Pregame: Illinois vs UConn, 5:09pm CT, TBS

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#26      

IllinoisssssssVarsity

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IllinoisssssssVarsity
UConn reminds me of a more talented Purdue. I think the game plan is going to be very similar to what we’ve seen against Purdue. Purdue, like UConn, pulls out intricate sets and counters when they need to. Painter has one of the deepest playbooks in the Big Ten. I think we’ve learned from our mistakes in those games and will put ourselves in our best position to win.

I think the difference is, Clingan is a really good player, but idk that he’s gonna force us to bring doubles the way Edey did. I think he’s just slightly less efficient and that may be the difference.

We’ve seen this game plan before. Team has a dominant big and good shooters/players around him. We let the big work 1 on 1 and try to limit everyone else.

Offensively, I’d be shocked if Clingan wasn’t guarding Ty. But with our guys having seen Edey in the paint this year, we have experience going up against size. Clingan obviously controls the paint defensively, but again, idk if he does it to the extent that Edey does. Hopefully, our experiences against Purdue make us more comfortable than other teams have been Vs them, and lead us to the victory.
 
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#27      

HensonHall71

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HensonHall71
Chad Fleck said:
I don't bet, but if Ty is in then Clingan will be on Ty, I would.

If Ty is out, then I'm not thrilled about our defense and rebounding.

I don't prefer this conundrum.
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I agree with you- Ty can make a big difference on the glass which we’ll need - but given we don’t want Klingan to guard Ty and stand in the paint, I can see playing Goode a lot this game for Ty and trying to stretch out their defense with another shooter- it means Goode has to check Spencer which I don’t hate but we give up offensive rebounding for sure
 
#29      

ILL-Intentions

I
ILL-Intentions
HensonHall71 said:
I agree with you- Ty can make a big difference on the glass which we’ll need - but given we don’t want Klingan to guard Ty and stand in the paint, I can see playing Goode a lot this game for Ty and trying to stretch out their defense with another shooter- it means Goode has to check Spencer which I don’t hate but we give up offensive rebounding for sure
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Can we maybe force our hand by playing Ty, Coleman, and Dain? At that point I would assume Clingan would be in the Dainja zone?
 
#30      

HensonHall71

H
HensonHall71
IllinoisssssssVarsity said:
UConn reminds me of a more talented Purdue. I think the game plan is going to be very similar to what we’ve seen against Purdue. Purdue, like UConn, pulls out intricate sets and counters when they need to. Painter has one of the deepest playbooks in the Big Ten. I think we’ve learned from our mistakes in those games and will put ourselves in our best position to win.

I think the difference is, Klingan is a really good player, but idk that he’s gonna force us to bring doubles the way Edey did. I think he’s just slightly less efficient and that may be the difference.

We’ve seen this game plan before. Team has a dominant big and good shooters/players around him. We let the big work 1 on 1 and try to limit everyone else.

Offensively, I’d be shocked if Klingan wasn’t guarding Ty. But with our guys having seen Edey in the paint this year, we have experience going up against size. Klingan obviously controls the paint defensively, but again, idk if he does it to the extent that Edey does. Hopefully, our experiences against Purdue make us more comfortable than other teams have been Vs them, and lead us to the victory.
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I agree - the Purdue game is a good comparison- I couldn’t remember how Purdue matched up with us with Edey guarding Ty- they must have had Lance Jones on TSJ and Braden on Domask and Loyer on Guerrier? It seems we should have exploited that but neither Domask nor TSJ had very good games which seems odd- we’ll need to exploit the mismatches much better if they have Klingan on Ty- Coleman needs to feast on whoever is guarding him
 
#31      

Second place is 1st loser

S
Second place is 1st loser
I think that we play really well today. I do think that we bring our A game. That said, let's just be honest and call it a road game against the best team college basketball has seen since Florida, almost 2 decades ago.

I think that we score, but we have one of our droughts, which takes a 2 point game to a 16 point game.

UConn 91
Good Guys. 78. .

The double digit streak continues, BUT while I'll be bummed out because this group is so likeable, 29-9, Big Ten Tournament champs, Elite 8.....and just a couple of unfortunate endings during the season from avoiding this matchup until the Final Four.

Banners will be hung for this team(I think Elite 8 comes with a banner as well as the Big Ten Tourney comes with a banner)....so this amazing season will be memorialized.

Then....the fun of the portal and NIL starts. Never an off season any more in college basketball.
 
#32      

HensonHall71

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HensonHall71
ILL-Intentions said:
Can we maybe force our hand by playing Ty, Coleman, and Dain? At that point I would assume Clingan would be in the Dainja zone?
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Yes, but it gives Klingan the ability to guard Dain and clog the paint which we don’t really want and I don’t think Dain has much success against Klingan- I don’t think this is a Dain game. It has to be a Goode game I think when we take out Ty
 
#33      

doowink

D
doowink
I'm thinking that both teams will play well offensively the first half with possibly 7-8 lead changes...which will surprise some UConn fans and maybe some of their players as well....in that hey these guys are no fluke, they can play....then come out the 2nd half and at about the 7-8 minute mark let our conditioning and persistent play will wear them down...get a couple of their players in foul trouble...go to the line and make FT's....finally pull away with about 3 minutes left and win by 8-9 pts as we make our FT's.....then book flights to Phoenix :hailtotheorange:
 
#35      

illini0440

illini0440
illini0440
HensonHall71 said:
I’m interested in what our assignments will be tonight. I think it’s:
TSJ on Newton
Ty on Spencer,
Guerrier on Karaban
Coleman on Klingan
Marcus on Castle

