USAFILLINI
- Florida
It took VCU going 70% from 3 (7-10) in the second half to take a UNC without Caleb Wilson to OT.
Pregame: Illinois vs VCU, Saturday, March 21st, 6:50pm CT, CBS
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Slow Hill down, he will get points just cant go for 30 points.
This is not your 2010’s VCU offense…they can shoot this year
Regardless, if we control the glass and take care of the ball we should win with relative ease
I remember at the beginning of the season Boswelll (I think it was Boswell) said Mirk and Wags were the best two freshman he ever played with. Being just months removed from KJ and Riley getting picked in the first round, I shrugged it off as Boz just being overly gratuitous to be supportive. Nope. He was being serious.
With VCU, if we’re rebounding we’re winning. Shots tend to be more comfortable to shoot when you’re pretty confident the miss will be rebounded by a teammate. But if we take the lead, the mindset has to be “10 points is basically a tie with more than a minute left and anything less than a 20 point victory will mean your next opponent will smell blood in the water.” They cannot take their foot off the gas.
With VCU, if we’re rebounding we’re winning. Shots tend to be more comfortable to shoot when you’re pretty confident the miss will be rebounded by a teammate. But if we take the lead, the mindset has to be “10 points is basically a tie with more than a minute left and anything less than a 20 point victory will mean your next opponent will smell blood in the water.” They cannot take their foot off the gas.
VCU had a great game and comeback. Hill is a good player and will score some points. I really don't think he is going to go 7 of 10 from 3 two games in a row. If he goes a very respectable 5 of 10, UNC wins in regulation. This won't be another Penn game, but I think we win by 10-15 points. I think they will get some turnovers, but we will be too much on the offensive glass.
IlliniwekKDR
- Colorado Springs, CO
Legend has it he's still on a college roster somewhere....JCL sighting from 10 years ago....
If we make this game simple based off our matchup and strengths then we win by 10 +......
Our Strengths...
1. Control Tempo
2. Use the height and strength to control the paint
3. Use the size to rebound, rebound, rebound
4. Grind them down and wear them out with our physicality, height, and booty ball (when they double then you kick out for open 3's)
This is a game where Tomi does not need to shoot any 3's but park his behind in the paint.
Our Strengths...
1. Control Tempo
2. Use the height and strength to control the paint
3. Use the size to rebound, rebound, rebound
4. Grind them down and wear them out with our physicality, height, and booty ball (when they double then you kick out for open 3's)
This is a game where Tomi does not need to shoot any 3's but park his behind in the paint.
So what you’re saying is he’ll have an uphill battle to have a career game against the Illini.
Bucky ball forced St. Mary's into some uncharacteristic turnovers, but Houston's size and prowess on the glass is going to be a major challenge for the aggies.
Does VCU look at the tape of the last game and think “we need to keep two bodies on Mirk- take him out of the game and we have a chance”? Or do they look at the scouting reports and think that of Wagler? I have a hunch the Ivisic’s are going to Hoover up a lot of boards. There is probably going to be a huge emphasis on keeping Mirk off the glass giving them less attention.
The wildcards are always someone getting hot from outside, someone who’s usually reliable getting cold from outside, and fouls on critical players. I am confident we’ll rebound.
The wildcards are always someone getting hot from outside, someone who’s usually reliable getting cold from outside, and fouls on critical players. I am confident we’ll rebound.
last time i heard this, it was talking about just let one of boyd or blackwell beat you in our btt game, not both, ha. not picking on you, just a little ptsd
vcu perspective. some are saying they "owe" brad or want to beat him. does he have a history against vcu from sfa or ok st?
Just check downtown for what restaurants are available. Most restaurants are at most a 20 minute walk to the arena. Try parking at the Richardson St garage or other downtown parking garages. The garage next to the theater fills up quick and can be hard to get out of. We were lucky enough last night since we stayed the entire time to avoid paying for parking as they just opened everything up but I would expect $20 to $30 for parking.
There were probably 1500-2000ish Illini fans there, give or take. Hard to tell since not everyone was in orange but I would say at most 3500 people were there still at the end, likely less. It's typical middle of the road arena food. Not a bad seat in the house and I just picked up 2 tickets for 100 a piece since UNC lost. They were listed at 400 before the games yesterday.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
Eh, I definitely subjectively noticed a few times where he definitely just barreled toward the hoop into a crowd of guys … and everyone I watched with made a comment about it.
Stats don’t tell everything.
ChiefGritty
- Chicago, IL
Eh, you get too trappy with us and the roof can cave in on you, that's playing into our hands.
The book is out on how to slow down this offense, play off Andrej and Tomi (and to a lesser extent Z and Boswell) on the perimeter, be very physical and handsy with Wagler and just lock in and play hard, box out, hit the defensive glass.
The plus for VCU is that they have the right personality profile to beat us, penetrating, aggressive, pugnacious. UNC's lack of the killer punch last night felt familiar. The minus is the size disadvantage, which creates a problem to be solved for on every possession.
We'll see!
Ironically that was his first 30 point game of the season
It tells me he was being very aggressive and trying to make something happen, draw fouls which I’m ok with especially when we started to get 3 point happy late in the first half. We need his attack ability because no one else seems to do it for certain stretches. Stats don’t tell that eitherEh, I definitely subjectively noticed a few times where he definitely just barreled toward the hoop into a crowd of guys … and everyone I watched with made a comment about it.
