I am tired of hearing who’s going to guard Toppin. Who is going to guard Boz, Wagler, Mirko? If Tomi is back, how do they defend him? I think we win as it’s a home game and we need a Q1 win at home.
Pregame: Illinois vs Texas Tech, Tuesday, November 11th, 7:30pm CT, FS1
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Tomi is clearly one of our best players. Declaring 2 newcomers as our best anything without playing a single game is premature. That said, we are definitely short handed without them so a win would be awesome.
Yes. Just a reminder that the '21 team lost to Baylor, Missouri, and Rutgers all before January and still managed to get a 1 seed.
Just playing devils advocate. Because while I do agree with your point, the counterpoint is that Baylor team won it all. The type of teams who win it all win these early games. Especially at home
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Counterpoint to your counterpoint:
Our ‘23 team beat #7 UCLA and #5 Texas (end of season rankings) and got a 9 seed and lost in the first round of the NCAAT. Almost as if what happens in November isn’t always a great representation of a team’s upside.
We've played the University of Jerry's Kids and STm Mary's of the Poor the first two games. Those games were over in third first 10 minutes because we were just bigger.
Texas Tech is a whole different animal and about 10 notches up on the athletic scale. I'm not sure what to expect. They're a Final Four contender.
How do we react to a Texas Tech run? How do we react if we get down 7? Does our height negate their superior athleticism?
Not having Tomi is going to hurt big time. He's a proven guy that has shown he can play and win on the big stage at the college level.
For some of our guys, they've only read about playing in front of 15,000 rabid fans, on national TV vs NBA caliber talent. It's going to be overwhelming. This goes back to I missing Tomi. He's a huge stabilizing force.
Its going to be an interesting barometer. I would t surprised if we win OR lose by 10.
Texas Tech is a whole different animal and about 10 notches up on the athletic scale. I'm not sure what to expect. They're a Final Four contender.
How do we react to a Texas Tech run? How do we react if we get down 7? Does our height negate their superior athleticism?
Not having Tomi is going to hurt big time. He's a proven guy that has shown he can play and win on the big stage at the college level.
For some of our guys, they've only read about playing in front of 15,000 rabid fans, on national TV vs NBA caliber talent. It's going to be overwhelming. This goes back to I missing Tomi. He's a huge stabilizing force.
Its going to be an interesting barometer. I would t surprised if we win OR lose by 10.
I'm guessing Bama will join that group in the not to distant future.We only have 2 home games this entire schedule against top 20 teams.
Illinois - NET Rankings and Quad Wins
2026 Illinois Quad wins for NCAA College Basketball. NET rankings and Quadrants are used to help select teams for the NCAA Tournament during March Madness.bballnet.com
#10 Texas Tech
#7 Michigan.
The rest of the difficult games are all neutral or road. Suffice to say you need to win the home games or it gets real hard to build a resume since the other games are much harder to win.
That's exactly what I was thinking. How do they know anything if test results haven't come back yet?
Don't get too many of these ops. Now that the early season tournaments are starting to become a thing of the past and home and homes are replacing them....every team is going to have more opportunities, which was been a nice chance. It's one of the few nice changes going on in college athletics.
Do you honestly think the TN loss last season didn’t affect our seeding at all? Bc when you argue one home loss doesn’t matter if it’s to a Q1 team, I think it absolutely does.
If IL has that home win against a TN team that got a #2 seed, I think their own resume looks way better.
So IMO, this is a must win if you want a high seed in the NCAA tourney. Look at the amount of home losses the top 2 seeds on the country have had the last several years. I doubt it’s many
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
Especially if they keep putting up 900+ ppg.
We don’t play Bama at home.
That TN loss didn't hurt even half as bad that the NW loss did. That's his point. There are WAY too many games on the schedule, after 3 games, that will drive the season. If we beat TT, but then turn around and lose to PSU and NW, it's moot. If we lose, but the turnaround and beat Bama and UConn on neutral floors, it's moot.
This game would be SWEET to win, but 1)we're injured, 2) we've have had no time to build chemistry given the injuries, 3)we are extremely young at some positions and 4)many of our guys are inexperienced, at this level, versus this type of competition, on a stage that's bigger than they've ever seen before and on national TV.
Not having Tomi is going to really, really hurt because he's been there and done that on the biggest of stages last year. He would have been a steadying force.
Again, it would be AWESOME to win, but we have WAY more questions than answers.....AT THIS POINT. It's going to be fascinating. I have no clue what to expect from our group, but we have a pretty good idea of what Tech is bringing into the gym.
This game would be SWEET to win, but 1)we're injured, 2) we've have had no time to build chemistry given the injuries, 3)we are extremely young at some positions and 4)many of our guys are inexperienced, at this level, versus this type of competition, on a stage that's bigger than they've ever seen before and on national TV.
Not having Tomi is going to really, really hurt because he's been there and done that on the biggest of stages last year. He would have been a steadying force.
Again, it would be AWESOME to win, but we have WAY more questions than answers.....AT THIS POINT. It's going to be fascinating. I have no clue what to expect from our group, but we have a pretty good idea of what Tech is bringing into the gym.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
Why did you crop out the sentence before that said, “Any individual Q1 game won't have a huge negative impact on seeding if we were to lose. Need to win a big portion of them, of course, but we can still claim a very good seed with a loss to Texas Tech next week.”
Throughout the season, we will need to win a good portion of our Q1 games to get a top 3 seed, but my opinion is that no individual game is going to have a huge impact on seeding. The committee will look at our resume as a whole and assign a seed based our Q1 & Q2 record without being overly fixated on a single game.
The 1 and 2 seeds last year had 6, 4, 4, 5, 7, 5, 9, 8 total losses during the season and 2, 1, 0, 1, 1, 0, 3, 1 losses at home.
