Pregame: Illinois vs VCU, Saturday, March 21st, 6:50pm CT, CBS

Status
Not open for further replies.
#101      
IlliniKat91
gary? said:
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?
Click to expand...
Reading that was interesting, to say the least. Nothing like looking in a mirror right before a game.

They're not wrong when they say we hold a grudge, although I'm not sure we hate Shaka as a collective fan base as much as they think we do.
 
#102      
pruman91
I still remember the selection guy saying vcu had to win their conf. tourney to make the Dance......I didn't watch any vcu games this year so I gotta put a lot of emphasis of my thoughts on his remark going forward..........vcu made a great comeback but unc choked big time by the players and by their inept coach.........

based on the above and how well the Illini played last night , my feeble worthless prediction is..............

Illini 88
vcu 76

Mirko-Man needs to continue his outstanding play and we need to rebound rebound rebound......

LET'S GO ILLINI !!!!!!!!!
 
#107      
BWBW
IlliniKat91 said:
Reading that was interesting, to say the least. Nothing like looking in a mirror right before a game.

They're not wrong when they say we hold a grudge, although I'm not sure we hate Shaka as a collective fan base as much as they think we do.
Click to expand...
In retrospect, many of us are pleased Shaka didn't come here.
I find it interesting that many of them have Illini acquaintances. I don't have any VCU acquaintances.
 
#109      
NASchamp
OrangeBlue98 said:
I think everything depends on what that game did for VCU. It was a tense, emotional game. VCU had to expend a ton of energy to come back. They had to play an overtime.

I don’t think there is a lot of middle ground. Either VCU is energized by that comeback against a power conference team and they come out like a house ablaze Saturday, or they have nothing left in the tank and are flat from the jump. I think it will be the former, but hope it’s the latter.
Click to expand...
I am thinking somewhat both scenarios occur. Come outguns blazing and then run out of gas in the second half and we pull away.
 
#110      
WyattEarp
IMG_7795.jpeg

Personally, I know I’m STILL (after all these years later) losing a lot of sleep over missing out In the Shaka SweepStakes. Lol Hilarious.(I guess we’re not the only fanbase that can’t let go of the past.) I didn’t care that much then either…also, don’t they realize by now Shaka (like Groce) is a mid-major kinda dude?
There is a mountain of evidence to that effect.

But about the other thing…

Illini Fan =Intense…or not at all.

youre right GIF
 
Last edited:
#111      
Kinkyfish
wncillini said:
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.
Click to expand...
We liked the Goat Bar & Grill
 
#112      
IlliniKat91
BWBW said:
In retrospect, many of us are pleased Shaka didn't come here.
I find it interesting that many of them have Illini acquaintances. I don't have any VCU acquaintances.
Click to expand...
Absolutely re: Shaka. We got the right guy with Brad. Although, I'm dying to know what they don't like about him, unless it's as simple as him working the refs to get one of his teams a call. Seems to me that's just part of the game. Annoying in the moment, but understandable in the long run.

Same, but I wonder how much of that has to do with location. I feel like being a bigger school with a bigger alumni base, plus with plenty of folks leaving Illinois for other states, likely leads to more of us moving into VCU "territory" than vice versa. But, that's just a shot in the dark on my part.
 
#113      
BWBW
I would like to see us get defensive rebounds and run VCU down the court. Even if we go into our set, we will have run them. Their legs should tire in the second half.
 
#115      
lstewart53x3
WyattEarp said:
View attachment 48491
Personally, I know I’m STILL (after all these years later) losing a lot of sleep over missing out In the Shaka SweepStakes. Lol Hilarious. I didn’t care that much then either…also, don’t they realize Shaka (like Groce) is a mid-major kinda dude.

But about the other thing…

Illini Fan =Intense…or not at all.

youre right GIF
Click to expand...
> guy says Illinois fans still harbor hate for Shaka Smart
> to prove it, guy provides story
> story is 10 years old
> story location is Vegas where my guess is, the two Illinois fans had simply bet on the game.
 