I think Marcus can be fine in Castle because they don’t run much for him and he likely won’t be crashing the offensive glass given he’ll be guarding TSJ on the other end, so he almost has to find him once the shot goes up- that is a big advantage for us given Castle is their version of Ty who can really rebound and be a problem if you don’t box him out

I think we let Klingan go 1-1 on Coleman and he’ll get his points but he’s not Edey, I think if their offense become just dump it to Klingan we’re OK with that

Shutting off Spencer will be key- Ty will have to get through a lot of screens and limit his shots. I think TSJ will bother Newton with his size and not let him get into the offense like they want

I think we match up with them defensively fairly well in this scenario- I don’t like Marcus on Spencer because it will wear out MD on defense running through screens and that’s not his strength- let Ty do that

On the other end it’s likely
Castle on TSJ
Klingan on Ty
Karaban on Coleman
Spencer on Domask
Newton on Guerrier

Coleman and Guerrier need to take advantage of their matchups in this scenario- Klingan will be at the rim so Ty setting a pick on Castle should get TsJ open looks given Klingan won’t close out on the screen

If they put Klingan on Coleman the matchups will be more traditional and we need Coleman to have a big game pulling Klingan away from the basket and hitting threes and driving to the rim

Essentially- we need Coleman to have a big game offensively either way!
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Clingan has scored over 20 twice all year. I think he averages around 13 points per game. Wouldn’t be surprised if we say go beat us. Think you’ll see Marcus on Spencer to start and you might see us throw some switching back in there just to stay with shooters and if they want to throw it down low so be it.
 
#37      

OrangeBlue98

OrangeBlue98
Des Moines, IA
OrangeBlue98
I've said it in a different thread, but I can easily see a lot of non-UConn fans having that kind of feeling. When you think of Jim Calhoun and Dan Hurley, neither guy is particularly likable (but both are obviously great coaches). Then you had the issues with the NCAA under Ollie. UConn just seems like the "new money" person that suddenly becomes rich on an economic bubble of some sort and then becomes an insufferable p***k just because that person got on the wave at the right time.
 
#38      

genxrex

G
genxrex
OMG OMG 8 hours to wait! Sick and tired of hearing about the UConn juggernaut and these sleepers talking heads trying to debate if they are the best team of all time. Get the hell out here with that ish. Illini are coming! OMG OMG

Side note, in Dallas for Easter. Any cool places in Plano to watch the game?
 
#39      

HensonHall71

H
HensonHall71
ILL-Intentions said:
Can we maybe force our hand by playing Ty, Coleman, and Dain? At that point I would assume Clingan would be in the Dainja zone?
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I do think When Klingan is out (he only plays 22 min a game- but I think that is more a function of the blowouts they have rather than conditioning) then I think we go to Dain and let him go to work
 
#40      

FoundersClub

FoundersClub
FoundersClub
A little surreal: I’m at the gym and every TV seems to be Illinois/ UConn pregame coverage or predictions.

Important to remember, last time we were this ‘relevant’ there was far less media. Very limited social media. Being ‘relevant’ now means your program and players are being discussed in 10x more places. Our game tonight will be the biggest event of the day, across any sport. Our game will be shown on every bar TV screen across North America tonight. Small town or big. Illini bar or not.

Pretty cool, and important for us non casual fans to soak it in. Has a little bit of a ‘my kid is all grown up’ proud dad/ mom feel, especially for those of us that have been along for the ride for so long. For those of us that were fans during the early 2000’s and wondered, ‘Will those times ever return?’

They’ve returned. For a moment tonight, we are back in the ‘good old days’. Enjoy it.
 
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#41      

PattyOBryant

P
PattyOBryant
FoundersClub said:
A little surreal: I’m at the gym and every TV seems to be Illinois/ UConn pregame coverage or predictions.

Important to remember, last time we were this ‘relevant’ there was far less media. Very limited social media. Being ‘relevant’ now means your program and players are being discussed in 10x more places. Our game tonight will be the biggest event of the day, across any sport. Our game will be shown on every bar TV screen across North America tonight. Small town or big. Illini bar or not.

Pretty cool, and important for us non casual fans to soak it in. Has a little bit of a ‘my kid is all grown up’ proud dad/ mom feel, especially for those of us that have been along for the ride for so long.
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POTD
 
#43      

ptgrd23

ptgrd23
ptgrd23
A chance for greatness. An upset for the ages.

Eddie Johnson corner jumper to beat Magic / MSU.

Deron etc brings back Illini from down 15 w 4 minutes to ho vs AZ in Tourney

Illini vs UConn. Who will be hero?
 
#44      

RabidDawgClassic

RabidDawgClassic
RabidDawgClassic
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#46      

blife

B
blife
ptgrd23 said:
A chance for greatness. An upset for the ages.

Eddie Johnson corner jumper to beat Magic / MSU.

Deron etc brings back Illini from down 15 w 4 minutes to ho vs AZ in Tourney

Illini vs UConn. Who will be hero?
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Won't need one. Beloved by 8. You have to believe you are the best to be the best. They do.
 
#48      

TheFlyingIllini1317

TheFlyingIllini1317
Chicago, IL
TheFlyingIllini1317
I'd say we have a 5-10% chance of winning today, but the odds were much lower when we were down 13 to Arizona with 3 to play. LET'S GO TO A FINAL FOUR!
 
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