Stats don’t tell everything.
They have good percentages but Hill and Tracey are the only guys that want to shoot the three. Lewis maybe as well but hes small-fry, our bigger guards should dominate him. For comparison, they had an offense about on par with Indiana's this year except they were playing in a weak A10.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
For sure, but I hope he finds a balance … and everyone else, too! Not picking on Andrej.
Need Andrej to rediscover his mojo. The guy who led us in scoring at MSU after injuring himself early in the game. I know that guy is in there. He can get to and finish at the cup. We need that guy if we’re gonna win the next couple games! I do think the coaches are happy with his approach to the rim (ie layups) as they create OReb opportunities on the weak side for one of the Ivisics and Mirk.
We need to go back up strong off ORebs. I’m glad the refs called some of the ticky tackies when our plays attacked the rim. God knows we’re owed some calls.
And I want to see Keaton attack the rim to open up his game! There’s no Donovan Clingan this year. Closest thing is Mara / Morez and there’s 4 more games for them to trip up before the final.
We have THE SQUAD. This team beat Purdue with possessions to spare. We beat Ohio State. We led games at MSU and at UCLA. We led Wisky majority of both of our games vs. them. Outside Michigan which looks like a top 3 team in the nation and an early season bout with UConn, we’ve been in a position to win most games. This is not chance. This is our class, our caliber, our ceiling!
Our offense and passing are slick. We need to play with the edge that we run an NBA offense and we have 4 guys capable of lighting it up from outside - Keaton, Mirk, Jake, and Ben. We have two guys who can get into the paint in Kylan and Andrej despite their shooting limitations. We have two 7’er’s - one who can get UP and one who can knock down 3s AND use his 250lb frame to maneuver in the low post.
This is a more complete team than 2024 (yes, the one that made the E8) and 2021 (the one that should have). I will be rooting my heart out for the team at the Toyota Center if they make it there. Wins against a Houston and potentially Florida are exactly what this program needs to announce that we’re here to stay. We’ll reload every year. Well built that NIL chest - lord knows we have the successful alums.
I admit my own bipolarity supporting the team. But I’m trying my best to put positive energy out there. It’s definitely frustrating when we get out-athleted in transition or get physically harassed by stronger teams (see: Michigan, UConn). But these are our guys. They have their footspeed and athletic limitations. But they’re highly skilled. We need to trust the coaching team to best set them up for success.
In my corporate career, I’ve learned it’s best to acknowledge one’s weaknesses but not over-dwell. We’re not going to spawn a TSJ into our team. But we just need the guys to battle. We need to not let other teams get juice off alley oops and transition dunks off steals (limit TOs), etc.
And we have to remain patient with our offense. Trust the scheme. Let’s not devolve into ISO ball by Keaton, Mirk, and Andrej. Theres a reason we’re the most efficient offense in the nation alongside Purdue.
Go Illini!
We need to go back up strong off ORebs. I’m glad the refs called some of the ticky tackies when our plays attacked the rim. God knows we’re owed some calls.
And I want to see Keaton attack the rim to open up his game! There’s no Donovan Clingan this year. Closest thing is Mara / Morez and there’s 4 more games for them to trip up before the final.
We have THE SQUAD. This team beat Purdue with possessions to spare. We beat Ohio State. We led games at MSU and at UCLA. We led Wisky majority of both of our games vs. them. Outside Michigan which looks like a top 3 team in the nation and an early season bout with UConn, we’ve been in a position to win most games. This is not chance. This is our class, our caliber, our ceiling!
Our offense and passing are slick. We need to play with the edge that we run an NBA offense and we have 4 guys capable of lighting it up from outside - Keaton, Mirk, Jake, and Ben. We have two guys who can get into the paint in Kylan and Andrej despite their shooting limitations. We have two 7’er’s - one who can get UP and one who can knock down 3s AND use his 250lb frame to maneuver in the low post.
This is a more complete team than 2024 (yes, the one that made the E8) and 2021 (the one that should have). I will be rooting my heart out for the team at the Toyota Center if they make it there. Wins against a Houston and potentially Florida are exactly what this program needs to announce that we’re here to stay. We’ll reload every year. Well built that NIL chest - lord knows we have the successful alums.
I admit my own bipolarity supporting the team. But I’m trying my best to put positive energy out there. It’s definitely frustrating when we get out-athleted in transition or get physically harassed by stronger teams (see: Michigan, UConn). But these are our guys. They have their footspeed and athletic limitations. But they’re highly skilled. We need to trust the coaching team to best set them up for success.
In my corporate career, I’ve learned it’s best to acknowledge one’s weaknesses but not over-dwell. We’re not going to spawn a TSJ into our team. But we just need the guys to battle. We need to not let other teams get juice off alley oops and transition dunks off steals (limit TOs), etc.
And we have to remain patient with our offense. Trust the scheme. Let’s not devolve into ISO ball by Keaton, Mirk, and Andrej. Theres a reason we’re the most efficient offense in the nation alongside Purdue.
Go Illini!
AS is absolutely key for this team because every 4-5 games he goes off and picks the team up with his attacking the rim - this may be the type of game where he excels and sends us to the next round. It's not gonna be Mirk and Wags every night, that is why having other very capable players makes up a Championship caliber team.
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