So I’d argue if you’re going to have 4-9 losses during the season and 1-3 losses at home, a loss to a top 10 team (Q1A) in November without your best player is probably the best loss you can pick up.
Btw, the lens that I see college basketball through is in direct comparison to college football.
Our stretch goal this year for Illini football was making the playoff. To do that, you have to lose two or less games. Our schedule had the #1 and #2 teams in the country on it. Which meant that since those two games were almost sure losses, we had zero margin for error, and needed to win the remaining 10.
Our toughest challenge outside of those two was Washington on the road. THAT was a must win. Win it and you’re likely in the playoff. Lose and you’re out. We lost.
No college basketball game comes even close to that level of importance until the NCAAT itself.
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It's only Nov. 8 and some of us are already fixated on seeding for March Madness? Seriously, what's up with that? The Flyin' Illini didn't win in the Final Four (a terrible no-call by the refs really hurt us at the end of Michigan game) but people remember an electric team that had a fabulous season. And they remember that we beat Michigan twice during the regular season. Including blowing them out at their place. That's the team people remember, thanks in part to Dick Vitale.
LouHenson
- Naples Florida
If you take out “must win” I understand where your are going with your thought on the importance of that one game. Let me ask one question?
If Illinois loses to TT (they won’t be a #1 seed) unless they just kill it in q1 road/neutral games. That’s how I see this game as far as importance. Yes we could still get a 1 seed losing that game, but it is much harder as you basically will have to make up for that loss with a q1 road win? What odds would you give us to get a 1 with a loss against TT? In my mind maybe 5-10% chance? Yes it could happen, but you then need to need to pick up all 4 of the non con signature wins on neutral courts (I think you have to go 4-1 in those 5 games to get a 1 seed? You also need not to lose more than say 3-4 games in conference. Let’s just say the path to a 1 seed and that 2005 path is WAY easier if you beat TT Tuesday?
I think this is a year where you really want to be a 1 because of that path to the final 4. We have been to the final 4 twice in my life. I was at both of them, and guess what… we were a 1 both times? At 64 now, I have seen us win twice in the 55 years or so I can remember as a lower(higher) seed. So, yea in my mind winning against TT, while not a “must” win it is just about the only way we get the 1 seed.
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OrangeBlue98
Iowa is not in a great spot right now (LvilleILL1)
- Des Moines, IA
I jumped on the Tech bandwagon last season after they beat Houston at Houston. Tough as nails team that was fun to watch. I really respect Mcausland as a coach. Should be a really good game to watch.
I’ve told my friends who are not Illini or Tech fans to watch this one. I really think it’s going to be a good game.
I’ve told my friends who are not Illini or Tech fans to watch this one. I really think it’s going to be a good game.
Fair point. I'm sure you'd agree though that while championship caliber teams often win these big early season games, dropping one doesn't eliminate them from contention.
UConn lost to Kansas and Seton Hall in 2023.
Kansas lost early in the year to Dayton last year they won it all.
Villanova lost to Butler early in 2018.
UNC lost Indiana and Kentucky in 2017.
Villanova lost to Oklahoma and Virginia in 2016.
However, I will say that none of the last 10 champions lost an early season home game. All the above examples were either on the road or at neutral sites.
The frontcourt matchup with Toppin is the feature, but IMO, this game comes down to Boswell vs Anderson.
Also, I really like that TTech gave up 11 offensive boards to Lindenwood and 18 to Sam Houston St. I think our effort on the defensive glass is what’s going to be the difference maker.
Also, I really like that TTech gave up 11 offensive boards to Lindenwood and 18 to Sam Houston St. I think our effort on the defensive glass is what’s going to be the difference maker.
That's my point. What win would you rather have if you had to pick one? Tech at home or Bama at a neutral site? I know which one is far more important when it comes to seeding and resume.
It's why we'd LOVE to have Tuesday, but it couldn't be farther than the truth that this is anywhere even remotely close to a must have. Let's wait a while before going down this path.
Last year, a win at home was FAR less important than a home loss to USC and at NW. Those were damaging, TN was not.
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We play solid D and out rebound them, we should win. They are not very physical from what I have seen. With Mirko and the twin towers, if Tomi plays, will make things difficult for them to score in the paint. Atwell is their main 3 point specialist at 50% so far. They average 9 tuirns a game and they have limited sizes as Toppin is their biggest starter and they have a 6’11” F that plays 12 minutes a game. We need this win
It really sucks that it seems Tomi will not be available. It would be nice to start the seasons with 40 minutes of Ivisic at the 5 spot to have 10 fouls to give and be aggressive defending in the post and 2 5s that can really stretch the floor.
I hope they are both available when we travel to play Bama. I'm going and my cousin is a Bama grad and I really hope we win that game next week.
I hope they are both available when we travel to play Bama. I'm going and my cousin is a Bama grad and I really hope we win that game next week.
Are we talking if you can lose a home game and win a NC, or if you can lose a home game and get a 1 seed? Haven’t followed the entire convo, so just skimmed through.
Florida’s non-conference opponents last year were basically:
UNC 22-13
Wake Forest 21-11
Florida St 17-15
Virginia 15-17
Arizona St 13-19
And a bunch of cupcakes
Auburn had two home losses last year and got the top overall seed
I mean surely we can lose to a top 10 team and still get a 1?
Florida’s non-conference opponents last year were basically:
UNC 22-13
Wake Forest 21-11
Florida St 17-15
Virginia 15-17
Arizona St 13-19
And a bunch of cupcakes
Auburn had two home losses last year and got the top overall seed
I mean surely we can lose to a top 10 team and still get a 1?
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