Pregame: Illinois vs UConn, 5:09pm CT, TBS
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Playing with House Money is a LOSING strategy in betting. If you are successful in your gambling, changing your stategy just because you are winning is a recipe for giving it back. Too many times gamblers loosen up their betting when ahead only to allow the house to recapture House Money. Having a playing with house money approach for the Illini would be the same losing strategy. If they get behind, well at least we made it this far. NO, we have come back before, we are coming back again. We are destined to win. No other thoughts!
I think we dominate from start to finish the entire basketball world except us goes WTF?
Looking at their schedule, Newton has been their leading scorer in less than a third of their games… but was their leading scorer in all three of their losses. I have no idea how that informs the defensive gameplan, but thought it was interesting.
Ryllini
- Lombard
That's why I said this will the Adam Fletcher game.
splitter
- and not Nebraska
Pull the chair out from under them.
Ok whatever
Since it doesn’t cost anything and we won’t suffer any personal consequences... here’s a prediction:
Illini wins in a BLOWOUT.
Illini get off to a 22-1 lead over U-Conn. U-Conn looks dazed and confused and they start to play ball looking like a Led Zeppelin. They begin to argue with each other on the court and the U-Conn coach loses all control of his team.
Even the TBS announcers are stunned and don’t know what to make of it. They begin to fear viewers will drift away and their ad revenue will suffer. So they start to tell stories about the good ‘ole days before the Transfer Portal.
At halftime... Illini lead 54-19. U-Conn stays extra long in the locker room in trying to decide whether to even go out for the second half. Coach and AD remind them that if they want to protect their NIL money and the school not face NCAA penalties... they had better get their rears out there. And so – reluctantly – they do. But their faces are frozen with fear and confusion.
They close to within 66-46. But in doing so they become exhausted. Their spirit is already broken and they begin to fall behind again.
By this time... Shannon is waving his arms with glee like he’s going to take off and Hawkins keeps raising his index finger to his lips as he stares at the U-Conn faithful. Many of them already have gone since halftime and its only the parents and significant others of the players who are left in the stands.
Coach Underwood doesn’t want to embarrass U-Conn any further and he clears his bench. Shannon leaves with 45 points and a wide grin. Hawkins takes a seat behind the Illini bench... pulls out a tenor sax... and begins to play ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’ to the giddy Illini throng who are going crazy.
Illini win... 106 to 58.
And the Orange & Blue get ready to play on as the Great Prairie State Dream continues...
Illini wins in a BLOWOUT.
Illini get off to a 22-1 lead over U-Conn. U-Conn looks dazed and confused and they start to play ball looking like a Led Zeppelin. They begin to argue with each other on the court and the U-Conn coach loses all control of his team.
Even the TBS announcers are stunned and don’t know what to make of it. They begin to fear viewers will drift away and their ad revenue will suffer. So they start to tell stories about the good ‘ole days before the Transfer Portal.
At halftime... Illini lead 54-19. U-Conn stays extra long in the locker room in trying to decide whether to even go out for the second half. Coach and AD remind them that if they want to protect their NIL money and the school not face NCAA penalties... they had better get their rears out there. And so – reluctantly – they do. But their faces are frozen with fear and confusion.
They close to within 66-46. But in doing so they become exhausted. Their spirit is already broken and they begin to fall behind again.
By this time... Shannon is waving his arms with glee like he’s going to take off and Hawkins keeps raising his index finger to his lips as he stares at the U-Conn faithful. Many of them already have gone since halftime and its only the parents and significant others of the players who are left in the stands.
Coach Underwood doesn’t want to embarrass U-Conn any further and he clears his bench. Shannon leaves with 45 points and a wide grin. Hawkins takes a seat behind the Illini bench... pulls out a tenor sax... and begins to play ‘Sweet Georgia Brown’ to the giddy Illini throng who are going crazy.
Illini win... 106 to 58.
And the Orange & Blue get ready to play on as the Great Prairie State Dream continues...
Pru, I think Sage got into your stash.
NASchamp
- Atlanta
May have booked flights a few hours ago just in case….
sacraig
- The desert
What color jersey's are we wearing tonight?
FIFY
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Two choices: orange or blue. At this point, though the font offends my aesthetic sensibilities, I'm all-in on orange Nike 1LL1NO1S.
Dance with who brought ya'.
We are going to have to play our best game of the year and hope that some wrinkle somewhere in Brad's game plan will slow UConn just enough for us to squeak by them. If we could somehow get up in the second half or keep it close for 36 minutes, then we have a realistic chance of an upset. We have to be patient. If we try and force things, they will eat us up. I do not feel like we have played our best game yet this year. I am hoping this is it. Someone asked me what my favorite moment of this team was in the tournament. I told them. It has not happened yet. But if you must know it is when the Illini beat UCONN and go to the final4.
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