Pregame: Illinois vs Iowa, Saturday, March 13th, 2:30pm CT, CBS

thehass said:

This game like some others to come may well be determined how Kofi does at the free throw line.

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Fighter of the Nightman said:

After losing five in a row (what a dark time for me, as someone who grew up in Iowa City with Hawkeyes friends...), we are on a two-game winning streak against Iowa. We are 1-3 all-time vs. Iowa in the BTT, but surprisingly we never faced them from the start of the tournament in 1998 through 2011. So, we compiled that record during some of the darker years in our program's history, 2012 to 2018.

I don't know if it's because all of my best friends are Iowa fans or if it's because of Garza being a touch matchup for a younger Kofi or if it's Iowa's ability to get hot from three, but I have ALWAYS been so nervous for this game ... not today. For the first time in 16 years, you can say you think Illinois is the best team in the country right now and have almost every college basketball fan think that's at least a reasonable take. I have so much confidence in these guys right now, and BOY do they look dialed in! And honestly, that was all that ever seemed to hold this group back. If we play our game, we're going to win today. I expect an intensely close game, but it feels good to go into EVERY single Illini game knowing we can win. My final prediction:

#5 (3) Iowa 77
#3 (2) Illinois 82

Let's keep marching, boys!

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Fighter of the Nightman said:

After losing five in a row (what a dark time for me, as someone who grew up in Iowa City with Hawkeyes friends...), we are on a two-game winning streak against Iowa. We are 1-3 all-time vs. Iowa in the BTT, but surprisingly we never faced them from the start of the tournament in 1998 through 2011. So, we compiled that record during some of the darker years in our program's history, 2012 to 2018.

I don't know if it's because all of my best friends are Iowa fans or if it's because of Garza being a touch matchup for a younger Kofi or if it's Iowa's ability to get hot from three, but I have ALWAYS been so nervous for this game ... not today. For the first time in 16 years, you can say you think Illinois is the best team in the country right now and have almost every college basketball fan think that's at least a reasonable take. I have so much confidence in these guys right now, and BOY do they look dialed in! And honestly, that was all that ever seemed to hold this group back. If we play our game, we're going to win today. I expect an intensely close game, but it feels good to go into EVERY single Illini game knowing we can win. My final prediction:

#5 (3) Iowa 77
#3 (2) Illinois 82

Let's keep marching, boys!

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illini80 said:

My mantra from here on out is going to be “Just make your free throws”. We have an incredible team, but that is one of our clear weaknesses. Maybe I should say vulnerabilities.

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CubsIlliniFan said:

Does that mean we get Kelly Pfeifer and Bo Borosky?

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nycillini said:

I don't think so. Without Nunge, Garza is really the only guy who can bang with Kofi and we know Garza isn't going to foul Kofi.

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altenberger22 said:

I agree. I believe we're playing for the final #1 seed. Winner gets ALA or HOU in its bracket. Loser gets GONZ or BAY.

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Cairo said:

Lol, great post.
Garza's legs are soft serve, insert Jarling's custard cup gif.
Hope we run them out of the gym today.
I L L

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CDRUSN said:

Livers is out indefinitely with a stress fracture, so today's match with Iowa may well be for the tournament championship. Illinois proved it can hammer Michigan with the Illini's best player sidelined, but there is no way Michigan beats Illinois or Iowa without Livers. Hate to see any kid sidelined given all the work they put in to get here, but no one felt bad for us having to play the toughest stretch of our regular schedule without Ayo. Plus, I hate the way Michigan backed in to the Big Ten season championship without playing all the games, then rubbed it in our faces.

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Hopingfor500 said:

I think that Keegan Murray kid is more of a difference maker than Nunge. His offensive rebounding or at least his ability to keep it alive was Wisconsin's undoing. His length and athleticism can be a problem.

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CubsIlliniFan said:

I do like that Tim Doyle at CBS keeps picking against the Illini. He took Rutgers covering the spread yesterday and today he is taking Iowa. I hope he bets against us tomorrow.

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JAbada said:

I'm scared for EVERY game. Teams just seem to get up for Illinois..

After the half last night they didn't hit much right away.. nerve racking.. but they brought it home. Free throws were a problem last night.

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