By “this team” do you mean the Illini or Badgers? //S
Pregame: Illinois vs Wisconsin, Saturday, January 7th, 12:30pm CT, ESPN2
- Status
Same ole poor passes, Everybody lines up behind the 3 point line again and can't hit the backboard. Wisconsin 72-Illinois 59
CleaverName
- Chicago but not there anymore
I think Latulip made a good point after the game last night, this team has no PG. nobody who can create for others, initiate and run offense, be a floor general, etc.
Brad I think thought Hawkins could do some of this but that was probably not very wise in hindsight. If anything, it's making him play where he isn't comfortable and causing even more issues.
Maybe getting Goode back helps a bit, but it's hard to see this squad making the tourney.
Brad I think thought Hawkins could do some of this but that was probably not very wise in hindsight. If anything, it's making him play where he isn't comfortable and causing even more issues.
Maybe getting Goode back helps a bit, but it's hard to see this squad making the tourney.
Not getting a veteran PG who can lead the team is rearing its ugly head right now. Several of us thought this would be a mistake. Looks like we're right unfortunately.
Fighter of the Nightman
- Chicago, IL
While I kind of agree with you overall, I think the last two years have spooked us in that we view the Tournament as a total crapshoot and the regular season as some sort of warmup for it ... tends to happen when we are so excellent in the regular season and we watch an annoying and inferior Michigan team make it further than us both times.
However, at the end of the day these things tend to self-correct over time, and a worse seed in March REALLY lowers your odds of making a run. And I'm getting worried that even if we actually DO figure it out by February or whatever and are playing the kind of basketball that took down UCLA and Texas, we might have a resume that gives us too tough of a path to the Sweet Sixteen and beyond that it's just too much to overcome. A win vs. Wisconsin keeps the hope of a "respectable" season alive.
If we did that I suspect Skyy went elsewhere
Ransom Stoddard
Ordained Dudeist Priest
- Bloomington, IL
Does Sam Maniscalco still have eligibility?
Nah, you can do what Purdue did and bring in a veteran that doesn’t need any promises. All you need is an old guy to push the younger guy and be there as a safety valve when the lights get too bright for the younger guy (which for us is happening right now)
Agreed, good points.
The scary thing is this stretch was supposed to be the easy part. We were expected to start conference 7-0 or 6-1. We still have 4 relatively easy games (obviously nothing is easy for us right now), before the schedule really gets scary. Playing better might not translate to wins with how tough the schedule will get in 2 weeks.
The thing about basketball... you can NOT play this game effectively if you are ‘tight’ and not in a kind of flow state.
It takes very little to throw a shot off just enough to turn a make into a miss. It takes very little to turn a brilliant needle pass through traffic into a turnover. It takes very little to go from making 9 out of 10 free throws to bricking most of them. It takes very little turn a statement-making shot block into just another foul.
Lesson... you cannot play tight. Or ‘thinking’ too much. Or letting little things snowball into bigger things.
Answer? Get your heads on straight before you take the court and then get your heads and fears OUT of the game on the floor. Quit playing with weights on your back and on your mind. Quit playing scared and worried. Quit worrying about the Season and just don’t ‘think’ at that level at all. Again... get into that Flow State. And stay there.
Watch the feet and hands of players. See if their knees look too tight when they launch shots or they don't get high enough on release. Watch if players don’t bend their knees deeply enough when shooting free throws. Watch their hands and wrists if they are not releasing the ball loosely enough or conversely without enough authority in the right shot angles and strength of release.
This game is a thing of beauty when guys are moving with purpose and coherence. When they are playing fearlessly and having fun. When they are not worried about making a mistake and turning that into another five-minute stretch of scoring NO POINTS.
Get back to blacktop basics, guys. And look like you want to be out there. It;s not that hard. Just think back...
I’d love to see this lineup starting against Wisconsin:
Epps
Harris
TSJ
Mayer
Dain
Focus on getting Dain a touch EVERY possession.
Epps
Harris
TSJ
Mayer
Dain
Focus on getting Dain a touch EVERY possession.
At this point I’d take Sergio McClain running the point. 🫤
Sergio would've cracked some heads by this point in the season.
Wisconsin is not a very good basketball team. We will be favored. Maybe least athletic team in BT.
But they are high IQ and very disciplined…..which unfortunately we are not.
Bucky will not make mental mistakes, will not turn the ball over, will make their free throw, will play as a team.... and we are a hot mess of a dumpster fire right now. I don't care what Kenpom says this will be an ugly as usual Bucky game. If we don't get out heads on straight, we are going to 0-4 in BIG. 2 Ls on our home floor this early would end BIG reg season champ aspirations.
This has been the recipe for 7 straight games. Let’s see if it finally pays off!
A 10-10 conference record will surely get us in the tourney, especially because of our good non con wins against UCLA and Texas. Plus, if we can avoid losses to Nebraska and Minnesota we will have zero bad losses this season. For simplicity, let's say these games are guarantees...
Wins
@Minnesota
Nebraska
Minnesota
Losses
@Indiana
@Ohio St
@Purdue
That means we need to go 7-4 in these remaining games...
Wisconsin
@Nebraska
Michigan St
Indiana
Ohio St
@Wisconsin
@Iowa
Rutgers
@Penn St
Northwestern
Michigan
I still won't commit to calling this a "must win", but this game is definitely one of the easier ones left. Our path to 10-10 would get much tougher with a loss.
Wins
@Minnesota
Nebraska
Minnesota
Losses
@Indiana
@Ohio St
@Purdue
That means we need to go 7-4 in these remaining games...
Wisconsin
@Nebraska
Michigan St
Indiana
Ohio St
@Wisconsin
@Iowa
Rutgers
@Penn St
Northwestern
Michigan
I still won't commit to calling this a "must win", but this game is definitely one of the easier ones left. Our path to 10-10 would get much tougher with a loss.
I haven't jumped off the bandwagon yet and think Illinois wins 70-64.
Illinisteve25
- Champaign
Things I would like to see the rest of the year. Play lose, Play confident, Play hard.... Overall I have a good feeling about tomorrow, no clue why but think we are due for a game when the open shots fall!
Let’s hope not!
USAFILLINI
- Florida
I'm not confident this coaching staff has figured out how to pull this team together yet.
Wisky 70/ILL 64
Wisky 70/ILL 64
- Status