I think for just a couple minutes at the end of the first half. Not at all in the second half or OT unless I'm misremembering. I can't think of anything he did that would have caused BU to shut him down (especially with Kofi having to sit for long stretches due to fouls), performance wise or for any other reason, other than the flagrant, but I'll be the first to admit I could be missing something.
Purdue 96, Illinois 88 2OT Postgame
- Status
Yeah, I can't remember either. Unfortunately, no recording of the game on my DVR to do an official's review.
We are so much better without Ayo and Kofi
Well the guy at the liquor store told me that I'm only as old as I feel. If that's the case, I'm old enough to have seen him play in person.No T, just a flagrant foulIf you don't remember Brosky, that makes you young!
BMoreIllini
- Baltimore, MD
I hate straw man arguments - that's not what he said. He said we played better without Kofi in this game and I don't think it's untrue, as odd as it is. That's not the case 99.9% of the time, but it seemed to be on Monday. I think the issue was that the guards didn't do a great job of getting Kofi the ball in a good spot for him to work from and he was forcing it offensively because Edey was beating him early. When Kofi was off the floor it opened things up for our guards as they weren't trying to force it inside.
I also think we didn't see Edey in the game much late because his feet aren't quick enough (even with his length) to deal with Curbelo's twitchy-ness in the lane.
Last edited:
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
He was being snarky...not making an argument.
While we definitely stepped up in Kofi's absence.....seriously....anyone who thinks we wouldn't have been better with Kofi down the stretch....or any time ever for the rest of infinity.....should never be in charge of an important decision that affects other people for their entire lives.
This includes driving a motor vehicle and caring for children.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
Snarkiness does exist here on the Loyalty board ......That's an apt description of what i am seeing more of here now ...........
Definition of snarky
1: CROTCHETY, SNAPPISH
2: sarcastic, impertinent, or irreverent in tone or manner snarky lyrics
Some have questioned whether snarky is a real word. There can be no doubt that it is; the adjective has been recorded in English since 1906. Its original meaning, “crotchety, snappish,” has largely been overtaken, however, by the far more frequently-encountered sense “sarcastic, impertinent or irreverent.”
As much as it pained me I re-watched the game last night. Because it was not live the emotion that I usually have when watching a game was gone, and I was able to watch with a bit more focus.
Did the Ref's have an effect on this game? - Absolutely they did. Without question if this game was called evenly between the teams, there is no OT - and we win by a point or three in regulation. Kofi's 3rd foul, and all of the non-calls on Prudue really do exist - and they are obvious.
Going 7+ minutes without hitting a shot against a top 5 team is not going to win you many games. After the flagrant/double technical - we just seemed off.
If this was Curbelo after 2 practices, the sky is the limit for this team. The absolute chaos he creates when driving to the basket is beautiful. Is he going to make stupid mistakes - yea, but I can live with that. Teams can try to game plan for him, but half the time I don't think he knows what he is gonna do when he starts to drive - and then reacts to what the defense is doing. Not sure how you plan for that.
This team is capable of winning it all. Our two toughest games (Arizona / Prudue), were both winnable games. There were mistakes made in both games, but I think both of the losses made us better. I think by the time the tournament starts this team is going to be running on all cylinders, and is going to be a team that nobody wants to play.
Did the Ref's have an effect on this game? - Absolutely they did. Without question if this game was called evenly between the teams, there is no OT - and we win by a point or three in regulation. Kofi's 3rd foul, and all of the non-calls on Prudue really do exist - and they are obvious.
Going 7+ minutes without hitting a shot against a top 5 team is not going to win you many games. After the flagrant/double technical - we just seemed off.
If this was Curbelo after 2 practices, the sky is the limit for this team. The absolute chaos he creates when driving to the basket is beautiful. Is he going to make stupid mistakes - yea, but I can live with that. Teams can try to game plan for him, but half the time I don't think he knows what he is gonna do when he starts to drive - and then reacts to what the defense is doing. Not sure how you plan for that.
This team is capable of winning it all. Our two toughest games (Arizona / Prudue), were both winnable games. There were mistakes made in both games, but I think both of the losses made us better. I think by the time the tournament starts this team is going to be running on all cylinders, and is going to be a team that nobody wants to play.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
No T, just a flagrant foul"Brosky" sounds awfully similar to Boroski
Just kidding, Brosky. It's a tough job for sure. Don't T me up.
