Pregame: Illinois vs Iowa, Tuesday, February 25th, 8:00pm CT, FS1

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#226      
Fighter of the Nightman
Illini2010-11 said:
I actually disagree here. That Purdue game is becoming more of a coin flip type of game by the day. Purdue will be coming into Champaign on relatively short rest compared to Illinois, and possibly losing 5 out of their last 6 or worse (they have lost their last 4 games, including the collapse in Bloomington on Sunday).

We will have a better idea of this team after tonight. I am hoping some full team practices will help, along with a consistent game plan that will play to the strengths of this unit.
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What worries me is that none of those factors related to Purdue (or Iowa tonight, even) will matter if we don't get our heads right. We need to come out with the energy that we had in the first 10-15 minutes of the MSU home game ... we were CLEARLY giving our all physically and emotionally, and then we just shut down.

Since MSU went up 66-65 vs. us with about 7 minutes to play, we have been outscored 141-220. If you "average that out" over those 2.25 games into just one game, it's a "normalized" result of losing 63-98 ... by 35 points. And we have not looked engaged or all there during that disastrous stretch. So what worries me now in a way that it hasn't in YEARS is why will any factors make a difference with this team besides getting lucky from three and having those finally start to fall? A tired Purdue, a pumped up crowd, having our backs against the wall ... I'm just not sure any of it will really move these guys to have a different type of performance. :(
 
#227      
Fighter of the Nightman
doowink said:
I agree with what you've said....but several of these kids (especially the ones from other countries) may have not even heard of the University of Illinois or had any idea of where it was located and its basketball tradition or tradition of the school until they got here. I'm not making excuses or saying that it cancels the obligations to do your best when you step onto the floor.....but I doubt that Tomi had the same feelings or understanding for what this school and program is all about like say Morez when they both arrived last August
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Fair point, but if the staff can't properly pump those guys up and sell them on the history of "Illini Basketball" (and I am not necessarily saying this like some clear base issue), then this is a losing strategy. We are proving every single day that having a bunch of talent only matters so much.
 
#228      
Zorak
OnlyOrange said:
This is the last real chance to get in the tourney, right?

Obviously we could win the BTT, but meaning, if we lose tonight, we almost certainly lose to Michigan, Purdue, then first game of the BTT. Think that puts us on the outside looking in.
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I think there's a decent chance for a win in the first round of the BTT too. No one around us in the standings is that imposing - Oregon, Indiana, Nebraska, etc.
 
#231      
doowink
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Fair point, but if the staff can't properly pump those guys up and sell them on the history of "Illini Basketball" (and I am not necessarily saying this like some clear base issue), then this is a losing strategy. We are proving every single day that having a bunch of talent only matters so much.
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Exactly
 
#234      
IlliniFan42
Considering only games tonight- if we win or Northwestern loses, we punch our ticket to the Big Ten Tournament. It is my opinion that no matter what the metrics and resume say, if we were to somehow miss the Big Ten Tournament, I don't think they let us into March Madness, so this does have value.
 
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