Pregame: Illinois vs Wisconsin, Friday, March 13th, 1:30pm CT, BTN

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#204      
PleaseMakeABowlGame
BillyBob1 said:
It’s a BIG court. There will only be one line.
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hallelujah GIF
 
#207      
Birdus
WhereDoWeStandWithStorr? said:
I think Wisconsin is the best big man 3 point shooting team in the nation.
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I for one like the idea of us going through St. Louis to get out west with Arizona. That would be idea! Stay away from Duke and we will have a much better chance of getting through the elite 8.
 
#208      
Birdus
aaeismacgychel said:
Rough path to a BTT title. Likely Wisconsin, then Michigan, then MSU/Nebraska/Purdue. Tough sledding... I guess the positive thing is, you win those 3 games and it's probably pretty comparable to 3 wins you need in the Sweet 16 on to make it to the National Championship game. I also like that we're going to get 5 days rest and we're coming off a bad game. Makes me think we might come out swinging and a lot healthier than we were today. So we have our path, now we need to execute
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We did not play great against Wisconsin the first time. I think we win this time. As far as Michigan goes, if we play to our potential and they are off a bit, we can and should win. May is a better in game coach than Underwood is but if we are hitting our shots, we have a SHOT. Michigan State is playing better than when we played them but we owe them and I am hoping if we get that far we play them again.
 
#210      
DJM
Assuming we get the badgers, thoughts on starting Andres Friday instead of Jake? Jake can't guard or slow down Blackwell. I get the consistensy thing Brad has brought up and the "liability" of having Andres and Kylan on the floor together (same type of players, poor 3 point shooting, course if that were the case, Tomi and Z shouldn't be allowed on the floor together from here on out) and the combination of Andres being injured or sick.
But, the ankle looked fine last game and he should be healthy. I understand having Jake out there to hit an early couple of threes but I like the idea of (1) suprise (2) Kylan on Boyd and Andres on Blackwell to start and shut them down (or at least slow them down) early (3) mess with their rotation and ours to a certain extent but we'd at least be prepared for it (4) if all goes as planned and we slow them down early, Jake comes in and knocks down a couple 3's.
I also think a healthy Andres being able to penetrate will help to creat shots for Keaton out front.
Any thoughts?
 
#211      
Kernal12
DJM said:
Assuming we get the badgers, thoughts on starting Andres Friday instead of Jake? Jake can't guard or slow down Blackwell. I get the consistensy thing Brad has brought up and the "liability" of having Andres and Kylan on the floor together (same type of players, poor 3 point shooting, course if that were the case, Tomi and Z shouldn't be allowed on the floor together from here on out) and the combination of Andres being injured or sick.
But, the ankle looked fine last game and he should be healthy. I understand having Jake out there to hit an early couple of threes but I like the idea of (1) suprise (2) Kylan on Boyd and Andres on Blackwell to start and shut them down (or at least slow them down) early (3) mess with their rotation and ours to a certain extent but we'd at least be prepared for it (4) if all goes as planned and we slow them down early, Jake comes in and knocks down a couple 3's.
I also think a healthy Andres being able to penetrate will help to creat shots for Keaton out front.
Any thoughts?
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Maybe against the grain of opinion here, I've been calling for Andrej back to the starting lineup for a couple of games now. We now know he was out with the flu before Maryland so it wasn't going to happen then, but I definitely think the Wisconsin game is the one to make the switch.

We need our best perimeter defenders to slow down Boyd and Blackwell, and I actually think Andrej is a pretty good matchup for Blackwell with his size and athleticism. (We don't want to burn up Keaton's energy having to defend option 1 or 1A of the other team, and I assume Kylan is on Boyd.) Wisconsin also doesn't defend the rim very well -- and will be especially vulnerable in that regard if Winter doesn't play -- so Andrej also matches up well offensively. Of course if "bad Andrej" shows up then by all means get Jake or Ben out there and roll with them instead, but I have a feeling we will get "good Andrej" from here on out.
 
#212      
Bigtex
ILLforever said:
We haven't looked like our 12-game winning streak team since the first 10 minutes against UCLA. So, confidence is down, but now it's time for Brad to do his job and get the team back up and confident to go on another long winning streak. That won't be an easy task, but doable. There's nothing I would like more than to beat Wisconsin, Michigan, and Michigan State in a row going into the NCAA tournament. While beating them, winning one of the games in overtime would be even better. I think that would show we truly have a shot at a National Title or at least a Final Four. Anything less than winning the BTT tournament and we're probably looking at sweet 16 or less. Sure, I would be hoping for more, but I wouldn't bet on it. I think if we were to lose to Wisconsin, we would be an NCAA 3 seed at best. I think our best defense against Wisconsin would have Kylan and Andrej guarding Boyd and Blackwell from the start to not let one of them get off early.
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unfortunately, it isn't very easy to turn the switch on or off

IMO Illinois Needs a couple of these to happen in March:
Wagler to hit some outside shots
Andrej needs to get and stay healthy. no one else can do what he does on offense
make 35%+ on 3s
Ivisic bros need to spend more time in the lane
Ivisic bros hitting a couple of 3s will give Wagler some room to roam. Right now teams aren't leaving Wagler since the Pick n Pop = missed shot
 
