We need to win the battle of point guards in order to have a chance.
Pregame: Illinois vs Texas Tech, Tuesday, November 11th, 7:30pm CT, FS1
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They go 6-9, 6-5, 6-5, 6-5, 6-3. They basically will go 7 deep. I think they will role coverages on Toppin and Boz will be on Anderson, Wagler on Atwell, Davis on Groves and Mirko on Bryan. We can bring in more size when Ben comes in. Toppin is their TSJ but Anderson stirs the drink. We can control Anderson, we will win.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
This is surprising. It assumes Tomi of course but hard to say just how much not having him will impact the game.
Get in the cell with Danny Wolf and Mark Sears!
Bartorvik says we win 87-77
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
No Texas Tech, Tennessee, or Purdue.
What’s crazy too is, we’re #1 and Louisville is #2. We have an opponent in common. We won by 58, they won by 36.
What’s crazy too is, we’re #1 and Louisville is #2. We have an opponent in common. We won by 58, they won by 36.
kylan vs Christian Anderson is what I'm looking for. I think we win that we win. and I think we win
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
Predicting to me is always a difficult task in sports as there are so many variables to consider right up to the tip off......
Knowing Tomi is out hurts big time.........
Knowing Lee is out hurts depth.............
Not knowing if MP is available just makes it more difficult b/c he hasn't had time in practice...........
Being a home game improves odds.........
Knowing TT has 2 very good players but I haven't saw any of their play this year means..............
using my tried and true wake & bake I predict....................
Illini 92
tt 83
Bam , Mirko-Man and the rest of the gang show just how GREAT this team is no matter who is out....NEXT MAN UP !!!
Knowing Tomi is out hurts big time.........
Knowing Lee is out hurts depth.............
Not knowing if MP is available just makes it more difficult b/c he hasn't had time in practice...........
Being a home game improves odds.........
Knowing TT has 2 very good players but I haven't saw any of their play this year means..............
using my tried and true wake & bake I predict....................
Illini 92
tt 83
Bam , Mirko-Man and the rest of the gang show just how GREAT this team is no matter who is out....NEXT MAN UP !!!
99-35? Did he have to come out with a fractured tibia midway thru the 1st half?
(never mind, no need to answer... they just threw some tape on that bad boy and he finished the game)
With Tomi out, I see an opportunity for Mirk's 1st triple double as an Illini!!
I did notice there is a pretty big difference between Torvik and Kenpom for Texas Tech.
27th on Torvik
14th on Kenpom
skyIdub
"I can't tell you. Secret."
Benched for 6 minutes after technical foul for
“6,7’ing” the TTU bench after his 67th point.
Looking at Tech's first two games, it seems depth is an issue for them. Jaylen Petty got the most tick of any of the bench guys and he started the year at a 3-19 shooting pace. Otherwise, their strengths seem to match ours - rebounding, shooting, getting to the line (though they don't shoot well from the line at 65%). I know a lot of the talk is centered around JT Toppin, but Christian Anderson and Donovan Atwell scare me.
I'll be saying this all year.....win on the glass and we win the game.
Here's a Torvik stat to keep the "is this a must win" debate going...
It has us projected to lose 6 conference games and 2 non-con games. Torvik has a fun page called Tourneycast, and gives us a 42% chance at a 1 seed based on those projections. That is currently the second best percentage after Duke.
What does this mean? Diddly squat! But it's fun to look at and track throughout the year.
It has us projected to lose 6 conference games and 2 non-con games. Torvik has a fun page called Tourneycast, and gives us a 42% chance at a 1 seed based on those projections. That is currently the second best percentage after Duke.
What does this mean? Diddly squat! But it's fun to look at and track throughout the year.
If we go by the projection, I wonder how much that 42% chance increases if we only lose 1 non-con game? 0 non-con games?
Had been under the impression that any non-con game being a 'must win' by definition would mean we need to go undefeated in the non-con schedule to get a 1, which everyone knows isn't the case.
Someone else pointed out the other day that the 20-21 team was 9-5 (3 of those losses to unranked opponents) as of Jan 16th and still got a 1 seed.
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
As of now, Torvik gives Illinois the:
- 2nd highest chance of a 1 seed behind Duke
- 3rd highest chance of a F4 behind Duke and Houston (tied with Michigan)
- 4th highest chance to win it all behind Duke, Houston, and Michigan
foby
- Bonnaroo Land
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Wow, from what I can tell we have never played Texas Tech? That is kind of surprising, as we have at least SOME series history with the vast majority of Power Conference teams given how many opportunities for non-conference tournaments, random home-and-homes, postseason matchups, etc. there have been over the decades. However, they don't have too notable of a history before the last decade, and their best run of NCAAT success came during the worst stretch in our program's history, haha.
From what I can tell, we have never even been in the same region of the NCAA Tournament with a chance to play before the Final Four, lol. Not sure if we've ever been close to playing in something like Maui or whatever, but that is actually pretty remarkable that other than TSJ transferring here, we have literally zero history with them!
From what I can tell, we have never even been in the same region of the NCAA Tournament with a chance to play before the Final Four, lol. Not sure if we've ever been close to playing in something like Maui or whatever, but that is actually pretty remarkable that other than TSJ transferring here, we have literally zero history with them!
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