Pregame: Illinois vs Maryland, Thursday, January 23rd, 8:00pm CT, FS1

Status
Not open for further replies.
#76      
We have a talented team but enough is enough. In my opinion Illinois should not have 5 losses .We got robbed by the refs at Michigan State so I don’t blame Underwood for that but the USC and Northwestern losses falls on Underwood . No excuses or sympathy for Underwood. Illinois has a top 5 NBA lottery pick a ton of NIL some of best basketball facilities in all of college basketball and Underwood is one of the highest paid college basketball coaches in the country. It’s sweet 16 time nothing less . No more losing to bad teams this season. Underwood has to earn his money from here on out . No more excuses
Have you tried stomping your feet just a bit harder?
 
#77      
Throw a blizzard at him, no doubt.

giphy.gif
There's an artifact in this gif that made me think my screen had a smudge.
 
#79      
We have a talented team but enough is enough. In my opinion Illinois should not have 5 losses .We got robbed by the refs at Michigan State so I don’t blame Underwood for that but the USC and Northwestern losses falls on Underwood . No excuses or sympathy for Underwood. Illinois has a top 5 NBA lottery pick a ton of NIL some of best basketball facilities in all of college basketball and Underwood is one of the highest paid college basketball coaches in the country. It’s sweet 16 time nothing less . No more losing to bad teams this season. Underwood has to earn his money from here on out . No more excuses
As you may or may not be aware, we made the Elite 8 last year, which is better than the Sweet 16!

I know, it's hard for me to remember that far back, too, but just look it up! I swear, it happened!

"Sweet 16 or bust for Underwood" is so last season.
 
#81      
Any recommendations of where to watch in Vegas? Illini bar or really cool Sportsbook
Sportsbooks are always a fun way to watch games if there are a few on during the same timeslot. I do it every year when I'm out there. The Sportsbook at the Fontainebleau is really nice.
 
#82      
We have a talented team but enough is enough. In my opinion Illinois should not have 5 losses .We got robbed by the refs at Michigan State so I don’t blame Underwood for that but the USC and Northwestern losses falls on Underwood . No excuses or sympathy for Underwood. Illinois has a top 5 NBA lottery pick a ton of NIL some of best basketball facilities in all of college basketball and Underwood is one of the highest paid college basketball coaches in the country. It’s sweet 16 time nothing less . No more losing to bad teams this season. Underwood has to earn his money from here on out . No more excuses
Quite the first post. Proves the point that people love to complain. They’ll sign up for an account just to moan about something rather than posting after we destroyed Oregon. That was so unexpected and worthy of a new poster signing up to laud the Illini on their victory.
This poster will be one to keep an eye on to see if he ever says anything good about BU.
 
#86      
I have to keep myself in check that we are a 5 loss team but man alive every time I watch this team it feels different. Like talented enough and tough enough to win a championship different. It's the first time since Ayo, Kofi, and Trent where I was legit considering buying tickets to the final 4 (had we beat Loyola, I was going to buy them).

Am I the only one that really feels this way? I don't fear any team this year...
If KB improves his efficiency at the rim
If the team 3pt% ticks up
If Riley keeps playing like he did at MSU
If KJ learns to stay out of foul trouble
If the team stays healthy

Then … yeah, we’re a contender. The talent is there. I think the defense has been consistently good, and will stay there. Still some bugs to work out on the offensive end. Let’s see what the next month brings. Should be fun to watch. Duke game at MSG will be the litmus test for me.
 
#87      
We have a talented team but enough is enough. In my opinion Illinois should not have 5 losses .We got robbed by the refs at Michigan State so I don’t blame Underwood for that but the USC and Northwestern losses falls on Underwood . No excuses or sympathy for Underwood. Illinois has a top 5 NBA lottery pick a ton of NIL some of best basketball facilities in all of college basketball and Underwood is one of the highest paid college basketball coaches in the country. It’s sweet 16 time nothing less . No more losing to bad teams this season. Underwood has to earn his money from here on out . No more excuses
1 post on IllinoisLoyalty … lol, Juwan, is that you?? Don’t talk to your daddy that way. 🤣
 
#89      
I feel so good about this team at the midway point. I think this game kicks off a 8-9 game winning streak for us looking at our schedule.
 
