Dainja on a mid major team might average 25. Dude owns small schools.
Pregame: Illinois vs Iowa State, Thursday, March 28th, 9:09pm CT, TBS
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I'm a big Coleman fan, but I actually think when he is playing with focused aggression he excels. Once he starts gesturing to refs and focusing on what isn't happening for him he falls apart. Last night he came out on fire against Duquesne and was playing to the crowd and his team. Once they got him focused on the refs and the physicality he stopped being the same positive version of himself.
That tends to be how it works for CH, it isn't playing with emotion that's the issue, it's how he manifests it.
If looking on an iPhone tap the aA on safari and hit show reader. It lets me read all Athletic articles…
80'sIllini
- Arizona
A big key to winning the game is not turning the ball over against their traps and not having their defense keep us from getting into our half-court offense until < than 10 seconds to go on the shot clock. I'm not gonna dredge up the whole " we don't have a conventional PG" conversation but we have to avoid having 15+ TO's against their ball pressure and punish them when we do break down their initial pressure. Getting stops on D followed by securing the defensive rebound and getting out on the fast break before they can even set up their defense( hello TSJ) will obviously be important. I like our chances and then on to U.Conn.
I agree completely. Needs to stay focused.
Also, he has hit them but he's also a much better shooter when he steps in and toes the line. Sometimes he will kind of drift too deep and make shots too difficult.
IL has the best player ( and maybe 2 best players) in this game. They are beating Iowa State. Not saying it will be a walk but they are winning the game.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Pretty wild stat.
If you sort T-Rank from Feb 27 until yesterday’s game, Duquesne, during their 9 game winning streak, was #33 overall and #5 on defense.
So we just put up 89 points in 61 possessions against an elite defense.
On the season, BYU has the #13 offense, yet was only able to put up 67 against the same team.
Iowa St has another elite defense, but I don’t see any way this game gets played in the 60s.
If you sort T-Rank from Feb 27 until yesterday’s game, Duquesne, during their 9 game winning streak, was #33 overall and #5 on defense.
So we just put up 89 points in 61 possessions against an elite defense.
On the season, BYU has the #13 offense, yet was only able to put up 67 against the same team.
Iowa St has another elite defense, but I don’t see any way this game gets played in the 60s.
For those having trouble reading it, I was able to view it via: right click, open in new tab.
You can’t predict the future, but this tournament feels like that point in time where Illinois makes the transition from sleeping giant to an awake and aware dominant program in college basketball. Yeah, I’m going with that 
I the hell L L
I the hell L LThe Galloping Ghost
- Washington, DC
When we fired Bruce, Jay Wright was my dream hire. His style of ball felt like the solution to dealing with the blue bloods and their talent discrepancy. That we are now implementing his brand of basketball with incredible results makes me feel like I got my wish.
"Booty ball, a skilled center and Villanova with pace. That can win in March and April."
Indeed.
"Booty ball, a skilled center and Villanova with pace. That can win in March and April."
Indeed.
I am in a 3 month free Apple News deal so not sure how else
I think archive.org will persist a copy:
web.archive.org
After philosophical shift and assist from Jay Wright, Illinois is finally back in Sweet 16
Brad Underwood changed his roster-building technique with his eyes on March, not the Big Ten. It worked with the first Sweet 16 since 2005.
