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

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#176      

Saturdaze

S
Saturdaze
BigMuddyMonster said:
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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Love Underwood, and his program building, but I’m still concerned he doesn’t have the ability to manage and win tourney games. The character focus and getting self-motivated guys is great for the regular season, but I just don’t see him making the adjustments necessary mid-game to pull off enough tourney wins.

It seems like when the game plan isn’t working he rotates players to find a spark off the bench, but sometimes the problem isn’t the players or the effort; it’s the scheme. He just doesn’t change schemes mid game in ways I think are needed in the tourney which I think then leads to some of this hand wringing over the matchup.
 
#177      

IlliniShelt

I
IlliniShelt
Saturdaze said:
Love Underwood, and his program building, but I’m still concerned he doesn’t have the ability to manage and win tourney games. The character focus and getting self-motivated guys is great for the regular season, but I just don’t see him making the adjustments necessary mid-game to pull off enough tourney wins.

It seems like when the game plan isn’t working he rotates players to find a spark off the bench, but sometimes the problem isn’t the players or the effort; it’s the scheme. He just doesn’t change schemes mid game in ways I think are needed in the tourney which I think then leads to some of this hand wringing over the matchup.
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Is that you Nick?
 
#179      

Illini in Italy

Illini in Italy
Illini in Italy
Saturdaze said:
Love Underwood, and his program building, but I’m still concerned he doesn’t have the ability to manage and win tourney games. The character focus and getting self-motivated guys is great for the regular season, but I just don’t see him making the adjustments necessary mid-game to pull off enough tourney wins.

It seems like when the game plan isn’t working he rotates players to find a spark off the bench, but sometimes the problem isn’t the players or the effort; it’s the scheme. He just doesn’t change schemes mid game in ways I think are needed in the tourney which I think then leads to some of this hand wringing over the matchup.
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And you base that on what? Your many years (decades in fact) coaching at the D1 level in a P5 conference?

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#182      

hoopsfan47

H
hoopsfan47
Hopingfor500 said:
You just hit on the x factor. Mr. Curbelo.
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Curbelo is the only player who has attempted more than a handful of jumpers in the paint all year. Melendez has that game and Hawkins should look to develop it as he is not terribly effective at putbacks. 8 to 12 foot jumpers are not often aggressively contested as defenders are protecting the rim and the arc. I would love to see CoHawk and RJ make the 12 foot jumper an integral part of the offense at about a 60% rate. Curbelo is a very proficient mid-range shooter....wish he could do it from the arc.
 
#187      

727ill

7
727ill
This game time implies a session 2 ticket right? Session 1 I assume is Friday morning/afternoon games.
 
#189      

Cook

Cook
Richmond, VA
Cook
Saturdaze said:
Love Underwood, and his program building, but I’m still concerned he doesn’t have the ability to manage and win tourney games. The character focus and getting self-motivated guys is great for the regular season, but I just don’t see him making the adjustments necessary mid-game to pull off enough tourney wins.

It seems like when the game plan isn’t working he rotates players to find a spark off the bench, but sometimes the problem isn’t the players or the effort; it’s the scheme. He just doesn’t change schemes mid game in ways I think are needed in the tourney which I think then leads to some of this hand wringing over the matchup.
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This year should be a good gauge of BU's tourney coaching prowess. He's got all the pieces, experience, and motivation to make a deep run. I'm cautiously optimistic, but believe good things are going to happen.
 
#191      

1Illinifan

1
1Illinifan
As I have said, Illini have been catching teams all year at their best.

Illinois' Opponents' Record from the Game Before Matchup with Illini: (20-10) with a Strength of Schedule of 8th in Nation.
Wisconsin Opponents' Record from the Game Before Matchup with Badgers: (18-12) with a Strength of Schedule of 16th in the Nation.

Not Much difference, but this is a notable stat, which could give Illinois the edge. Really just confused how Wisconsin ended up SO FAR ahead of us?!?!?!?
 
#192      

AnnaMay

AnnaMay
AnnaMay
IlliniHardwood said:
This is the worst possible draw we could have received as a 4 seed.
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Compared to what? Playing Vermont? No thanks...Playing Akron and Groce...uh no thank you. Groce makes miracles happen in tournaments. Playing South Dakota St....umm no. It is literally the best draw we could get. Houston is overrated. They have played no one. Zona is the only team on our side that is a real challenge and we would have to play them at some time anyways if we are going to get through this bracket. The other side of the bracket is by far worse.
 
#193      

Saturdaze

S
Saturdaze
1Illinifan said:
As I have said, Illini have been catching teams all year at their best.

Illinois' Opponents' Record from the Game Before Matchup with Illini: (20-10) with a Strength of Schedule of 8th in Nation.
Wisconsin Opponents' Record from the Game Before Matchup with Badgers: (18-12) with a Strength of Schedule of 16th in the Nation.

Not Much difference, but this is a notable stat, which could give Illinois the edge. Really just confused how Wisconsin ended up SO FAR ahead of us?!?!?!?
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I don’t get that either considering the Illini were ahead of WI in the committee‘s pre-ranking, and Illini have stronger record since then.
 
#194      

Saturdaze

S
Saturdaze
AnnaMay said:
Compared to what? Playing Vermont? No thanks...Playing Akron and Groce...uh no thank you. Groce makes miracles happen in tournaments. Playing South Dakota St....umm no. It is literally the best draw we could get. Houston is overrated. They have played no one. Zona is the only team on our side that is a real challenge and we would have to play them at some time anyways if we are going to get through this bracket. The other side of the bracket is by far worse.
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I think it all comes down to how people feel about Houston - underseeded 2 seed, or paper tiger 8 seed.
 
#197      

KrushCow31

KrushCow31
Former Krush Cow
Chicago, IL
KrushCow31
AnnaMay said:
Houston is overrated. They have played no one.
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Houston also beat Cincinnati 3x this year by 12, 18, and 13. Don't need to remind anyone about our game against Cincy. Blew out Virginia and Butler, blew out Bryant 111-44, beat Oregon by 29. Lost to Wisconsin by 2, and Alabama by 1. They also got blown out by Memphis last week and then blew out Memphis today.

I would say all in all they've played some decent games and teams this year. And using this site to compare analytics, we don't really look so great. https://www.cbbgraphs.com/matchup
 
#200      

orange100

orange100
time to hop on the wife
orange100
JHC:
"The Chattanooga Mocs have won the last two matchups versus Illinois. 81 to 77 back in 2015 and 75 to 63 in the 2nd round of the 1997 NCAA tournament."
 
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