Nobody could hit a shot. Might as well put Jake in to see if he could.
UConn 74, Illinois 61 Postgame
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Andrej playing with an injury and it just wasn't working.
Another thing I've not seen mentioned in some time. We have a couple of guys in the rotation that are not only freshman but also new to playing in front of large loud crowds. Mirk said after the exhibition game in SFC that he'd never heard such a loud crowd. If he thought that, imagine what MSG must have been like for him today. Playing on this type of stage is going to take some getting used to. Mirk and Wagler taking steps back in these big games should have been fully expected because it happens to 99% of freshmen. I would not pull Wagler out of the rotation though as some have called for.
We can’t beat top teams. It is what it is. We have the James Franklin of basketball
Why not get thrown out of the game protesting the whacked call? Nothing to lose there...
USAFILLINI
- Florida
Wash and repeat with the SAME ISSUES year after year. What’s the one thing that doesn’t change?
The talent is there, our ceiling should be high, all excuses should be off the table.
The talent is there, our ceiling should be high, all excuses should be off the table.
Illini2010-11
- Sugar Grove
Which is exactly why we are scheduling these tough non conference games in the first place. The scheduling has actually been very good the last few years, with respect to getting good resume for Selection Sunday. You can't have Quad 1 or Quad 2 games all the time. Izzo has done this type of scheduling for years, with some ugly November losses, but his teams are consistently polished in March.
The major roster turnover year over year does not help in November, but I expect a much cleaner product by the turn of the calendar year. The Illini have 8 days to prepare for Tennessee. If they come out flat again, then I will start to get concerned.
I agree. The box score shows Illinois lost as by 13 points for two main reasons:
(1) Stojakovic didn't score as he normally does, and
(2) Coach Underwood went too deeply to his bench, which clearly wasn't as deep as Connecticut's bench.
It definitely looks like Illinois would have fared better, had they stuck largely to their starters. Instead, Underwood pulled Mirkovic and Wagler (2 guys could have each played 25 to 30 mins) and played them 18 and 14 mins, respectively, so about half that. By playing shorter, less-talented bench guys (like Lee (0 pts), Petrovic (2 pts), and Davis (0 pts)), then Illinois scored noticeably less than they could have, had the starters received more minutes. You can't normally maximize your scoring by playing deeply into your bench. Instead, coaches have to utilize their best players (normally their starters) in tough games. Coach Underwood went against that well-known strategy in this game. The 10-man rotation that Illinois used didn't help them. It hurt them.
Wasn't that at least part of the story w/Hummer last year and why he continued to start for way longer than everyone's eyes said he should?Coaches are going to find out the hard way … They don’t run thisanymore …
If you’ve got a booster paying a kid millions … You will do what that booster says …
Otherwise … You won’t have those millions next year …
Yes and the thing about having people standing in the corners it was an easy outlet for driving gaurds especially when they got in trouble under the basket. Problem is that everyone has been doing it for a while and the defenses are starting to look for it especially with us. How many times in the last few years have we had gaurds drive in and get hung up thinking they had an easy outlet to the corner and then find someone in the passing lanes looking for it causing an errant pass for a turnover or just plain stealing it.
You really feel that this team can win or get to a NC? I read a whole bunch of stuff last year how high the ceiling was for last year's team.
I have lowered my expectations, and will take it game by game. I even fell for the hype of this year's team, and although they may show some glimpses, I don't believe their ceiling is a NC-type team.
I have lowered my expectations, and will take it game by game. I even fell for the hype of this year's team, and although they may show some glimpses, I don't believe their ceiling is a NC-type team.
Right, Mirk is now shooting 26.7% on 3s this season, which is the lowest on the team among guys who have shot any 3s at all. This is on Coach Underwood. Mirk needs the red light on 3s, which means that if the (game or shot) clock is not expiring, then Mirk isn't permitted to shoot them. Frankly, Underwood should have already red-lighted Mirk on 3s, since Mirk shoots them flat-footed (which is poor technique), and Mirk already had the lowest non-zero percentage on 3s prior to this game.
Sorry, meant the 2005 team. I don't think anyone would say that about the 2025 team!
I think Will was paid comparably, he just shot under 30 percent from the field for about a 15 game stretch
This is wrong, since Mirk is presently shooting 26.7% on the season on 3s. He shot 28% on 3s last season for SC Derby, so Mirk has no business shooting any 3s, unless the clock is expiring. Underwood won't have the team even at an average of 31% on 3s this season, if guys who consistently shoot in the 27% to 28% range on 3s are allowed to shoot several 3s per game, as part of Illinois's regular offense. Mirk needs the red light on 3s. BTW, Mirk's shooting technique on 3s (flat-footed) is also poor. So, it's not surprising why Mirk makes 3s at a low percentage.
Don’t tell fans how to feel one way or another. Leave people alone. You feel how you feel about the team. Stop trying to dictate to other Illinois fans That’s the one thing I hate about this board. Think like I think or you must be silenced
Andrej was terrible today. I’m glad he sat. And I’m glad we saw old Brad doing some screaming at him.
We complain a lot about defense, and the only way that defense is gonna get better is if Andrej and Keaton max out at that end. Brad is 100% right to make that andrejs focus.
And Andrej has said a few times he’s learning big games and how to win. He seems like a big boy - he’ll be fine.
We complain a lot about defense, and the only way that defense is gonna get better is if Andrej and Keaton max out at that end. Brad is 100% right to make that andrejs focus.
And Andrej has said a few times he’s learning big games and how to win. He seems like a big boy - he’ll be fine.
I have no way of knowing, but I would almost bet that Mirk has probably had more high-level coaching in his career than BH. I would also point out that BH is often guarding farther away from the basket than mirk. Also, as I noted about Ben's defensive rebounding last year, he focuses on blocking his man out. Last year that was in comparison to Morez, who just goes for the ball. And finally, even after only 1 board this game, Ben is within a 0.7 rebound a game average of second place on the team (including two dudes over 7 feet tall), which means everyone else but Mirk is worthless and gives nothing on the boards by your definition.
Here are the stats: Mirk 10.0; Z 5.5; Wagler 5.3; Tomi 5.2; Ben 4.8; Kylan 4.8. On a per 40, I think Ben is well above Kylan and Wagler.
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I continue to hear that Brad is not going to play someone who doesn’t play defense. It seems pretty obvious to me that Brad doesn’t coach good defensive schemes or techniques (individual or group). Coaches that truly “demand” defense usually can coach it. There is a reason Wagler looked like a one and done during practice.
The only difference is that our teams are NOT consistently polished in March, unless you mean "polished off by the competition".
Dear Brad-when the shoot 3s at will offense isn’t working because we can’t hit a 3, what is the alternative game plan? Starting to feel like 24/25, 22/23 teams.
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