Pregame: Illinois vs Alabama, Wednesday, November 20th, 8:00pm CT, SECN

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#154      
Fighter of the Nightman
SuperintendentChalmers said:
What about the 85-78 win over #2 Texas at MSG on 12/6/22?
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Good catch, not sure how I missed that one! In that case, Underwood is responsible for 3 of our 7 such victories in the previous 4 seasons!

I-L-L 1318 said:
Will this count as neutral in the NET? Off-campus, but ultimately, I imagine it will be more of a road game for us than Bama
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I believe any game played outside of one team's gym is considered a neutral site game no matter what the crowd makeup is or how far one team travels. That's actually a nice perk of us getting the UC game back on the schedule next year! Theoretically, you have a rockin' Illini crowd that gives you an advantage, but you get materially more credit for a win there than in Champaign.
 
#158      
foby
illinibbcz said:
Illinois 79-Alabama 73
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#161      
2qtslow
Is the SEC Network on Comcast cable? I am about to cut the wire, but I'd like to be sure I know how to find this one first.
 
#164      
Second place is 1st loser
ILLI die hard said:
If Alabama bullies and hand checks hard against our young and slighter players it could be an ugly game. Much the same way Oakland used their bullying tactics, Refs gotta be aware and make the calls.
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The refs have to call it the same both ways. They aren't going to alter the way they call the game because we have "slighter players". That's not the refs problem. It's going to be a REALLY rough year if we're going to complain about that during conference season when every opponent is a bully.

We knew this was going to be an issue early in the year because we're a young, new, underdeveloped and inexperienced bunch. We have a lot of talent, but the roster makeup is what it is.

I don't think that this game is going to go well, but it's going to go a long way in highlighting Brad's point of what toughness means and why it's required. That's the benefit of playing over our skis early.

The game plan is going to be to get physical with us until we can match that physicality. Hopefully that's sooner rather than later.
 
#165      
sacraig
LadyLoyalty said:
This team has the talent but lacked chemistry so far. I hope they have developed the cohesiveness and swagger needed to compete at this level. 💪🏽
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It's... game #4. Give it time. Think of all of Izzo's great teams that habitually took their lumps in the first two months of the season and then put it all together and cruised to a deep run.

Sorry for speaking fondly of Izzo. He's kind of a turd but no one argues that he knows how to run a basketball team (ignoring the fact that the NIL era may have finally passed him by; TBD).
 
#166      
Battle89
2qtslow said:
Is the SEC Network on Comcast cable? I am about to cut the wire, but I'd like to be sure I know how to find this one first.
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It is on mine, I watched the Ole Miss game there, and I don't have any special package or anything (well television-ally speaking anyway). Channel 336.

Cue the "laying cable" jokes...
 
#167      
sacraig
Battle89 said:
It is on mine, I watched the Ole Miss game there, and I don't have any special package or anything (well television-ally speaking anyway). Channel 336.

Cue the "laying cable" jokes...
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#168      
jamie13197
I hope Boswell goes to the rim more. Awesome defense by the veteran so far. Kj, has taken 10 shot in 3 games, scratching my head about this stat. A win is a win, go beat them period.
 
#170      
RockfordIllini
Really fun and interesting matchup. Here are my biggest questions:

1. Can Kylan slow down Sears? He’s been great defensively so far and has played guards at that level before. If Kylan takes out Sears that is the head of their snake.

2. How our front court matches up/adjusts. Ole Miss just killed our drop coverage with stretch bigs, and Bama has 2 in Stevenson and Nelson. But Cliff will also play at least 20 minutes. We need our bigs to make some 3s of our own while Cliff is out there and we need to not to get killed when they go small. Maybe we put Morez out there or play Ben or Carey at the 5.

3. How our stars shine under the bright lights. Kylan so far has felt very Matt Mayer ish and hasn’t been what I would call the most engaged or focused on the offensive end. And KJ has been very Domask ish to me to start, differing to teammates and easing in as he’s figuring out his role. However, both are big game players. Kylan was the best player on the court against Duke last year and KJ put like 37 on France and their lotto pick in the U18. I think we get big games from both.

I think we match up well and play similar styles. I think it’ll just come down to who makes more shots. 4 of Bama’s 5 starters are 5th year guys and I think they are due for a heater. I will say Bama makes a few more than us and wins a very entertaining game 94-87. And we come away encouraged.
 
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