Please tell me we don’t end up with Carsten, or Kofi will have 3 guys hanging on him all night with no whistles being blown. Not a fan of Borowski either.
Pregame: Illinois vs Wisconsin, Wednesday, February 2nd, 8:00pm CT, BTN
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altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
My immediate reaction to FOTN's characteristically thorough, insightful, and buoyant analysis:I want to start by saying that I am INCREDIBLY happy that "our NCAA Tournament resume" isn't at the top of my mind right now ... it's winning a damn Big Ten championship, and the rest will take care of itself!With that said, here is a look at B1G teams we have beaten so far, ranked by their NET Rankings:
vs. #112 Rutgers (Q3)
at #24 Iowa (Q1)
at #87 Minnesota (Q2)
vs. #99 Maryland (Q3)
at #191 Nebraska (Q3)
vs #53 Michigan (Q2)
vs. #20 Michigan State (Q1)
at #78 Northwestern (Q2) ... Would be great for them to sneak up to #75!
Tonight is a huge chance to REALLY put ourselves in position to be playing for a good enough seed to get placed in Chicago ... also some huge opportunities coming up. Like I said, we will truly have the opportunity to play ourselves into an elite seed over the next few weeks ... just keep winning, baby!
vs. #21 Wisconsin (Q1)
at #30 Indiana (Q1)
at #8 Purdue (Q1)
vs. #78 Northwestern (Q3) ... Hoping for this to eventually be Q2 if their luck improves!
at #112 Rutgers (Q2)
at #20 Michigan State (Q1)
vs. #19 Ohio State (Q1)
at #53 Michigan (Q1)
vs. #88 Penn State (Q3)
vs. #24 Iowa (Q1)
SEVEN Quad 1 opportunities (four of them on the road, we know the Committee loves that stuff!) and one Quad 2 opportunity at Rutgers. If we just keep playing our game and avoid any REALLY catastrophic letdowns at home (i.e., vs. NU or vs. PSU), there is no other "bad" loss on our schedule.
Sorry for the super long post, but for reference, here's where we were RIGHT around this date in past seasons (not the exact date, as some key games happen between about 1/29 and 2/4 every year!):
2022: 10-5 (6-3), ranked #22 ... probably looking at a 5-seed with our wins. Beat #7 Iwoa at home and finished winning 13 of our last 14 (counting the BTT) and earning a 1-seed!
2004: 13-5 (4-3), unranked ... won a tight game at Indiana and then won 11 straight before falling to Wisconsin in the BTT title game. Earned a 5-seed (criminal!), finished ranked #12 and won the Big Ten outright!
2002: 15-7 (4-5), ranked #21 and just lost three straight ... finished winning our last 8 regular season games, ranked #10 on Selection Sunday, earned a 4-seed and won a share of the Big Ten title!
1985: 18-7 (6-5), ranked #17 and just lost 3 out of our last 4 ... went on to win 6 of our last 7 games and play our way into a 3-seed and final ranking of #12!
All this rambling is to say that our season will be made in the next month or so ... and I think we are about to hit our stride, at full strength, tonight and never look back!
"We've played Rutgers this season?!"
80-65 good guys. I was more worried about Wisconsin’s team last year than this version. There is a serious athleticism gap at almost every position in our favor and Kofi feasts against these dudes.
I could see a scenario where it gets out of hand quickly if we come out hot and hit some bombs.
I could see a scenario where it gets out of hand quickly if we come out hot and hit some bombs.
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
86-51 good guys
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Early December is apparently the mists of time to me.
Same. Out of all the 'good' teams in the Big ten I'm least worried about Wisconsin. For context, they're #25 in Kenpom, right behind Indiana and Iowa
Illiniblueorange
- Pontoon Beach IL
Snowed in, in Stl and the hotel I am staying in does not have the B1G channel.
Totally Bummed , not loving life right now !
Totally Bummed , not loving life right now !
DICKnaggie
- Champaign
How many here remember "Blizzardball of 83"?
If you've got it as part of your cable package you can stream it on the Foxnow app
pruman91
- interviewing new NL's daily....I really really am
click on radio in Dan's first post in the game thread........at least listen to it ......hope you find a tv b4 tip off
Wait, I think he’s actually serious.
Wussies. Back in the day I used to slog through knee-deep snow twenty miles each way from my Forbes Hall room to the Hall, uphill both wa … oh, wait … there are no hills in C-U.
blackdog
- Champaign
I think it's more a sign of snow delirium, see the neck discussion in the recruiting thread.
Save yourselfWhat did I miss?
Never mind.
That one didn't hurt as much as the hose job in Lexington three months later.
Big Jack
- Decatur
Simple logic. We had some of our best games this year without him, therefore the team is better without him. Look at history. Like last year, we had one of our best games without Ayo (at Michigan.) Ergo, the team would have been better off last year without Ayo. Oh, wait...
JFGsCoffeeMug
BU:1 Trash cans:0
- Chicago
I'll catch you up!What did I miss?
Never mind.
1. We lost the PU game because Belo is a net negative to the team.
2. Long necks might be beneficial for basketball players. Or maybe they're not.
3. References to Ayo shall henceforth also include the phrase "dominant erupt," which is apparently a good thing.
Desperately hoping that the silver lining from all of this snow is that we get to watch a game where Illini Tanya Alford isn't making an a** of herself in her courtside seat for once.
How bout dis for swagger??
A preview of Bucky trying to get into Assembly Hall (yes I know it’s supposed to be SFC)
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Yankee Ridge wishes to have a word with you.
That thing's no joke. We're talking a vertical gain of what, 20 or 30 feet?Yankee Ridge wishes to have a word with you.
That one still frosts my grommets. However, I will forever remember that one as the Quinn Richardson game.
Illiniblueorange
- Pontoon Beach IL
thanks Pru , trying to get my Dish info from my lovely bill payer so I can stream it on the Fox app.
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