#116      
Oracle21
VCU is way better than Duquesne was. Duquesne was #88 on Kenpom that year. VCU is #42. They are 17-1 in their last 18 games. The only guards we’ve played all year that are as quick and as dynamic as there’s are Wisconsin, Alabama, UCLA (with Dent) and we went 0-4 vs those teams.

I think this game will be tough bc VCU, for as quick as they are, doesnt make many mistakes to beat themselves. I know IL doesn’t force many turnovers but VCU hardly makes any. Very low turnover games for VCU during this 17-1 stretch.

I don’t gamble but I’d be all over VCU +11.5. Similar to the Chattanooga game during Kofi’s last season. IL was -8 that game. Chattanooga was #67 on Kenpom. Much higher scoring than that game was tho
 
#118      
lstewart53x3
IlliniKat91 said:
Absolutely re: Shaka. We got the right guy with Brad. Although, I'm dying to know what they don't like about him, unless it's as simple as him working the refs to get one of his teams a call. Seems to me that's just part of the game. Annoying in the moment, but understandable in the long run.

Same, but I wonder how much of that has to do with location. I feel like being a bigger school with a bigger alumni base, plus with plenty of folks leaving Illinois for other states, likely leads to more of us moving into VCU "territory" than vice versa. But, that's just a shot in the dark on my part.
Click to expand...
www.espn.com

Stephen F. Austin 77-75 VCU (Mar 21, 2014) Final Score - ESPN

Game summary of the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks vs. VCU Rams NCAAM game, final score 77-75, from March 21, 2014 on ESPN.
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 
#120      
BWBW
Absolutely re: Shaka. We got the right guy with Brad. Although, I'm dying to know what they don't like about him, unless it's as simple as him working the refs to get one of his teams a call. Seems to me that's just part of the game. Annoying in the moment, but understandable in the long run.

Same, but I wonder how much of that has to do with location. I feel like being a bigger school with a bigger alumni base, plus with plenty of folks leaving Illinois for other states, likely leads to more of us moving into VCU "territory" than vice versa. But, that's just a shot in the dark on my part.
Click to expand...
TBH, I don't frequent fast food joints, Starbucks or other coffee shops, Target or Walmart, so meeting a VCU grad is highly unlikely.

I hope the above comment has just the right amount of Illini arrogance. :cool:
 
#122      
ChiefGritty
WyattEarp said:
View attachment 48491
Personally, I know I’m STILL (after all these years later) losing a lot of sleep over missing out In the Shaka SweepStakes. Lol Hilarious.(I guess we’re not the only fanbase that can’t let go of the past.) I didn’t care that much then either…also, don’t they realize by now Shaka (like Groce) is a mid-major kinda dude?
There is a mountain of evidence to that effect.

But about the other thing…

Illini Fan =Intense…or not at all.

youre right GIF
Click to expand...
I mean I don't think we blamed Shaka even in the moment.

#SHAKAWATCH, man, that's an all-time peak Illini message board saga.

Whether you'd go back and hire Shaka in 2012 if you could is a pretty interesting question really.
 
#124      
rdk573
I am cautiously optimistic against VCU...But after that game, if we meet Houston (most likely), I see their defense smothering us and see a game where they dominate us similar to our game with Michigan..Two major things that has me pessimistic is regression of Boswel since his injury and Tomi . I am still trying to figure out how he has gotten so much worse than last year?? As such, if our threes aren't falling we are toast..Hope I'm wrong..
 
#125      
TGB
I mean I don't think we blamed Shaka even in the moment.

#SHAKAWATCH, man, that's an all-time peak Illini message board saga.

Whether you'd go back and hire Shaka in 2012 if you could is a pretty interesting question really.
Click to expand...
Why did the post change from talking Illinois basketball, and then talking about Shaka? This crap happens all the time. It’s like some of you are bipolar or OCD.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back