Pregame: Illinois vs Iowa, Sunday, March 6th, 6:30pm CT, FS1

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#51      

jrichisamazing

J
jrichisamazing
The chess match between Fran and BU will be very interesting. Iowa will want to play small and fast, with the Murray twins at the 4 and 5. They will want us to run with them because that takes Kofi out of the game. With how hot they are, if this is a shootout they will probably win.

I think we need to be disciplined and play slow. Play deliberately like Penn St did against us. Force them to defend. They like to play a lot of zone, so we need to understand we can get a 3pt look pretty much whenever we want. Feed Kofi first. If they want to play small we have to attack that relentlessly. Maybe Kofi can get 1 or both the twins in foul trouble., or at least force Fran to play Rebraca who is much less of a threat offensively.
 
#52      

CubsIlliniFan

C
CubsIlliniFan
jrichisamazing said:
Some torvik numbers...

-Iowa is playing like the number 3 team in the country since Feb 1st. The offense has been even more explosive and the defense has been solid.

-Our defense has been struggling. Since Feb 1st our offense is ranked 15 and our defense is 70th.
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Iowa has been playing better but they have only played one solid team over the last 9 games. Granted, they beat OSU but they played Nebraska twice (before Nebby started playing better), Michigan twice, Minny, MSU, MD, Northwestern and OSU and they get us on Sunday on SR Day. I expect us to be up and ready to play
 
#53      

CubsIlliniFan

C
CubsIlliniFan
jrichisamazing said:
The chess match between Fran and BU will be very interesting. Iowa will want to play small and fast, with the Murray twins at the 4 and 5. They will want us to run with them because that takes Kofi out of the game. With how hot they are, if this is a shootout they will probably win.

I think we need to be disciplined and play slow. Play deliberately like Penn St did against us. Force them to defend. They like to play a lot of zone, so we need to understand we can get a 3pt look pretty much whenever we want. Feed Kofi first. If they want to play small we have to attack that relentlessly. Maybe Kofi can get 1 or both the twins in foul trouble., or at least force Fran to play Rebraca who is much less of a threat offensively.
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I agree, slow the game down. Several times last night we rushed a three or a contested 2 instead of working the ball and getting a better look. One time last night we did that And it was early in the game which gave us a really good look. We need to limit theif possessions. Let them foul us. Take them out of their game.
 
#54      

PlayDeeBrownNote

PlayDeeBrownNote
PlayDeeBrownNote
BoJack Underwoo said:
To be clear, he got fired for "discriminating" against white people by trying to promote people of color when he was hired to create systemic change.
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Yes, this is true, but having a conversation about which candidate ‘looks more black’ in regards to who is most-qualified for a job, then giving said candidate the job based on that observation rather than giving it to the most-deserved minority candidate seems like a bad way to get this accomplished.

Either way, how someone could have enough time to truly devote themselves to being an NCAA official and a Police Chief at the same time? I get that officiating isn’t a 12-month job but I would think either position would require your exclusive concentration.
 
#55      

Ramrod2010

R
Ramrod2010
jrichisamazing said:
Some torvik numbers...

-Iowa is playing like the number 3 team in the country since Feb 1st. The offense has been even more explosive and the defense has been solid.

-Our defense has been struggling. Since Feb 1st our offense is ranked 15 and our defense is 70th.
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Gut feeling over the past month has been that the defense has been weak. At least the numbers match up with my eyes, I guess.
 
#56      

BlueLeader

BlueLeader
BlueLeader
KnoxIllini2 said:
Now let’s hope Grandi’s shoulder is very minor.
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monty-python-tisbutascratch.gif
 
#57      

BoJack Underwoo

BoJack Underwoo
BoJack Underwoo
PlayDeeBrownNote said:
Yes, this is true, but having a conversation about which candidate ‘looks more black’ in regards to who is most-qualified for a job, then giving said candidate the job based on that observation rather than giving it to the most-deserved minority candidate seems like a bad way to get this accomplished.

