alamocityillini
- San Antonio
Pregame: Illinois at Rutgers, Wednesday, February 16th, 6:00pm CT, BTN
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illini80
- Forgottonia
Nice breakdown. Thanks for posting.
Another tidbit is this will be a "blackout" game at the RAC with the team wearing black and free black t shirts to student section.
The team is coming off 3 consecutive wins over top 16 teams and many long time season ticket holders were saying the last home game against OSU was the loudest the RAC has been since 70s 80s or 90s depending on the poster, but loudest in decades is general consensus.
If Rutgers can start strong, the place is going to be absolutely rockinggg. We have struggled with slow starts in manyyy games however. A good start from Illinois could really deflate the crowd especially after last games butt kicking. Always key to start strong, but this game it feels even more important
The team is coming off 3 consecutive wins over top 16 teams and many long time season ticket holders were saying the last home game against OSU was the loudest the RAC has been since 70s 80s or 90s depending on the poster, but loudest in decades is general consensus.
If Rutgers can start strong, the place is going to be absolutely rockinggg. We have struggled with slow starts in manyyy games however. A good start from Illinois could really deflate the crowd especially after last games butt kicking. Always key to start strong, but this game it feels even more important
illini80
- Forgottonia
Bigtex
- DFW
Nice/Very good summary. Should be a close battle. 100% agree this is a good matchup for illinois. Last 2 games Illinois started HOT and 2nd half wasn't as effective.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
Y'all got a brutal next 5 games. If you can help scare up some Rutgers wins against PU and Wisc., it sure would be swell.
Sounds like we need to go to Kofi non stop. Maybe BU should make a rule. Each possession, nobody is allowed to shoot a jumper until Kofi gets a paint touch. Except Plummer. He can shoot whenever he wants. 
Brutal schedule...
#13 MSU
#16 OSU
@ #14 WISC
#12 ILL
@ #5 PURDUE
@ Michigan
#15 WISC
Rutgers is the most scandalous bubble team with losses to Lafayette DePaul UMass PSU NW Maryland Minnesota
Wins over Purdue MSU OSU Iowa Wisconsin Michigan
We just did not take care of business against weak OOC schedule and the bottom half of the B1G or this season looks completely different.
I would. If Cliff gets in early foul trouble the game might be over before it starts. If Kofi is ever in the game when Cliff is on the bench, the ball should go inside to Kofi every play. You won't believe how bad a mismatch our backup 5's are against him. They stand zero chanceSounds like we need to go to Kofi non stop. Maybe BU should make a rule. Each possession, nobody is allowed to shoot a jumper until Kofi gets a paint touch. Except Plummer. He can shoot whenever he wants.
He'll end up being a player. Give him a little more time.
He’s going to do great things for us.
I saw Mulcahey's game against NW. The announcers were apologizing for being surprised he was playing so well. He has played out of his mind. That is why I believe Da'Monte Williams is the best defensive matchup for him. Grandison won't be able to hang with him. RJ Melendez will probably guard him also so that Da'Monte can guard Harper some. Harper too strong for Melendez. Mulcahey more than Harper is the key to the game. He is making that offense hum. We'll probably have Coleman Hawkins on Harper as much as our coach can allow.
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This will be tough defensively for us with them playing much better of late. Who does Plummer guard? McConnell? He's got 6-7 inches on him, but he's the least offensive threat. This is my guess, and it's completely a guess:
Geo - Trent (Can't put Plummer on him. He'll get torched)
Mulcahy - Jake
Harper - Monte
McConnell - Plummer
Omoruyi - Kofi (Only one I'm confident about)
I think our bench players get quite a bit of tick this game, especially if they're hot offensively. Our bench matches up better than our starters. If Omoruyi gets in foul trouble early they don't have anyone else that can really match up with Kofi. This will be a tough matchup for us.