Just finished reading thru the entire thread. Not much mention of Stefanovic. He was the difference. He was 6-11 from 3 and totaled 21 points. For the season he is only averaging 11.8 points. And his 3's came at key times in the game. He has an off night and it is not even close. Forget the refs. Forget Kofi's limited time. Illinois wins easily. Will be interesting to see how he does in the rematch and how Illinois handles him.
illini80
- Forgottonia
I guess I’m the only one on the board who thinks Kofi’s 3rd foul was a foul. IMO, if you look at the entirety of the play where Kofi bulldozed Edey so hard that he lost his balance and fell, and not just the end of the play where he fell and the whistle was blown, I think they had to call something. You can’t let 300# guys get into shoving matches that go to the floor like that and let it go. You lose control of the game at that point.
Anyway, Happy Wednesday everyone!
**ducks for incoming**
Anyway, Happy Wednesday everyone!
**ducks for incoming**
Do you think Edey diving into Curbelo was a foul?
And Belo
Wonder if having Hawk available would have made a difference.
I agree. If you go back and look at the three previous games agains Perdue Stefanovich only scored 9 points each game. While one of those games we completely obliterated Purdue, I thought I remember Trent’s defense on Stefanovic as being critical for those two victories.
illini80
- Forgottonia
I’m not playing “what about”. There were lots of bad calls. Just stating my minority opinion on one discussed extensively.
There was a lot of contact on that play for sure, but It's not just that Kofi fell, it's that Kofi is blocking out for the rebound and Edey's left arm/elbow is draped over his shoulder which causes Kofi to lose his balance and fall - knocking Edey over.
9:50ish in this video
InDaAZ
- Eugene, Oregon
Imagine being a coach putting together a scout team in prep for Illinois…
“OK, fellas, who’s going to emulate Belo’s game? Hmm; anyone?”
“Alright, we’ll skip that one. How ‘bout Kofi?”
“Play defense like Trent?”
Add Fonz & Jake opening up the court with 3-bombs, Monte being the junkyard dawg, CoHawk, Omar & BBV with the hustle plays, the freshmen growing… oh, my!
Thanks to suspension, flu, Covid, injury... neither we nor opposing teams have seen this squad at full strength and firing on all cylinders. It’s a tantalizing concept going into the back half of the season. Let’s GO!
We are a better team with Kofi, absolutely.
But man, he was getting outplayed by Edey....and Mitchell. We were better without Kofi most of the game, I don't really see how you can argue against that.
If he hadn't fouled out, would you have had him in the game instead of BBV in OT and 2OT?
Man even asking that question is making me question my sanity, but we really were better with BBV this game.....
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Mitchell??
I'm not arguing that Kofi was struggling and didn't respond well early.
I can argue it because you have nothing but assumptions concerning what Kofi's play would have been like had he been able to play without the fouls...with even calls against Edey and Williams. My assumptions are that he would have played to his average....an actual measurable metric. Which means it's absolutely absurd nonsense to believe we are a better team without Kofi.
If you really need any actual evidence, go back and watch last years game vs. Edey. It's almost science that Kofi would have ended up closer to his average had he remained in the game and adjusted better. I'll let you do the math.
If Kofi finishes this game with the same number of fouls as Edey.....which means Kofi plays 10+ more minutes...and Edey plays 5-8 less....we win this game without OT.
So, in short, you should be questioning your sanity.
I thought Kofi played fine defensively. He was never going to shut Edey down 1 on 1, but he bothered him enough. And I was actually impressed with how Kofi was able to stay in front of Williams. There were multiple times Williams tried his little dream shake and Kofi stayed right in front of him.
IMO, the reason BBV may have looked better than Kofi is because he was actually allowed to stay on the floor and get into the rhythm of the game and our guards started coming down and helping more in the second half which is when BBV got the bulk of his minutes.
Not trying to take anything away from BBV either btw. Played a great game. But just because Kofi wasn't his usual dominant self, doesn't mean he was a liability.
IMO, the reason BBV may have looked better than Kofi is because he was actually allowed to stay on the floor and get into the rhythm of the game and our guards started coming down and helping more in the second half which is when BBV got the bulk of his minutes.
Not trying to take anything away from BBV either btw. Played a great game. But just because Kofi wasn't his usual dominant self, doesn't mean he was a liability.
There's no way to play effective defense today against these giant centers(Kofi,Williams,Edey,etc.)other than double or triple teams. If you play man to man they just use their bulk to bang into the defender knocking him back until he's got a layup. The defender bangs back ...he's called for a foul. If the defender gets knocked down it's either a no call or called a flop. Anytime a big gets the ball down low I cringe because I know what's coming...bully ball. It's just the way the game is being called now. Every time our own "bully" Kofi gets the ball there are multiple fouls both ways but usually no whistles...while touch or phantom fouls are called on the perimeter.
I agree, but think it will be even more interesting to see how we defend the post. I hope Underwood defends that much better by bringing the hard double every time the big man touches the ball. If he dares to put the ball on the floor, strip it immediately. Underwood's defensive "game plan" left a lot to be desired when defending the post.
- Status