Either way, how someone could have enough time to truly devote themselves to being an NCAA official and a Police Chief at the same time? I get that officiating isn’t a 12-month job but I would think either position would require your exclusive concentration.
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Yeah that was bad. I just thought the original post was very misleading
 
#58      

Fighter of the Nightman

Fighter of the Nightman
Chicago, IL
Fighter of the Nightman
Wow, I know they’re hot right now and stuff, but you’d think Iowa just beat the AP top 6 THEMSELVES the way their fans are talking; they’re incredibly confident. Well, after simmering down a bit from last night, here is some confidence of my own:

If the Krush/crowd are on their A game and we come out with intensity from the first whistle and we execute OUR game plan and Trent/Da’Monte play like it’s their last home game ever vs. IOWA … the Hawkeyes are N-O-T leaving Champaign with a win. Period.

I want this one badly!
 
#61      

illini55

illini55
The Villages, FL
illini55
sully said:
Badger/Cornhusker game will be irrelevant IMO because our game vs Iowa is Senior Night and our entire team and coaching staff (and of course our die hard loyal Fighting Illini fans at the game ) will all be dialed in and hyped to get Frazier & Williams one last win at home in Champaign for Senior Night.

Plus Curbelo is back rocking his awesome fro. That makes me even more confident we'll beat those little piss colored tweetie birds. :cool:(y)

GO ILLINI!:illinois::chief::ah:
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"we'll beat those little piss colored tweetie birds."

A beautiful turn of a phrase...
 
#62      

Bigtex

Bigtex
DFW
Bigtex
FromTheLogo said:
But Kofi doesn't shoot 3's (I think Kris Murray will draw the assignment when Rebraca is out) and we just saw what a swarming D can do to Kofi. Iowa is also playing for a double-bye. Color me a little concerned, but probably just recency-bias after the Penn State game.
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seriously. Swarming D - I would say junk D but effective.

Penn St determined they were not going to let Kofi go off so they essentially played a triangle and 3 on Kofi, Plummer, and Trent. They didn't guard DMW or Hawkins on the perimeter and very loose on Grandison.

Tough to get the ball to Kofi when they aren't guarding 1 or 2 players on the court.
 
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#63      

Retro62

Retro62
North Bethesda, Maryland
Retro62
I do like that Hawkins and Curbelo will put up two pointers. I know Brad prefers the three, but we seem to be a team that has three scoring options: Kofi, the three, and layups. There's a lot of room for guys like Hawkins and RJ to get theirs in the intermediate area; they both have length and finesse.
 
#64      

Birdus

B
Birdus
To me this is a must win for numerous reasons. The first of which is if we cannot be Iowa at home on Senior night or any other night for that matter, we will struggle the rest of the way. I don't care how well they are playing. Don't get me wrong. Iowa is good, but not as good as we are when we play like we are capable. We should beat them.
 
#66      

urbanite

U
urbanite
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Wow, I know they’re hot right now and stuff, but you’d think Iowa just beat the AP top 6 THEMSELVES the way their fans are talking; they’re incredibly confident.
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They have reason to be confident. Since the beginning of February, Iowa has been the most efficient team in the conference by a large margin. And that's taking into account their relatively weak schedule over that time. If you consider the raw numbers, their efficiency is literally off the chart.

That said, stats aren't good at predicting matchups, and I think we have the advantage there. My main worry is our lack of consistency. If the team that played vs. Ohio St., vs. Penn St., and at Rutgers shows up, we're likely to get blown out. If the team that played vs. Wisconsin, at Indiana, and at Michigan shows up, we're likely to win.
 
#67      

Ransom Stoddard

Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
Bloomington, IL
Ransom Stoddard
BWBW said:
Shoot out at the State Farm corral? Kofi as Virgil, Trent as Wyatt, Plummer as Morgan, and DMW as Doc Holliday. Grandison as the unknown fifth man with the deadly shot.
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The McCafferys are obviously the Clantons and JoBo is Curly Bill (or Ringo, I don't care. They're both annoying.)
 
