Bigtex
- DFW
unfortunately Ty playing resembles Damonte years playing 4 vs 5 on offense Ty and Damonte do/did a lot of good but mostly on the defensive end.
Tennessee 86, Illinois 79 Postgame
I was curious so I wanted to see what other teams in CBB start a player who averages the same (or less) points per game than Ty:
Starting at the top, I found these teams:
#2 Kansas
#3 Purdue
#4 Houston
#5 UConn
#6 Marquette
#8 Creighton
#9 UNC
I ceased any further research at that point.
Starting at the top, I found these teams:
#2 Kansas
#3 Purdue
#4 Houston
#5 UConn
#6 Marquette
#8 Creighton
#9 UNC
I ceased any further research at that point.
Let's see... someone help me out here; I confess, I'm typically the "glass is half empty" guy when it comes to Illinois Basketball (I have a long history of heartbreaks), so I try to look for the golden thread, that hopefully keeps the fabric from unraveling altogether...
I think the golden thread in this loss, the thread that helps me to walk away from the edge of the cliff, is this:
Maybe it's alrady been mentioned, but if it has, it's worth repeating. It started on Saturday Dec. 2, in Piscataway NJ, or rather the travel day to Piscataway on Friday the 1st. I'm probably not the only one to have had a bad experience the only time I went to NJ, but the Fighting Illini avoided a potential bad experience by going into the hostile crowd at the RAC, and totally dominated an obviously overmatched Rutger's squad but at the same time potentially dangerous as noted from previous visits there.
Three days later, this same Fighting Illini paid a visit to one of our nations most historic stadiums and not only held their own against a Top Ten Team and Final Four contender from the previous year, who returned all the key players from that team, and won.
Now follow up those two great victories, still on the road mind you, and go to another city with another Top Ten team, and fall just a few plays short of a three game sweep... this is virtually an NBA schedule for kids still in school! Did the Tennessee Volunteers have that sort of eight day schedule preceeding this game? It may still be only 2-1 in the standings for the week, but what it really is, is preparation for a Second Weekend in March, which will be played on a neutral court. This is the kind of experience that can lead to greater things.
So relax, and look up, all you Illini fans like me, who while crying "the sky is falling," there is much about which to be positive.
ILL-INI
I think the golden thread in this loss, the thread that helps me to walk away from the edge of the cliff, is this:
Maybe it's alrady been mentioned, but if it has, it's worth repeating. It started on Saturday Dec. 2, in Piscataway NJ, or rather the travel day to Piscataway on Friday the 1st. I'm probably not the only one to have had a bad experience the only time I went to NJ, but the Fighting Illini avoided a potential bad experience by going into the hostile crowd at the RAC, and totally dominated an obviously overmatched Rutger's squad but at the same time potentially dangerous as noted from previous visits there.
Three days later, this same Fighting Illini paid a visit to one of our nations most historic stadiums and not only held their own against a Top Ten Team and Final Four contender from the previous year, who returned all the key players from that team, and won.
Now follow up those two great victories, still on the road mind you, and go to another city with another Top Ten team, and fall just a few plays short of a three game sweep... this is virtually an NBA schedule for kids still in school! Did the Tennessee Volunteers have that sort of eight day schedule preceeding this game? It may still be only 2-1 in the standings for the week, but what it really is, is preparation for a Second Weekend in March, which will be played on a neutral court. This is the kind of experience that can lead to greater things.
So relax, and look up, all you Illini fans like me, who while crying "the sky is falling," there is much about which to be positive.
ILL-INI