Pregame: Illinois vs Chattanooga, Friday, March 18th, 5:50pm CT, TNT

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#151      

ginabackes00

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CrazedUIFan
ginabackes00
Every team has the potential to lose in the tournament. There are always upsets. That’s what makes the tournament great. There is no bad luck, why does this happen, blah blah blah for the Illini. There are few P5 teams that haven’t had ”bad” losses. I expect this to become more prevalent with the way The transfer portal is with the NIL now. But I'm an eternal optimistic every game we play.
 
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#153      

PapaKvells

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PapaKvells
I don’t care about draws, matchups or metrics at this point. You have to beat good teams to win in a tournament full of good teams.

How our shooters shoot and how Kofi is officiated will be impactful. If Kofi draws fouls but isn’t called for “being big”, and Plummer/Trent/Grandison all don’t go cold, we’re going to be a major load. Also, limit the turnovers and don’t let teams get easy offensive boards. We belong but it is A-game time.
 
#157      

Hopingfor500

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Hopingfor500
IllinistuckinGopherland said:
Are there a lot of teams out there who say “we really don’t match up well with short teams with poor athletes”?
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You're right. My blanket statement was silly. That said, we have two ways of scoring....1)Kofi and 2)the three point line. There's really no in between. Athletic bigs and guards with size can shut both down. Now, if that happens, where does scoring option 3 come from? That's my concern. The 4 of 34 from inside the arc(less Kofi) is still fresh.
 
#158      

Birdus

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Birdus
I would rather play Chattanooga than Iowa right now. Man I can think of at least 12 other teams I would rather not play and it's called the BIG. Bring em on!
 
#159      

ginabackes00

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CrazedUIFan
ginabackes00
Hopingfor500 said:
You're right. My blanket statement was silly. That said, we have two ways of scoring....1)Kofi and 2)the three point line. There's really no in between. Athletic bigs and guards with size can shut both down. Now, if that happens, where does scoring option 3 come from? That's my concern. The 4 of 34 from inside the arc(less Kofi) is still fresh.
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If Curbelo can drive and be successful hitting shots in the lane, that is another opportunity.
 
#161      

Illiniguy13

Illiniguy13
Illiniguy13
After watching some recent Chat game footage, it does appear they have problems on defense, especially in the paint. Kofi should get his, but if I’m a Mocs fan I think I’m most scared of Curbelo. I think he’ll get into the teeth of the defense and cause them some problems.
 
#162      

Roundball Sage

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Roundball Sage
“The Chattanooga Mocs (formerly the Chattanooga Moccasins)”...

So, they sneakily match up The Moccasins vs. The Fighting Illini? Really?

So will the players be allowed to wear shoes on Friday?

Shoes or not...as Magic Johnson used to say during the Lakers glory years...

‘IT’S WINNIN’ TIME!’
 
#163      

OrangeLife

OrangeLife
OrangeLife
Hopingfor500 said:
aYou're right. My blanket statement was silly. That said, we have two ways of scoring....1)Kofi and 2)the three point line. There's really no in between. Athletic bigs and guards with size can shut both down. Now, if that happens, where does scoring option 3 come from? That's my concern. The 4 of 34 from inside the arc(less Kofi) is still fresh.
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We have shown flashes of our guards going to hoops, but not consistently. If "good" Curbello shows up and Hawkins continues his present trajectory we will have no issues getting to Arizona. They are scary good, but we battled them hard the first time and without that 5 second call we might have won.
 
#164      

BashCtIllini

BashCtIllini
BashCtIllini
Illiniguy13 said:
After watching some recent Chat game footage, it does appear they have problems on defense, especially in the paint. Kofi should get his, but if I’m a Mocs fan I think I’m most scared of Curbelo. I think he’ll get into the teeth of the defense and cause them some problems.
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This is what I noticed watching their game, it was a bit slow. By slow I mean no crazy athletes.

The agony and the ecstasy of March Madness is the best team doesn't always win. But we should be able to d them up, and no one in the nation really has an answer for Kofi. Chattanooga is actually in a fortunate position there to have a former Kansas guy on their roster, but I'd bet Kofi will try to get him in foul trouble.

Looks like UAB has some chuckers that hit at a fairly high clip. That is the typically the best way for March Madness upset, get hot from 3. Let's see if some of the madness can go in our favor for a change.
 
#170      

FloridaMan

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FloridaMan
Hopingfor500 said:
You're right. My blanket statement was silly. That said, we have two ways of scoring....1)Kofi and 2)the three point line. There's really no in between. Athletic bigs and guards with size can shut both down. Now, if that happens, where does scoring option 3 come from? That's my concern. The 4 of 34 from inside the arc(less Kofi) is still fresh.
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We will know within the first 10 minutes of each half whether or not Plummer is on or off. If he's off, we have to go big with Coleman and feed Kofi and/or let Coleman drive and kick the ball. Sticking with Plummer hoping he will get hot is a recipe for getting upset in my opinion.

Watching games all weekend, I was struck by the fact that the good teams all drove the ball hard to the basket and kicked if a shot didn't present itself. We are not that team yet, but maybe that is the secret plan that's been hinted at for the tournament. The most surprising team that was so good at that was VTech, but there were many that tried to do the same thing.

Edit: We may not want to wait 10 minutes, maybe 6 in the first half. If we're not unconscious from three, change tactics.
 
#172      

altgeld88

altgeld88
Arlington, Virginia
altgeld88
JJE said:
Lol. Wow, what a bizarre year we've had with injuries. I'm waiting for the report on game day that we have players out with dysentery. We've played some bad games for sure, but we've definitely had more than our fair share of speed bumps along the way.
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I was worried about a wave of gout after the feast they enjoyed at The Beef House en route to WL. Dodged that bullet.
 
#173      

BigMuddyMonster

BigMuddyMonster
BigMuddyMonster
You’re not afraid of a 13 seed with a veteran and loaded BIG ten team like ILL has. There is no reason they should not take care of business. This tournament will have big implications on how ILL is as a program. It’s time to put your money where your mouth is.

This team is too talented to not make some noise this tournament.
 
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