Pregame: Illinois vs Michigan State, Tuesday, February 11th, 8:00pm CT, ESPN

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#1      

Dan

Admin
Illinois vs Michigan State
Tuesday, February 11th
8:00pm CT
ESPN

:illinois:
 
#5      
Gotta win this one or we could very well spiral into a 5 game losing streak. MSU has been trending in the opposite direction of Maryland lately, so I think we can do this.
 
#6      
Izzo is a pretty good coach I hear....expect a HEAVY dose of zone. BU and staff have got to figure a way for the high post to get ball and create, not just dump down to roaming low post player. Overall zone offense is far too stagnant...how about some back cuts with some pick/screens for some easy dunks by down side roaming player...simple 15 ft shots from high post...make a couple of those and everything frees up...

MSU 72-ILLINI 61 (zone will cost us again unfortunately) I want to be wrong here
 
#7      
Izzo is a pretty good coach I hear....expect a HEAVY dose of zone. BU and staff have got to figure a way for the high post to get ball and create, not just dump down to roaming low post player. Overall zone offense is far too stagnant...how about some back cuts with some pick/screens for some easy dunks by down side roaming player...simple 15 ft shots from high post...make a couple of those and everything frees up...

MSU 72-ILLINI 61 (zone will cost us again unfortunately) I want to be wrong here

I understand throwing out something (zone) that the team you will be playing struggles with. But I’ve seen the Spartans play quite a bit under izzo, has he ever run zone? I literally can’t recall one possession of zone ever from him.
 
#8      

201154JC

Rockford, IL
I'm headed down to the MS game for the orange out. The State Farm Center website says outside
doors open one hour before an event. Game starts at 8pm. So, doors open at 7? Just double
checking in case the website is wrong. Haven't been down since we beat MS at the end of the 2017 regular season.
I L L
 
#10      

ivwilsoniv

Aurora, IL
Gotta win this one or we could very well spiral into a 5 game losing streak. MSU has been trending in the opposite direction of Maryland lately, so I think we can do this.
After we beat Minnesota to go to 8-2, I looked at the next 5 games and said we could easily end up 8-7.
 
#14      
I understand throwing out something (zone) that the team you will be playing struggles with. But I’ve seen the Spartans play quite a bit under izzo, has he ever run zone? I literally can’t recall one possession of zone ever from him.
Great observation he hates zone and does not play it
 
#15      
The guy who said Illini could end up 8-7 was looking at the schedule and saw a possible outcome. No one wants that to happen but it;s a possibility. Before the 5 game stretch i would have been okay with 2 of 5. Now i will take 1 win. Of course, i want them to win more but these are NOT easy games, 2 on the road. The Illini know this a big game. Will they come out tight or use the crowd and adrenaline to their favor?
 
#16      
The guy who said Illini could end up 8-7 was looking at the schedule and saw a possible outcome. No one wants that to happen but it;s a possibility. Before the 5 game stretch i would have been okay with 2 of 5. Now i will take 1 win. Of course, i want them to win more but these are NOT easy games, 2 on the road. The Illini know this a big game. Will they come out tight or use the crowd and adrenaline to their favor?
Just one more regular season loss this season, btw. We’ve been through this already. ;)
 
#17      

philcon

Plano, TX
Illinois' practices prior to this game should consist of three things:

1. How we are going to beat a zone defense? Don't think Izzo hasn't seen tape.
2. Free throw shooting.
3. Defending against two great players and then three other players. I haven't coached at the college level but I have at lower levels. I intermittently would throw in a triangle and two defense. At a minimum it makes them think and adjust. If it works....continue it until it doesn't. Maryland is much like MSU. Both have two great players. Against IL MD had three other players step up big time. Tip your cap to them. IMO MD is better than MSU and by a substantial margin. Make the other MSU players beat you and your odds of winning increase substantially. Teams cant do that against IL because we have arguably more than two players that can be the leading scorer in any particular game and a solid bench.

Lastly...Ayo needs to stop thinking that he's the solution to every problem in the last five minutes of a game. Going one on four does not make you a hero. It makes you selfish. It's ok to go one on four as long as you are driving and then passing the ball to a teammate for an uncontested shot. That will not only help IL but also his draft stock. He's not going to be a finisher in the NBA.....but if he can create for those that ARE the finishers he adds value.
 
#18      

philcon

Plano, TX
A 4 game losing streak vs a 3 game losing streak on the line. This one is going to be intense.

That's why I said in a previous post that we have to go 2-4 in the game prior to MD. If we do/did we could still win the B10. I sensed nobody else felt that these four games meant as much as I do/did. The team that wins the B10 will have at least five losses. I'll be shocked if that's not the case. MD played b*alls out against us on the road but they had a lot of players step up that haven't done that previously.
 
#21      
We need an Illinois team that plays like Maryland did at the SFC and also at their place. In both instances, they came back from 14 points down. At their place, they beat us by a point, at ours by 9.

Illinois, here on out, needs to emulate that model.

We have the talent (IMHO), but not the maturity.
 
#23      
Both teams riding game losing streaks. Spartans have lost 3 in a row. Four of their last five road games
We had better bring our A-game.
Last game at Michigan State we were 3 for 28 shooting 3s.
 
#25      

Retro62

North Bethesda, Maryland
Not saying we will, because I thought we would beat MD, but we CAN beat both MSU and RU. PSU? I doubt it, they are in the groove we were before this mini-skid. However...get back on track...
 
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