
The hell is this take?
sacraig
- The desert
To paraphrase: "Bielema's team underperformed so now Underwood is on the hot seat."
The experts have the over/under at 11.5 Big wins. I’ll take the over and it shouldn’t be close. We’re a solid program and the Big is not up to par. This should guarantee a better than average seed in the tournament.
I’d like to see us second or third in the final conference standings. Obviously, I’d like to see us win it, but let’s keep our expectations in check.
I’d like to see us second or third in the final conference standings. Obviously, I’d like to see us win it, but let’s keep our expectations in check.
Looking forward to this game so we can see what is what with this team. Been nice to get different guys some tick and hopefully main portion of rotation comfortable with each other, but can’t really tell a lot against the type of competition we’ve been playing. Hopefully we can build on and improve on the performance against Marquette. Things starting to get real.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
He is a pretty good player. If he is on your team you love him.
Had 13 assists and 1 TO in last game.
Apples and oranges.
Did you miss the era's prior. Both FB and BB coaches are unequivocally better than at least both of their previous two predecessors. Illinois isn't a top 5-10 coaching destination, probably not even a top 20 destination in either sport. But maybe you have lined up the replacements for Josh? Care to share who would be considered a non-experimental upgrade in either sport that is also willing sign-on for 5 years in Champaign?
We win
Retro62
- North Bethesda, Maryland
The last game @altgeld88 and I traveled to was the MD football game…granted, not a big trip. We took another friend with us who was actually rooting for MD, and look how that turned out.
This time we are taking a different friend along to NJ, but I am thinking of getting there early and buying him a RU shirt to wear during the game…why mess with a proven formula.
This time we are taking a different friend along to NJ, but I am thinking of getting there early and buying him a RU shirt to wear during the game…why mess with a proven formula.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
God bless you two!!
This upcoming game is the type that just puts a pit in my stomach as a long-time fan. While it would obviously be great to get a road victory and start off the Big Ten season 1-0, I do fear that we have even more to lose with a loss than we have to gain with a win. We have four very tough games in December, and we quite simply have to win at least two of them to keep momentum going, IMO.at Rutgers
vs. #19 FAU (New York, NY)
at #7 Tennessee
vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
If we go 4-0, we have legitimately set ourselves on track to fight for a top 2 seed as crazy as that sounds (with obviously still much work to do). 3-1 would be fantastic in general, but especially if one of the wins is in Knoxville. 2-2 depends entirely on who we beat ... I don't think any of these will in any way be "bad" losses for our resumes, but Tennessee and FAU represent golden opportunities for good wins that we might not have as much of during Big Ten play. I think we have to get one of those.
I also actually think Mizzou will be decent this year, and anything can happen at Braggin' Rights ... so I will feel relatively assured if we can survive and get out of the RAC with a win. Winning on Saturday takes a lot of pressure off of this team as it heads to Madison Square Garden, and the FAU game becomes less of a "backs against the wall" game and way more of a "golden opportunity" game.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Winning on the road in the BT is of course difficult, no matter the opponent. The RAC is a particularly hostile place to play from what I gather. We'll see. Thank goodness Rutgers is down this season compared with recent years. We can win there but have to show up early and aggressively. Have no idea what the 8-day layoff will yield.God bless you two!!
at Rutgers
vs. #19 FAU (New York, NY)
at #7 Tennessee
vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO)
If we go 4-0, we have legitimately set ourselves on track to fight for a top 2 seed as crazy as that sounds (with obviously still much work to do). 3-1 would be fantastic in general, but especially if one of the wins is in Knoxville. 2-2 depends entirely on who we beat ... I don't think any of these will in any way be "bad" losses for our resumes, but Tennessee and FAU represent golden opportunities for good wins that we might not have as much of during Big Ten play. I think we have to get one of those.
I also actually think Mizzou will be decent this year, and anything can happen at Braggin' Rights ... so I will feel relatively assured if we can survive and get out of the RAC with a win. Winning on Saturday takes a lot of pressure off of this team as it heads to Madison Square Garden, and the FAU game becomes less of a "backs against the wall" game and way more of a "golden opportunity" game.
I want the Braggin' Rights game badly this year. We're 1-4 in the past 5 and last year was a complete debacle. With FAU and TN the chips will fall where they may.
Missouri is not very good this year. We need to win that game. My hope is 3-1 in these next four "big games." 4-0 is possible and would be awesome, but on the road at Rutgers and Tennessee aren't gimmes at all. Looking forward to seeing what they can do, hopefully starting with a big win at the RAC!
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Agreed. I mostly want the Rutgers win so that we can be playing with house money in the Tennessee and FAU games and still feel good about this team going into the holidays ... I want Braggin' Rights as badly as anyone, but that one just kind of is what it is. Always intense. I have nightmares of playing at Rutgers, haha ... so I'll really start to get pumped if we can win that one.
