Pregame: Illinois vs Penn State, Tuesday, January 19th, 7:30pm CT, BTN
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A MUST win game
Thos should be the first post on every pre-game thread, for the rest of the season
Still think we're the best team in the big ten and it will be clear by the end of the year. Besides the Baylor game, every loss has been a one possession game (if the refs didn't screw us at the end against Ohio state) and we played nowhere near our best basketball. Our bad games have us playing pretty much even with pretty good teams. Miller is starting to have things click for him. Once he and Curbelo both figure it out (probably in mid February), the offense isn't going to stall like it has been at times.
Minnesota's beating Michigan by 20 right now. We can definitely still win the conference title. There is still not one game I expect this team to lose. And besides getting blown out or losing to Nebraska, there aren't really any bad losses in conference this year. I think we're the only team that hasn't been blown out.
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Well, Iowa too, but still
Retro62
- North Bethesda, Maryland
The reality of 9-5...5-3 in conference...and a 2 game HOME losing streak, is very, very hard to digest.
Our record does not reflect our talent and/or potential...but it does reflect who we are right now.
Please let this game get us confident and back on track.
Our record does not reflect our talent and/or potential...but it does reflect who we are right now.
Please let this game get us confident and back on track.
Let’s try to play defense in this one
Illini in Indiana
- Indiana
Let them know they are down 15 at the tip and anything but a win by 15 or more is a loss.
illini80
- Forgottonia
I certainly expect us to win, but when you let lessor teams hang around and get confident, anything can happen. This is about the time of year we have started playing better under BU. It's time to get it going or this season could be a massive failure even with a winning record. We are better than this. Now lets prove it.
I would consider this a must win. They lose this, the wheels might start coming off.
First half really
Understandably, no? Pitch forks and torches should be out. We were pre season top 10 with top 5 potential and we’re on the verge of falling out of the top 25 because of back to back awful home losses.
Optimism is fine but the reality is this team has drastically under performed almost the entire season to this point.
We need to win this game by 15-20
Depends on what we're getting done. Winning the Big 10? Sure it's possible, but the team would need to turn things around right now, and in a big way. I'm not seeing it. Making the tourney? Sure, absolutely, but honestly that's a lower bar than expectations for this team even just a couple weeks ago.
Deleted member 747903
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Penn State hasn't played in several weeks. They will come out with lots of energy. If we don't we probably lose
They lost to Purdue today
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
The very definition of a must-win game, for sure. If we can't come out fired up enough to beat a team that just played its first game in 17 days today (and lost) and that we beat by 18 on their home floor when we are desperately in need of a win ... the wheels just might come off.
Deleted member 747903
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My bad, didn't realize they played today.
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
So we "drastically underperformed" when we played even up with arguably #1 Baylor for all but 8 minutes? Beat Duke in Cameron? Destroyed what looks to be a pretty good Minnesota team that just obliterated the best team in the B1G? Absolutely stomped a mudhole in (and then stomped it dry) the Purple Kitties for 20 minutes?
How do you explain these games? Luck? Happenstance?
No doubt we are struggling right now...but every good/great team hits a wall of some sort during every season.
Deleted member 747802
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We are 9-5(5-3). We were a pre-season consensus top 10, picked by many to win the B10. For the Duke, Minnesota, NW 2nd half we can also point to Ohio, Mizzou, NW 1st half. All teams have played under the same circumstances with the same challenges. By the coach's and team's own words they came into the season expecting to win the B10 and go far in the tournament. While they still CAN do those things, the trend has not been positive. It is not ridiculous for supporters of the program to question the results so far. It's a results, win/loss business and we are not passing the eye test as we approach the toughest part of the schedule.
That said, I hope we pummel Penn St and get things going in the right direction!
That said, I hope we pummel Penn St and get things going in the right direction!
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