sacraig
- The desert
What happens if we play like we did against Wisconsin? What happens if Piscataway gets 8 feet of snow? What happens if I win the lottery between now and the game (hint: 75 in OLED)?
Pregame: Illinois at Rutgers, Wednesday, February 16th, 6:00pm CT, BTN
- Status
All we ask for is a consistently good effort, with peaks of great effort: turnovers less than 5 (hoping that will mean they keep it below 10)(sadly, it is the vets that are the cause of the TOs)
Do not look forward to Pikiell's constant whining to the ref's or crybaby Mulcahy's antics
Remember, we beat these guys by 35 earlier this season. Of course, Rutgers is on a roll right now and are a different team at home. Will be tough but I think we match up well and have a decent chance to win this one.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Of our remaining six games, I rank the "weekly pairs" like this:
- 1st two on the schedule are the toughest two: @ Rut; @ MSU - Week of Feb 14
- 2nd two on the schedule are next toughest: OSU; @ Mich - Week of Feb 21
- Final two on the schedule are the easiest: PSU; Iowa - Week of Feb 28
Hence, the schedule theoretically gets easier as we progress toward the BTT.
- 1st two on the schedule are the toughest two: @ Rut; @ MSU - Week of Feb 14
- 2nd two on the schedule are next toughest: OSU; @ Mich - Week of Feb 21
- Final two on the schedule are the easiest: PSU; Iowa - Week of Feb 28
Hence, the schedule theoretically gets easier as we progress toward the BTT.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
What happens if we play like we did for the final 15 mins in Bloomington? Different game, different team, different environment. This is why we love the game: it's unpredictable night-to-night when you're dealing with 18-22 year-olds; it's a game of emotion, and runs; it's gritting out ugly wins and heartbreaking losses.
I'm not the least bit concerned about Weds night @ the RAC. I don't know that we'll win but I'll be stunned if we don't fight hard and play smart from tip to buzzer. I don't know that Rutgers can put together a fourth straight masterpiece. And I certainly like newfound confidence in RJ off the bench.
We start one guy over 6'5", why should we win rebound totals?I really wanted to be the first to say if we play like that against Rutgers we will lose.
This game does make me nervous, but more because of how inconsistent we’ve played lately. We are mostly playing hard but the effort isn’t great. 50/50 balls Underwood teams should dominate and we aren’t. Rebounding effort comes and goes. Mentally we just don’t seem locked in as evidenced by the turnovers trending higher than we were a couple weeks ago.
Hopefully we play like the title is on the line because this isn’t a game I want to lose with what we have coming at us the rest of the way.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
I posted this in another thread, but as a superstitious former baseball player ... Brad, PLEASE do not have us wear those God-awful regular orange jerseys! Not only do the '89 throwbacks make them look like rags, but here is our record in each of the jerseys this year:
Regular White: 7-0 (4-0)
Orange 1989 Throwbacks: 5-0 (3-0)
White Script Throwbacks: 3-2 (3-1)
Regular Orange: 3-4 (1-2)
The basketball gods are BEGGING us to wear those beautiful orange throwbacks on the road. I simply pray we listen to them.
(I'd also be okay with finally busting out THESE bad boys as a throwback uniform one of these days...)
Oh yeah, my guess :
#15 Illinois 72
Rutgers 70
Regular White: 7-0 (4-0)
Orange 1989 Throwbacks: 5-0 (3-0)
White Script Throwbacks: 3-2 (3-1)
Regular Orange: 3-4 (1-2)
The basketball gods are BEGGING us to wear those beautiful orange throwbacks on the road. I simply pray we listen to them.
(I'd also be okay with finally busting out THESE bad boys as a throwback uniform one of these days...)
Oh yeah, my guess :
#15 Illinois 72
Rutgers 70
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Endorsed. And just get rid of the regulars and go with the throwbacks 100% of the time, adding an orange script '79 version.I posted this in another thread, but as a superstitious former baseball player ... Brad, PLEASE do not have us wear those God-awful regular orange jerseys! Not only do the '89 throwbacks make them look like rags, but here is our record in each of the jerseys this year:
Regular White: 7-0 (4-0)
Orange 1989 Throwbacks: 5-0 (3-0)
White Script Throwbacks: 3-2 (3-1)
Regular Orange: 3-4 (1-2)
The basketball gods are BEGGING us to wear those beautiful orange throwbacks on the road. I simply pray we listen to them.
(I'd also be okay with finally busting out THESE bad boys as a throwback uniform one of these days...)
Oh yeah, my guess :
#15 Illinois 72
Rutgers 70
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
1000x yes, please. My non-Illini friends ALWAYS talk about how awesome our throwbacks look (several times calling them the "best jerseys in college basketball"), and a few on occasion have commented on how lame the regular ones look in comparison. We are lucky to have such awesome throwback designs in our arsenal, and it's not like we save them for special occasions, so ... just wear them all the time...?
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
In my 70 + years on earth , I can't remember ever having lived through the same day syndrome being espoused here......Every day is different than others ....You might do SOME things the same , but at the end of the day it has had it's own unique moments.......Same thing as any sports event you watch or even participate in .......I had days playing baseball where it looks like a beachball coming to the plate and other days where it looked like a grain of sand.....
If we play like we did "" WHENEVER "" is so lame that it begs to be ridiculed as not worthy of commenting on............Every day has it's up's and down's ...Same as sports ....what was working today will or will not be working the next game or beyond.........
To get a better grasp on the present condition I would recommend approaching it as "" I'm so glad we got that crap outta our system and I know we won't play like that next game """.................
But that approach takes optimism and that trait is sorely lacking here sometimes .....not pointing any fingers at anyone , but again , why is it so handwringingly apparent that some here can't just enjoy a B1G win .....it doesn't matter to me if the win has warts all over it....
JUST WIN BABY !!!!!
If we play like we did "" WHENEVER "" is so lame that it begs to be ridiculed as not worthy of commenting on............Every day has it's up's and down's ...Same as sports ....what was working today will or will not be working the next game or beyond.........
To get a better grasp on the present condition I would recommend approaching it as "" I'm so glad we got that crap outta our system and I know we won't play like that next game """.................
But that approach takes optimism and that trait is sorely lacking here sometimes .....not pointing any fingers at anyone , but again , why is it so handwringingly apparent that some here can't just enjoy a B1G win .....it doesn't matter to me if the win has warts all over it....
JUST WIN BABY !!!!!
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Pru's got his Walken stick! 11-3 is 11-3, my friends. Line 'em up.
@rutgers? Wow I’ll take that in a heartbeat
illini80
- Forgottonia
Not sure what your point is. Last I saw we were a top 10 rebounding team. It’s a huge part of why we’ve been successful.
We’ll be like 4 or 5 point favorites…
No way Rutgers is favored at home. They were an 8 point underdog I think to Wisco on the road.
DICKnaggie
- Champaign
I've been saying for games that we need him moving towards the basket. Let anyone get defensive position behind him invites double or triple teams but we are running almost no two man game other than set calls out of time outs for Payne (which I love).
20+. But, as others have pointed out, we won't.
We will play better. But I'm not expecting a win. Rutgers us too good at home.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Big week ahead. If we win 1 of 2, I love our chances to win the B1G. Lose them both, and we might have to win out.
I saw a site that predicted actual scores just a few days ago (BEFORE the RU defeat of WI). It had IL 79 -RU 75. So essentially IL -4 with over/under 154.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
Yep. Early consensus seems to be Illini by 4 or 5 points. I agree with WestCoast............I love that early line!
- Status