#213      
Altuve27
DJM said:
Assuming we get the badgers, thoughts on starting Andres Friday instead of Jake? Jake can't guard or slow down Blackwell. I get the consistensy thing Brad has brought up and the "liability" of having Andres and Kylan on the floor together (same type of players, poor 3 point shooting, course if that were the case, Tomi and Z shouldn't be allowed on the floor together from here on out) and the combination of Andres being injured or sick.
But, the ankle looked fine last game and he should be healthy. I understand having Jake out there to hit an early couple of threes but I like the idea of (1) suprise (2) Kylan on Boyd and Andres on Blackwell to start and shut them down (or at least slow them down) early (3) mess with their rotation and ours to a certain extent but we'd at least be prepared for it (4) if all goes as planned and we slow them down early, Jake comes in and knocks down a couple 3's.
I also think a healthy Andres being able to penetrate will help to creat shots for Keaton out front.
Any thoughts?
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Good question. I suspect they’ll start Jake. Brad likes how Jake fits with that starting group, BUT for this particular matchup there is an argument for starting Andrej. He’s our second best perimeter defender and his size and length could make things at least a little tougher for Blackwell. Wisconsin will look to exploit Jake when he’s guarding Blackwell or Boyd (if they get cross matched)
 
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#214      
RML
DJM said:
Assuming we get the badgers, thoughts on starting Andres Friday instead of Jake? Jake can't guard or slow down Blackwell. I get the consistensy thing Brad has brought up and the "liability" of having Andres and Kylan on the floor together (same type of players, poor 3 point shooting, course if that were the case, Tomi and Z shouldn't be allowed on the floor together from here on out) and the combination of Andres being injured or sick.
But, the ankle looked fine last game and he should be healthy. I understand having Jake out there to hit an early couple of threes but I like the idea of (1) suprise (2) Kylan on Boyd and Andres on Blackwell to start and shut them down (or at least slow them down) early (3) mess with their rotation and ours to a certain extent but we'd at least be prepared for it (4) if all goes as planned and we slow them down early, Jake comes in and knocks down a couple 3's.
I also think a healthy Andres being able to penetrate will help to creat shots for Keaton out front.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
With neither Tomi or Big Z hitting threes, our five out attack isn't working as it is, so I would be good with seeing if Andrej can slash. If he were a willing passer off his drives, I would feel better about it.
 
#219      
Bigtex
DJM said:
Assuming we get the badgers, thoughts on starting Andres Friday instead of Jake? Jake can't guard or slow down Blackwell. I get the consistensy thing Brad has brought up and the "liability" of having Andres and Kylan on the floor together (same type of players, poor 3 point shooting, course if that were the case, Tomi and Z shouldn't be allowed on the floor together from here on out) and the combination of Andres being injured or sick.
But, the ankle looked fine last game and he should be healthy. I understand having Jake out there to hit an early couple of threes but I like the idea of (1) suprise (2) Kylan on Boyd and Andres on Blackwell to start and shut them down (or at least slow them down) early (3) mess with their rotation and ours to a certain extent but we'd at least be prepared for it (4) if all goes as planned and we slow them down early, Jake comes in and knocks down a couple 3's.
I also think a healthy Andres being able to penetrate will help to creat shots for Keaton out front.
Any thoughts?
Click to expand...
IMO as you point out the staff is limiting minutes with both Boswell and Andrej and it passes the eye test. Have been watching substitutions the last couple of games. Don't expect any changes to starting lineup. Do hope we get good Andrej!

unfortunately, the offensive game plan is to shoot 3s and both Ivisic brothers like to hoist them up even if they aren't going in. I believe Z is 14 for his last 18 from 2 with many dunks.
 
#222      
AirTran
Bigtex said:
IMO as you point out the staff is limiting minutes with both Boswell and Andrej and it passes the eye test. Have been watching substitutions the last couple of games. Don't expect any changes to starting lineup. Do hope we get good Andrej!

unfortunately, the offensive game plan is to shoot 3s and both Ivisic brothers like to hoist them up even if they aren't going in. I believe Z is 14 for his last 18 from 2 with many dunks.
Click to expand...
They aren't limiting minutes - they are matching up. Boswell played 35 minutes against Michigan and 33 minutes against UCLA. He had 4 fouls against Maryland and that is why he sat. I focus on what Brad constantly refers to as his most important stat (and every game planning decision the Illini staff makes is based on quantitative info) its +/- That is why Jake Davis was moved into the starting line up. The staff actually has a +/- sheet for all 56 possible combinations of the 5 we have on the floor. The positve here is that Kylan and Andre didn't play against Wisconsin and Wisconsin is going to have 1 night to prep for us. But think about how important winning last Sunday was. Who was on the floor for the last 4 minutes? Hummer, Z, Andre, Keaton and Mirk. The staff goes with the match ups that are working.
 
#224      
D1959
If wisky wins im afraid we will be one and done
 
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