Pregame: Illinois vs Tennessee, Saturday, December 14th, 4:30pm CT, FOX
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We routinely put Boswell on guys a few inches taller than him and he can lock them down. It's going to take a near perfect game from us to win. We can do it.
Last year in this game Domask struggled to get the ball up the court. They are going to try to hound KJ the same way. But this year we have Boswell, last year we didn't. If he can be a calming influence against their pressure defense, we've got a pretty good shot.
I like that we have 2-3 guys that can bring up the ball, should help tone down Ziegler's influence on the defensive side.
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
I blur my eyes and mute everything. I also make sure to message all my Illini peeps to say nuffin.
IllinoisFan733
- Chicago
I unfortunately think it may come down to officiating. If the refs allow Tennessee to grab and hold without callling freedom of movement fouls, I don’t see how we can beat them.
Illini team CAN go deeper, Tennessee can not afford to get into foul trouble if they only play 7. BU should be discussing that with the referees before the game starts, unless basketball rules change game by game.
(Nightmares back to UConn game where they weren’t calling fouls on Klingan on TSJ drives to the basket and I knew the game was over in the first 5 minutes.)
Illini team CAN go deeper, Tennessee can not afford to get into foul trouble if they only play 7. BU should be discussing that with the referees before the game starts, unless basketball rules change game by game.
(Nightmares back to UConn game where they weren’t calling fouls on Klingan on TSJ drives to the basket and I knew the game was over in the first 5 minutes.)
BU said in his postgame presser that Ben "pissed him off" by not shooting more threes when opportunity presented itself. I have to agree. Elite shooters are always convinced the ball is going in. Ben has to take that to heart and let fly. First thing you know, he'll have a string of 5-6 in a row. If that happens, I don't see Tennessee beating us.
Bigtex
- DFW
Have only seen Tennessee play against Miami, FL (small sample size) Good/great team, IMO ncaa seed 1-4 so top 16 team, very athletic, good shooters, and good defenders but not deep. I believe for the past 3 years plus this year, defensively they are in the top 5 (maybe top3). This will be a great test but a winnable game at home with maximum effort and good shooting. Turnovers and rebounding will determine the winner.
I agree, esp. about Kylan. He's tough as nails. He's strong, mentally and physically. We hear talk about the 5-9 guy's physical defense, Fair enough, so what happens when Kylan guards HIM?
Tennessee allows teams to shoot the 2nd most threes of any major conference team.
Illinois shoots the 3rd most threes of any major conference team.
Ben, we need you, pal.
Illinois shoots the 3rd most threes of any major conference team.
Ben, we need you, pal.
Kligan may have fouled, but Cligan didn't, he played great defense.
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
Are we really mocking / correcting a spelling error with another spelling error? Is this a meta-mock or a really bad look? Clingan.
Illini in OC
In. The. Alley.
Oh I can stream on my phone. I’m just 6’7 so it’s impossible for me to hide, especially at the kids table
Battle89
- Cary-Grove, the better Trojan team
LOL. You have no idea how many times I proofed that response before posting. Even looked up the roster on two different sites.
I don't think Jacucionis should bring the ball up the court unless he isn't guarded by their 5'8" guard. I like him to be the guy that gets the ball first after it gets over midcourt. I think that will help with turnovers. He should have a big game if he can get open or get others open by drawing lots of attention. He will probably get either 18pts and 4 assists or 8pts and 8 assists.
Boswell can handle their little guard as far as not turning the ball over at the top of the key. Boswell needs to limit his threes to wide open or not at all. Penetrate and be smart. 10 pts 4 assists.
We have to make sure we have someone devoted to keeping Lanier from hitting threes and maybe limit his possesions.
We are bigger than Tennessee across the board, so we need to use that size. Offensive rebounding will be key but not so much if we hit our shots. I want to see Humrichous go 3-7 or 4-9 or better. 12pts 6 rebounds
I have a bad feeling White is going to try and score 20 again and miss a lot of shots. Maybe he can do it and that would be great, but it feels more like the Wisconsin game was more of an aberration than the norm for him. I think Riley needs to be the guy and maybe take over in spurts like he has done a bit this year already. DGL needs to hit 2 threes for 6 pts. White is going to shoot 2-10 and have 6 pts. and 4 rebounds. Riley needs to have 18pts and 4 rebounds.
We have the advantage with Ivisic down low, so that will be a big plus. I will look for him to get 20 and 10 this game. Morez chips in another 4 pts.
If Illinois has less than 12 turnovers, and they shoot 50%, we win easy. If those numbers go the wrong way, we better be getting an amazing defensive effort.
Illinois 84 - Tennesee 80
Boswell can handle their little guard as far as not turning the ball over at the top of the key. Boswell needs to limit his threes to wide open or not at all. Penetrate and be smart. 10 pts 4 assists.
We have to make sure we have someone devoted to keeping Lanier from hitting threes and maybe limit his possesions.
We are bigger than Tennessee across the board, so we need to use that size. Offensive rebounding will be key but not so much if we hit our shots. I want to see Humrichous go 3-7 or 4-9 or better. 12pts 6 rebounds
I have a bad feeling White is going to try and score 20 again and miss a lot of shots. Maybe he can do it and that would be great, but it feels more like the Wisconsin game was more of an aberration than the norm for him. I think Riley needs to be the guy and maybe take over in spurts like he has done a bit this year already. DGL needs to hit 2 threes for 6 pts. White is going to shoot 2-10 and have 6 pts. and 4 rebounds. Riley needs to have 18pts and 4 rebounds.
We have the advantage with Ivisic down low, so that will be a big plus. I will look for him to get 20 and 10 this game. Morez chips in another 4 pts.
If Illinois has less than 12 turnovers, and they shoot 50%, we win easy. If those numbers go the wrong way, we better be getting an amazing defensive effort.
Illinois 84 - Tennesee 80
Agree. We don’t have anyone to matchup well with Milicic (it’s gonna be Ben and it won’t be pretty). I think it will be under a 15 point margin, but we lose this one.
Though I hope someone gives a good elbow right to the chops of Gainey. He takes trash talk to another level. F that guy.
Though I hope someone gives a good elbow right to the chops of Gainey. He takes trash talk to another level. F that guy.
Do we go with more DGL to match up with the 5-8 Guard and put Boswell on Lanier? Or do we try to exploit the shorter height try some combination in which Riley and Tre are both in along with PF and C. Want to see more Morez in this game, 13 minutes is a joke for him. He draws a lot of attention when he is on the court, parking himself near the rim.
Gainey off of their bench is actually their 4th highest minutes guy. So as far as I can see they play 4 guards + Milicic about as often as 3 guards + Milicic and Okpara. Presumably that allows them to switch on ball screens on the perimeter.
Anyone more knowledgeable than me know how we can exploit them going small with our size, given that we really don’t do booty ball this year?
Anyone more knowledgeable than me know how we can exploit them going small with our size, given that we really don’t do booty ball this year?
Potentially play Morez and Ivisic at the same time if Morez can D up well enough on the perimeter and just abuse a smaller team in the boards.
Is it a potential Will Riley game? If they're going to take Okpara off the floor can he get to the basket and finish? I don't know if he's going to be ready for how physical they will be defensively.
Someone outside of Kasparis and Ivisic will have to step up and have a big game and from a matchup perspective it might need to be Ben or Riley(Kylan going nuclear from 3 would be another route).
My key to the game is have a game plan twist to the offense and/or defense that Rick Barnes must make in game adjustments to defeat.
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