web.archive.org
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This game will be a really good test for Brad and staff schematically
We do not have good ball handlers and Iowa State is going to pressure and double the ball off all the high ball screens- we need something schematically to beat that- if this is “let Marcus dribble out of it” we’re in trouble, we’ll need to move the ball quicker than they can double and get it to the open shooter- WSU did this well to start the game but couldn’t keep it up as the game wore on
I’ll be really interested to see what the staff cooks up- maybe Coleman handles the ball more up top to relieve the pressure and pass over it, maybe we slip some screens and more cuts to the basket, but whatever we do - we can’t dribble too much against this D
We do not have good ball handlers and Iowa State is going to pressure and double the ball off all the high ball screens- we need something schematically to beat that- if this is “let Marcus dribble out of it” we’re in trouble, we’ll need to move the ball quicker than they can double and get it to the open shooter- WSU did this well to start the game but couldn’t keep it up as the game wore on
I’ll be really interested to see what the staff cooks up- maybe Coleman handles the ball more up top to relieve the pressure and pass over it, maybe we slip some screens and more cuts to the basket, but whatever we do - we can’t dribble too much against this D
don’t discount the possibility that the TSJ situation bonded this team and gave them an us against the world mentality. This is has been an extraordinary season so you can throw the “team never did this with kenpom defense rank like Illini” stuff out the window. The last 10 games show that we are now playing D when we need to. The only loss was Purdue and that was an L more because the offense down not the D. And it was Purdue.
Iowa state fan here. I hope you are all smart enough to realize the majority of cyclone fans don't think we are winning this game easily. I expect a hard fought game that could go either way. If we play offensively like we did against wsu we probably lose this game by 10 points. If we play offensively like we did in Kansas city i don't think there are many teams who would stand a chance against us tbh other than uconn. Our defense will always be there. Which offense will show up? We will see. We won't be caught off guard by Shannon. He was in the big 12. We know how good he is. Gonna be a fun game.
Mr. Tibbs
- southeast DuPage
indeed
kudos to Brad for seeking advice from other coaches he’s friends with
FWIW, Duquesne was supposed to be a methodical, defensive/steal oriented team. Pretty similar profile as ISU, though they’ve been clearly better.
I think in March you see teams carried by whoever is the best player on the court. That’s TSJ in this game.
I think in March you see teams carried by whoever is the best player on the court. That’s TSJ in this game.
Man, I know folks feel good about this team and what they have accomplished so far (and rightfully so) but watch how Iowa State dismantled Houston recently. Nobody should be talking national championship yet. This Iowa State team is going to be a load. We will have to have our A game to win and I am hopeful Brad and Co. will have them prepared.
iowa state will be a good opponent no doubt, but TSJ is on a whole different level now than when he was a good role player on Texas Tech in the big 12. he is a bona-fide superstar now and no amount of film-watching can prepare you for his in-game speed
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That game has question marks to me as in how invested was Houston knowing they had a 1 seed wrapped up and J'Wan Roberts nursing an injury. And it is just one game. Should we judge Iowa St from their slow start yesterday or losing to Kansas St a couple of weeks ago also?
And we as fans can talk about national championship all we want.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
All the hype is around an elite offense versus an elite defense, understandably.
But to me, this game comes down to the other end of the floor. If our size and defensive execution can force ISU to be ordinary on offense as they often are, that should generate enough missed shots that turn into runouts ahead of their defense that allow us to pile up a point total they will have a very difficult time matching.
If our bend-but-don't-break passivity on D lets them play comfortable and into whatever matchups they want among their varied group of scorers, they're going to be able to bottle us up enough at the other end to send us packing.
We showed a lot of promising signs on this front yesterday, but ISU ain't Duquesne.
But to me, this game comes down to the other end of the floor. If our size and defensive execution can force ISU to be ordinary on offense as they often are, that should generate enough missed shots that turn into runouts ahead of their defense that allow us to pile up a point total they will have a very difficult time matching.
If our bend-but-don't-break passivity on D lets them play comfortable and into whatever matchups they want among their varied group of scorers, they're going to be able to bottle us up enough at the other end to send us packing.
We showed a lot of promising signs on this front yesterday, but ISU ain't Duquesne.
Noblesville Illini
- Nappanee, IN
And Brad needs to be in the stripes ears 15 minutes before the game. Don’t need to repeat the Washington 2nd round debacle because of refs’ ‘interests’ on the side. See a legit foul, call it! Don’t let us get trucked and then call the foul on us. Seen that all year with Edey.
That's what fans do. Of course beating Iowa State would be a huge accomplishment. They've been as good as any team in the country the last few weeks. IMO they should have been a #1 seed.
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