Yup, on a neutral court, we would be favored by half a point. Hate to think it, but it's going to be a battle to stay out of the basement.
Pregame: Illinois vs East Tennessee State, Saturday, December 15th, 1:00pm CT, BTN Plus
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Yup, on a neutral court, we would be favored by half a point. Hate to think it, but it's going to be a battle to stay out of the basement.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
As long as we finish the basement, I'm ok with it. Maybe a tiki bar, extra shower, shuffleboard, pool table, and some cool neon signs.
Tacomallini
- Washington State
That a typo or is BU the type that also warshes his clothes?
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
I think people are undervaluing the UNLV win. Tons of pressure on struggling young Illinois team and they won the game.
UNLV had nothing to lose and those teams can be dangerous. See ILL vs Gonzaga ‘18.
I think the ETSU game falls in that exact same category.
UNLV had nothing to lose and those teams can be dangerous. See ILL vs Gonzaga ‘18.
I think the ETSU game falls in that exact same category.
UNLV is a borderline top 100 team (will probably finish around 125 if I had to guess). They are probably the worst P6 shooting team we will see. We should've won that game by 15+. Blame it on youth or inexperience or what have you, but that's a fact.
I'm glad this team pulled together at the end to win, but it shouldn't have come to that. If we want to win B1G games, we have to play the final 5 minutes just as hard and effective as the previous 35 (assuming of course we were playing hard in the first place, but thats an argument for another time.)
ETSU is a deep and decently experienced team that has a great HC. Considering the team as a whole, I'd bet they finish the year very similarly ranked to UNLV, though their individual makeups differ.
Of course we need to finish stronger and I’m not debating whether or not UNLV is that good of a team.
Sometimes an athletic team is dangerous especially when they have no pressure and all the pressure falls squarely on the other team. That’s a thing.
There was a lot of pressure for the Illini to win that game and you could see they got tight at the end. Pressure always makes things more difficult, so I’m not putting a ton of value on the score.
ETSU has been solid the last couple of years. It will probably be a close game. People will panic if we barely win, because ETSU is a mid major, but it’s probably going to be close all the way. If it’s a blowout, we win though.
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illinipioneer
- Richmond, VA
My brother and dad are both ETSU alums, I live in Northeast TN. Forbes has built a monster at ETSU, they will come ready so although they rank a bit lower than UNLV in kenpom they will probably end up playing to a similar quality as that group.
Hopefully this young Illini squad is learning and growing and they take another step with a solid home win!
Hopefully this young Illini squad is learning and growing and they take another step with a solid home win!
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
I think all of our wins thru the end of the season will be closer than we want.....We played Gonzaga close with a chance to win , but that team will not show up every game as we seem to be a team that plays to the level of our competition....
The one blowout I hope for is against Misery by 40 + points...Make it happen Illini.....I already wrote Santa that that's my xmas wish this year !
illinipioneer
- Richmond, VA
Agreed, and as to your "playing to the competition" is more a product of the age of this team more than anything
Hope it is not us. Likely the top teams are looking forward to RU and us. Hopefully we make them regret that.
Hope to see growth. And victories.
GO ILLINI!
I know it's not saying much, but I haven't watched a single illini win this year in any sport. Turned on volleyball last night in the 3rd. I don't have BTN Plus
GortTheRobot
- North Bethesda, Maryland
This Tevian stuff is getting dumb.
Second half complacency could hurt us in this one.
ETSU has trailed in six of its eight wins this season, including coming back from a season-high 18-point deficit against Sam Houston State ... The Bucs also trailed by eight points in the second half against UT Martin, while rallying from a seven-point second-half mark against Winthrop ... ETSU has outscored its opponents by 105 points in the second half this season (488 to 383), while the Bucs are shooting 53 percent (182-345) and have a plus-9.4 rebound margin in the final 20 minutes
ETSU has trailed in six of its eight wins this season, including coming back from a season-high 18-point deficit against Sam Houston State ... The Bucs also trailed by eight points in the second half against UT Martin, while rallying from a seven-point second-half mark against Winthrop ... ETSU has outscored its opponents by 105 points in the second half this season (488 to 383), while the Bucs are shooting 53 percent (182-345) and have a plus-9.4 rebound margin in the final 20 minutes
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
YIKES.....those are discouraging numbers Truffaut....I have more worry now about today's game.....
Still, I think....
Illini 84
ETSU 74
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
Uh oh. Don't like our recent track record against Teams Enduring Travel Hardship.
If they come out to play in their practice jerseys, we are hosed.
SampsonRelpenk
- Edwardsville, IL
Commentator, as ETSU players drain multiple halfcourt threes and pull off several 360 dunks: "All they've had to eat in the past 18 hours are Pop-Tarts and RC Cola!"
illinipioneer
- Richmond, VA
Posters on the ETSU boards are hoping for a rescheduled game.....one would think they would prefer this given our track record!
Deleted member 29907
D
Guest
Are we sure this is our opponent and not a recruit?
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