In fact, slightly off topic here, but IF you tried to "control" for factors other than the arena itself, I would actually rank the RAC as maybe even the most difficult place to play in the Big Ten. In other words, is the Kohl Center really a difficult place to play, or is Wisconsin usually good plus the Kohl Center is at least a passable atmosphere. Conversely, does the Barn actually have insane potential for a home court atmosphere but Minnesota is usually just bad so we can't see it? In some magical hypothetical world where each team was somehow like 16-0 with a sellout crowd, they each had more or less the same talent level and each had an exciting/name opponent coming to town for a Saturday afternoon game, I would actually rank the other 13 Big Ten arenas like this on their "inherent" gameday atmosphere:
Rutgers - Absolute snake pit.
Purdue - Tin box of noise but less on top of you than the RAC.
Michigan State - Layout of the students feels the most suffocating in the conference.
Indiana - Overrated but still unique enough to be intimidating.
Minnesota - Seriously, imagine like Kansas playing in here with a raucous crowd...
Maryland - Also kind of overrated, but the super steep student section seating is indeed imposing.
Nebraska - Surprisingly loud and compact and laid out more strategically for noise, being a new arena.
Iowa - Absolutely terrible layout and aesthetically boring as all hell, but it at least gets really loud sometimes with that flat roof.
Michigan - Decent student section layout, but the rest is uninspiring.
Wisconsin - Literally carried only by good teams being supported by good fans over the years ... was like a morgue many times last season when I watched.
Penn State - Seems dingy, but I bet an elite program on a roll could turn it into a pretty loud arena?
Ohio State - Seems to be just new/NBA-esque enough to lack atmosphere but just old enough to not be on Nebraska's level.
Northwestern - Even when Illini fans erupted after Da'Monte's putback dunk the last time I was there, that arena just doesn't get as loud as it should for being so small ... and now it's even lost the quirky trait of being like a high school gym with the renovations, lol.
To go back on topic ... yeah, it's difficult for Big Ten teams to win at the RAC when there is a full and energetic crowd. RU has knocked off five ranked teams in the past two seasons, even while usually being a Bubble team at best.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Small, compact arenas are hell to play in as a visiting team if the crowd is into it. I'm getting to be an old man and reflect occasionally on what, for example, Oregon lost by moving from MacArthur Court to its present, Phil Knight-funded large arena, and other programs have given up via similar moves to larger venues. In the BT, I've been to the Barn twice when it was empty (in the late '80s.) I can tell you from watching the Gophers on TV when I was a kid that you're right: the place is frightful when it's full and rockin' and the Gophers are rolling. That hasn't happened with regularity over the years, however. Look up the YouTube video of the early '70s Bill Musselman-era, Harlem Globetrotters-inspired warmup routine that the Gophers had and you'll get an idea of the potential.
Other observations:
Penn State: I visited its old Rec Hall when I attended the Illini football game there in '08. Saw part of (IIRC) a volleyball game there. Was very loud. Approx. same size as the RAC (8k) for basketball. I thought to myself at the time that PSU gave up a huge home-court advantage when the completely sterile Bryce-Jordan Center was built (15k), which I'd visited earlier in the day. They don't even remotely fill that venue and never will.
Maryland: This is the arena I currently know best because of the number of games I've seen there in the past decade. It's extremely intimidating when full and loud. Fun place to see a competitive game, particularly because Maryland fans are generally angry vipers. Would have loved to see a game in the old Cole Fieldhouse, which is now the football practice facility.
Ohio State: Definite lack of atmosphere and also sterile. Their problem is that they could fill the old St. John Arena (13k) today easily but can't fill the Value City Arena (19k) regularly, the capacity of which was aspirational when it was built. And that old arena was a great venue.
Iowa: Saw a women's game in Carver-Hawkeye 20 years ago. I thought to myself that if it were full it would be an intimidating place to play given the steep bowl and (as you note) flat roof.
Unsurprisingly, I'm biased: our Assembly Hall is easily the jewel of the conference.
. Would rank Mackey second.On my TO DO list for future Illini road trips:
Purdue: Gotta see a Purdue v. Illini game here. Visited Mackey two or three times back in the '80s and '90s when you could just walk in there off the street. Each time I looked at that low metal drum ceiling and thought: this place must get deafening.
Indiana: Again, have been in here when it was empty (it was 1990 and the women were practicing.) Strange, auditorium-like venue with enormous upper levels as I recall. Would love to see a game there.
Michigan State: Seems nothing special but I imagine it will be an enjoyable place to see a Illini road victory.
Had visited the old McGaw Hall (NW's Welsh-Ryan Arena) in the '80s and '90s before the renovations. Yawn. Lots of small-arena potential unfulfilled. Also Crisler Arena (pedestrian, like it's football sibling next door) and the old Wisconsin Field House in the late '80s when the men still played there. The latter seemed as though it had potential but at the time was somewhat dilapidated. I believe the volleyball team plays there now.
Am stoked about Saturday's game at the RAC. That's been on my list since Rutgers joined the conference.
- Status