#68      

WyattEarp

WyattEarp
WyattEarp
BWBW said:
Shoot out at the State Farm corral? Kofi as Virgil, Trent as Wyatt, Plummer as Morgan, and DMW as Doc Holliday. Grandison as the unknown fifth man with the deadly shot.
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Grandi could be John Turkey Creek Jack Johnson or maybe Texas Jack Vermillion
 
#69      

mydosburns

mydosburns
mydosburns
Trent will lock down JBo. Just have to try and contain the Murray bros which will be easier said than done. I think Perkins gives us a little trouble too. He’s a tough guard that can drive. Luckily he’s shorter like our guards
 
#70      

bootsy1974

B
bootsy1974
urbanite said:
They have reason to be confident. Since the beginning of February, Iowa has been the most efficient team in the conference by a large margin. And that's taking into account their relatively weak schedule over that time. If you consider the raw numbers, their efficiency is literally off the chart.

That said, stats aren't good at predicting matchups, and I think we have the advantage there. My main worry is our lack of consistency. If the team that played vs. Ohio St., vs. Penn St., and at Rutgers shows up, we're likely to get blown out. If the team that played vs. Wisconsin, at Indiana, and at Michigan shows up, we're likely to win.
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What if the team that played at Iowa shows up and the team that played Illinois at home on Dec. 6 shows up?
 
#73      

Rocky

Rocky
Rocky
DeonThomas said:
I'm viewing this one as "NOT THAT CRITICAL" --- provided Wisconsin has already wrapped up the title with a victory over NEB.

But with that being said:
As of right now, it seems that the Big 10 will have 4-5 teams seeded #2, #3, #4 and #5 in the NCAA tournament (Wisc, Pur, ILL, Iowa and OSU). The team that wins out probably still has an OK shot at getting the highest/best seeding. Advantage Wisconsin right now, of course.
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Going to disagree. We proved we can gut out a win against the tough ugly team last night that posted up our guards, locked up our big man and Plummer, and shot timely 3's.

Iowa has the highest point differential in the Big Ten. They are red hot. They are family. They are playing much better defense and actually playing with grit. Izzo calls the 4 guards that rotate time the co-MVP of the team with Kenyon Murray because they get downhill so fast.

So now it is time to prove we can beat a totally different and much better team than last night. Our team needs this for it's seniors, for their resume, for their psyche.
 
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#74      

FloridaMan

F
FloridaMan
BoJack Underwoo said:
Yeah that was bad. I just thought the original post was very misleading
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Whoa. Misleading? He violated the Civil Rights Act by not only openly discriminating against the most qualified white candidate, but aso the "less black" minority candidate. Maybe the city administration shares responsibility by openly expecting him to "make systemic changes;" regardless, the chief was the one who was found to be repeatedly, openly stating he was looking to discriminate in hiring decisions.

I don't want anyone exhibiting that type of poor judgement near my Alma Mater, let alone making dozens of judgements in a basketball game being played in SFC. I would think the B10 conference would agree, but that is giving them too much credit based on past performance.
 
#75      

aaeismacgychel

A
aaeismacgychel
As I said in the Penn State pregame thread, we had a number of things working against us before the game even tipped off- First we were coming off a 90+ point performance on the road against a Michigan team we don't like. Second, Wisconsin beat Purdue on an insane ending that basically nuked Illinois' chances of winning the conference. Third, the following game was against a ranked Iowa team that we hate in what will be basically half the team's final game at Assembly Hall on Senior night. Fourth, PSU is a team we hadn't played all season are in the lower half of the standings, and who you're generally apathetic towards. Fifth, that PSU team has lost by double digits a total of only 6 times ALL SEASON (By comparison we're at the top of the B10 and we've had 4)! I know people don't like saying "trap game" but Penn State certainly qualifies. I said we should probably be happy with a win even if it was the pulling your hair out variety. It was and it was.

For similar reasons to the above, I'd have a very hard time seeing Illinois not coming to play against Iowa. If you can't get up to play against a team you have a running feud with, a team ranked in the Top 25, a team who if you beat you have a chance to win the conference, on senior night, with a team full of seniors playing their final home game, then I'm not sure what you can as a player get up for. And I would bet that Trent and Damonte would rather die on the court than lose to Iowa in their final memory of playing in Assembly Hall. Illinois will be ready to go in this one- if anything they might be too amped and playing at a breakneck pace for the first 5 minutes. In the postseason you have to get hot at the right time. May this Iowa game be the start of a 10 game heater for us.

PS: If we do come out flat and disinterested in this one, then yes, I am gravely concerned, but I just can't see it happening.
 
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