Geo - Trent (Can't put Plummer on him. He'll get torched)
Mulcahy - Jake
Harper - Monte
McConnell - Plummer
Omoruyi - Kofi (Only one I'm confident about)
I think our bench players get quite a bit of tick this game, especially if they're hot offensively. Our bench matches up better than our starters. If Omoruyi gets in foul trouble early they don't have anyone else that can really match up with Kofi. This will be a tough matchup for us.
What we seem to be forgetting here is that Kofi is never guarded by one player--usually two or three if the help comes quick. Northwestern did it pretty effectively, stripping him six times. I still don't believe all that ripping and clawing, however, didn't include plenty of fouls.
Probably. But expect Monte to spend alot of time on Mulcahy with RJ helping and playing significant mins. Expect Jake to spend some time on Geo. Expect Hawkins to get significant mins on Harper. Gonna be a team D effort. Since an ugly home win against Iowa by 2 points in the 40's, their offense has exploded and caught up with their defense.
Hawkins is very good interview and very humble. Know one would like to be relegated to a lesser role, but he handled those questions like a pro. I for one hope he stays focused as I think he will have a big effect for this team and in years to come.
In my mind it should start on the defense end for him. He is so athletic and we really don’t have a defender like him. If he can do that he will find himself on the court a great deal more.
I am rooting for the kid as he really is a “stand up” person and in todays world there are less and less of those.
In my mind it should start on the defense end for him. He is so athletic and we really don’t have a defender like him. If he can do that he will find himself on the court a great deal more.
I am rooting for the kid as he really is a “stand up” person and in todays world there are less and less of those.
McConnell, Geo, and Mulcahy are all players who can come in for strips and steals on drives and post ups. It will be interesting to see what the strategy is, but overall it might be let Kofi get his and stop everyone else. I would prefer that strategy for the most part with surprise quick doubles if he dribbles.
As Rocky said, the key has really been Mulcahy since the turn around. It has opened up the offense and took pressure off Geo and Ron. He also gets Cliff 3 or so dunks a game and his layups and 5-8 footers are all high percentage looks. Rutgers has a history of scoring droughts but Mulcahy gets us good looks and easy buckets which has been huge. Cliff has also improved drastically. Paul and Cliff are both consistently scoring in double figures now
as alot of people have said, "baby steps" to get back and keep improving. Defense and rebounds (including much needed offensive ones) much more than points right now.
Since we're opining, I'll add my 2 cents.
Was completely uninspired by the hire, but figured we'd had a good run of coaches with Kruger and Self, and no reason some relative unknown couldn't be the next one. Then he had that magical run and very, very few saw what was to come. Those that did got run off the message board.
BW Seems like a stand up guy, hard worker, and have nothing against him, but....strictly as a basketball coach, I had problems with him earlier than most. I'll grant you he had some bad luck. Several guys had great recruiting rankings at some point that never panned out, and he had his share of incidents. Most programs have those, though. What got me was the mediocrity combined with how he treated players. He kept that old school version of being the team boss right up to the end, even as he lost control of his teams. I could see him losing buy-in each year and it sucked watching it, especially with such a plodding style of offense.
From where I sit, Underwood is elite. Owns the process from start to finish, whether it's hitting the road and evaluating talent, or figuring out how to navigate the needs and relationships around recruiting. Loves his players. Collaborates. Accepts the business end of it without complaining. Sure, he makes mistakes, but he completely owns those and looks inward to improve. He kept his cool early on when the results were bad and trusted the process. How many coaches would stomach what he went through to build it right? Things change so fast and yet his roster construction has kept improving. Amazed at how it's turned around. I could go on --it's night and day better --glad I can appreciate it more as a fan given the prior 2 coaches. Love how the future looks, and being able to see good players become great. They'll be ups and downs, especially next year the team will be young, inconsistent, etc. But I'm excited because his teams have been fun to watch compete. Some truly amazing, amazing players. Feliz, Trent, and many others I think are better called warriors than players.
He needs a few offensive put backs to get the confidence in his offense going. If someone is telling you not to shoot jumpers, the other team picks up on that pretty easily.
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