Pregame: Illinois vs Ohio State, Thursday, January 28th, 8:00pm CT, BTN

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#26      

AeroIllini

3rd Floor talbot lab
Student ticket sale for this game, so hopefully it's loud.

(Oh and just wanted to say hi, first post, been checking the forum for awhile now)
 
#27      
I would be delighted with a win. But I think its more likely that we lose by 15 or so. Guess: OSU 75, Illinois 66.
 
#28      

UofIChE06

Pittsburgh
OSU is only ranked at 70 per kenpom so it should be close to a pickem or a slight advantage to the Illini with home court advantage.
 
#29      

whovous

Washington, DC
Any word on Thorne's status for this one?
 
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#31      
Hoping Groce continues to put Mav and Finke together on the floor at the same time. Finke is at his best when he can stretch the floor, and not have to battle down low.
 
#32      

whovous

Washington, DC
Hoping Groce continues to put Mav and Finke together on the floor at the same time. Finke is at his best when he can stretch the floor, and not have to battle down low.

I'd really like to see Thorne and Mav share the five, and Finke, DJW and Malcolm share the four, with Malcolm of course spending the bulk of his time at the three, where he belongs.
 
#33      
I'd really like to see Thorne and Mav share the five, and Finke, DJW and Malcolm share the four, with Malcolm of course spending the bulk of his time at the three, where he belongs.

I think our head coach would like that as well.
 
#34      

IlliniFan12

Cedar Falls, IA
I'd really like to see Thorne and Mav share the five, and Finke, DJW and Malcolm share the four, with Malcolm of course spending the bulk of his time at the three, where he belongs.
That's obviously what we all would prefer, but Thorne's health is keeping this from being the case night in and night out.
 
#36      

brapp33

Normal IL
When the wife goes Illini win. Mark it down a W.
 
#37      

Dan

Admin
John Groce press conference

https://twitter.com/JWernerScout

Groce: I felt the same after the game as I did after the film. Resiliency was as strong as we've had all year.

Groce: Certainly a step in the right direction for mental toughness. Were we perfect? No. But did some good things.

Groce: Gave them Sunday off, gave heavy minute guys a light day on Monday.

Groce: Guys practiced hard yesterday, were engaged.

Groce: First time this season playing an opponent for second time. OSU has some guys getting better.

Groce: OSU's length and athleticism makes them hard to score against.

Groce: Lyle is a terrific player. Played great in 2H of our loss there. He's a load at his size.

Groce: KBD is improved. He's gotten a lot better. Great game on Monday night against PSU. Good length, size and skill.

Groce: Mav played well. Practiced well last week. Hopefully he can continue to head in that right direction.

Groce: Mav graded out over 90 percent vs. Minnesota. Haven't had a player do that since Egwu.

Groce: But that doesn't guarantee him anything. How's he responded this week? "We'll see."

Groce: Mav has been encouraged to play aggressive "for quite a long time."

Groce: Thorne doing OK. Day to day.

Groce: I usually don't know whether he can go, how much he does until a few minutes before practice/game.

Groce: Thorne has "done some things, not everything."

Groce: Nothing new on Leron.

Groce: Jordan and Williams "got to get better." More a feel thing during game. Wanted to play a bit bigger in that game.

Groce: Watched the box score at eveery media TO and "I kinda liked those (rebound) numbers," so stuck with the lineup

Groce: Hoping last couple days will help Kendrick Nunn. Playing a lot of minutes. He has a lot on his plate right now.

Groce: Keep encouraging Nunn to live in the present, control what's in front of us.

Groce: Have guys focused on sustainability and consistency. Practice to practice. Game to game. Drill to drill. Possessions

Groce: Don't talk to guys about records, standings. We need to play well. Need to stay connected. Execute better.

Groce: Usually good at not fouling, we weren't at OSU. We've got to do a better job of getting out of those positions.

Groce on 30 shot clock: "My guy tells me I like it. ... Probably like it more than I thought." Impact was prob over-dramatasized

Groce: The unlimited clock for dribblers (no 5 second) has had a much bigger impact.

Groce: The timeout changes also have had a bigger impact on me.

Groce: Abrams' psyche is pretty good. It's exceptional. He's rare in that aspect.

Groce: Abrams "doing really well." Doing treatment and rehab with movement. Within month be able to do more intense conditioning.

Groce: Abrams "certainly is on track physically for a return next season."

Groce: I think Abrams is at a real peace with what's happened. He's also excited about being on track for a return.

Groce: Abrams won't just be a mentor for Lucas but to all our guys. He has tons of experience and connects with people.

Groce: Not fair to expectations on Abrams in regards to role or playing time next year. Focused on getting healthy.

Groce on having Krush back: "Well, we had them back for the game on Satudray. That was great." They make a difference.

[youtube]dYTlzwQ378U[/youtube]
 
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#38      
Hoping Groce continues to put Mav and Finke together on the floor at the same time. Finke is at his best when he can stretch the floor, and not have to battle down low.

However it plays out, if we have Tate and Austin on the floor at the same time again I'm going to cry. Tate is a career 7(!)% shooter from deep and Austin isn't much better. Defenses can pretty much play 5 on 3.
 
#39      

brapp33

Normal IL
However it plays out, if we have Tate and Austin on the floor at the same time again I'm going to cry. Tate is a career 7(!)% shooter from deep and Austin isn't much better. Defenses can pretty much play 5 on 3.

Austin should never see the floor especially over the freshman. Unless major foul trouble or a blowout.
 
#40      

westms77

Gilbert, AZ
Groce: Jordan and Williams "got to get better." More a feel thing during game. Wanted to play a bit bigger in that game.


Hmmm...."feel thing during game" no playing time is a great solution for that:)
 
#41      
Thought this was interesting.

"First time this season playing an opponent for second time."

Not necessarily important or anything, just interesting that its our first repeat. We have 4 more, plus the BTT (maybe) in the repeat column?
 
#42      
Don't have a good feel about this one, we are too inconsistent.

We played our best game against Purdue and second best game against OSU.
We played average games against Michigan, Nebraska, and Minnesota.
We played poorly against MSU and Indiana.

To win we need the fight of the first OSU game with the BB IQ used on defense and offense against Purdue. Purdue was the only game so far I thought we ran an offense that had some structure. We had a variety of baskets and didn't settle for the 3.
 
#43      
Got a feeling our guys really want this one back. Really hoping Thorne can play. I predict Malcolm and Kendrick both play well and get us a W.
 
#46      
Don't have a good feel about this one, we are too inconsistent.

We played our best game against Purdue and second best game against OSU.
We played average games against Michigan, Nebraska, and Minnesota.
We played poorly against MSU and Indiana.

To win we need the fight of the first OSU game with the BB IQ used on defense and offense against Purdue. Purdue was the only game so far I thought we ran an offense that had some structure. We had a variety of baskets and didn't settle for the 3.


Watch the Minnesota game again. Structurally, I thought it was by far the best game we've played offensively. We just didn't shoot well. But I agree with the rest of your post. Who knows which Illini team we will see tomorrow. With the Orange Krush back I'm hoping we can play aggressive defense, cause some turnovers, get some easy transition buckets, and come away with a double digit win.
 
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