We are a Swiss army knife when it comes to offense. We have a main blade with also a lot of other implements we can use.
Pregame: Illinois vs Iowa State, Thursday, March 28th, 9:09pm CT, TBS
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I agree. I never bet on Illinois.. Try and keep my heart and money separate but I think we matchup well against really good defensive teams with only ok offense since we can score against anyone but may be able to limit their scoring enough to build a lead
AyoDos11
- Southern Illinois
I have a friend who thinks this (the one-trick offense). I just don't understand how you can watch Domask, Hawkins, and Dainja all go off in multiple games and still think it's a one man show.
There’s a lot of uneducated, nonsense out there.
Dainja really adds another dimension.
This game will tell us a lot. Win against one of the best defenses in the country, and I feel great the rest of the way.
DeonThomas
- South Carolina
This year's field certainly is top-heavy. As of right now, we have all the 1-seeds, all the 2-seeds and three of the 3-seeds still remaining......plus two of the 4-seeds. Updated Vegas odds for the presumed Sweet 16 as of late Saturday evening and before Sunday's games:
- Connecticut: +280
- Houston: +550
- Purdue: +700
- Arizona: +1000
- Tennessee: +1200
- Iowa State: +1600
- North Carolina: +1800
- Marquette: +1800
- Duke: + 2000
- Creighton: +2500
- Baylor: +3000
- Illinois: +3000
- Gonzaga: +3000
- Alabama: +3500
- San Diego State: +5000
- NC State: +12000
Yes we have three players that might average 20+ points a game if they were not all on the same team. Shannon, Domask and Hawkins. Shannon without Domask on this team would have been the leading scorer in the country.
This will be our first matchup against Iowa State since we lost to them 84-68 in the consolation semifinals of the 2018 Maui Invitational. We also lost to them 84-73 in the Emerald Coast Classic championship game in 2015. Our last victory over the Cyclones was on December 30, 1985 when we won a neutral site game at the Rosemont Horizon 64-62.
I thought it'd be 1.5, maybe 2.0. That's a bit higher than I expected, they're hot, they've beaten Baylor and Houston by resounding margins to win the Big XII, while Illinois had a path of 1st round eliminated teams with Purdue getting upset in the other half. Then they beat a better team than Illinois played by double digits. Initial linemakers aren't going to be overly impressed by Illinois stomping on the throat of a bid thieving Mid Major that they were a double digit favorite against.
Good to come in an underdog imo. Keep that chip on the shoulder and put the pressure on them. By the way, no need to dig up isolated comments on their fan forum, of course they're confident, they have a great team playing well similar as ours. I had the pleasure of meeting a lot of their fans two years ago at the United Center when they played Miami in the Sweet Sixteen in a late night 10 vs. 11 game (many of the Kansas and Providence fans had cleared out so it was a lot smaller in the 300s by then). Great group. Bonus is they hate Iowa even more than we do.
I ain’t even that drunk but I love it
InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
It’s people who don’t understand basketball at a level other than ball screens and cutting….we run offense
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Bet.
iowa state poster: "I don't see it being competitive"Based on the responses on this thread, their fan base seems as passionate and knowledgeable as we do about our teams but these two posts made me laugh
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hooraybeer
- Pittsburgh, PA
u drunk 0440 don’t kid yourself
Username checks out
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
iowa state poster: "I don't see it being competitive"
It'll be a much tougher game than either this weekend, but Illinois will still have the 3 best players on the floor.
The THT revenge game. Thank god that dark period is completely behind us now.
Fun stat: Illinois' adjusted offensive efficiency number is now 126.7, #1 in the country (UConn is 126.6 and plays tomorrow, so this could be different after tomorrow). Only two teams have ever had an adjusted OE higher than that:
2018 Villanova finished at 127.0 and won the title
2015 Wisconsin finished at 129.0 and lost the title game to Duke after beating a previously undefeated Kentucky the round before.
2018 Villanova finished at 127.0 and won the title
2015 Wisconsin finished at 129.0 and lost the title game to Duke after beating a previously undefeated Kentucky the round before.
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