#90      
Guys I like Brad. All I’m saying is we have to strike when the iron is hot. We can’t waste KJ only season at Illinois. It’s not ever year you have a Top 5 NBA draft lottery pick on Illinois . Who knows when we’ll get another player as talented as KJ again. I do feel like Illinois is the best team in the Big Ten that’s why I’m so frustrated with the USC and Northwestern losses . If we loss to Purdue or Michigan I would be more understanding
 
#91      
Hopefully KJ learned from the MSU game as well- I have no doubt teams are going to try similar tactics to draw fouls on him and frankly if an offensive player get bumped or even touched and goes flying officials are usually going to call it- Fears and Akins flopping sold 2 of those calls- he just needs to avoid reaching and bumping on defense

Brad also needs to be in officials ears before the game that this is what the other teams are doing so at least it’s planted in their mind. It’s an ugly strategy- like Euro football -but it’s effective, KJ just can’t let it happen
 
#93      
I sure hope you're right, but the league is so strong I'm not sure about a win streak that long. Let's just beat Maryland and our other home game, get to 15-5, take a deep breath and go from there.
 
#94      
Hopefully KJ learned from the MSU game as well- I have no doubt teams are going to try similar tactics to draw fouls on him and frankly if an offensive player get bumped or even touched and goes flying officials are usually going to call it- Fears and Akins flopping sold 2 of those calls- he just needs to avoid reaching and bumping on defense

Brad also needs to be in officials ears before the game that this is what the other teams are doing so at least it’s planted in their mind. It’s an ugly strategy- like Euro football -but it’s effective, KJ just can’t let it happen
Agree about BU getting in the refs' ears before the game.
 
#95      
We have a talented team but enough is enough. In my opinion Illinois should not have 5 losses .We got robbed by the refs at Michigan State so I don’t blame Underwood for that but the USC and Northwestern losses falls on Underwood . No excuses or sympathy for Underwood. Illinois has a top 5 NBA lottery pick a ton of NIL some of best basketball facilities in all of college basketball and Underwood is one of the highest paid college basketball coaches in the country. It’s sweet 16 time nothing less . No more losing to bad teams this season. Underwood has to earn his money from here on out . No more excuses
I feel and see Underwood getting better, wished he'd used that timeout a couple of times, but when you look around, a lot of teams have lost games they shouldn't have. How would you like to be in Danny Hurley's shoes? I see this team growing, getting tougher and staying committed to each other, and I give most of the credit to Underwood for that. We'll make the sweet 16, not worried about that, this team could own it all.
 
#97      
Any recommendations of where to watch in Vegas? Illini bar or really cool Sportsbook
Circa. It has a casino in it, but it's very small. I reserved a 4 hour block with an aisle seat, and I loved every minute. They have kiosks and a large betting window, and you get a tray to set your food and drinks on. It's off the strip, not crowded, and if you want to swim, they have a sportsbook outside and you can do all of the above from the pool.

I also visited the sportsbooks at Wynn/Encore and the Venetian. The Venetian was tiny and crowded (but cheap). The Wynn/Encore was decent but also smaller, and I wasn't a fan of the personal tv's. Most of them weren't working, and the betting kiosks were timing out all the time.
 
#98      
Circa. It has a casino in it, but it's very small. I reserved a 4 hour block with an aisle seat, and I loved every minute. They have kiosks and a large betting window, and you get a tray to set your food and drinks on. It's off the strip, not crowded, and if you want to swim, they have a sportsbook outside and you can do all of the above from the pool.

I also visited the sportsbooks at Wynn/Encore and the Venetian. The Venetian was tiny and crowded (but cheap). The Wynn/Encore was decent but also smaller, and I wasn't a fan of the personal tv's. Most of them weren't working, and the betting kiosks were timing out all the time.
Thanks!
 
#100      
Circa is downtown, to be precise. "Off the Strip" usually means adjacent or near but not on, like the Rio.

And I believe Circa has the insider @illini0440 stamp of approval, from a long-ago thread on the same subject. Have not been to Circa myself (lots of trips to LV but haven't been downtown in many years) but one of these days.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back