Virginia 70, Illinois 61 Postgame

#177      
this team has me salivating about how good they can be. With their length, athleticism, and hard nosed switching defense, I think they have a higher ceiling than last years team. I’m not saying they are better right now but there is so much potential.

I think we still turn the ball over too much, need to improve our FT shooting, and would love Underwood to call Timeouts and set up a play for the the kids in the last couple of minutes.

That said it was a very exciting weekend for the Illini…. Just starting to gel but they did quite well and the frosh are gamers!

Last random thought: really wondering how we wil be on the interior against the likes of Dickinson, TJD, and Edey.
 
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#184      
UVA fan here just popping in to say gg. It was a hard fought game that could've gone either way. The difference was our experience and maturity prevailed at the end. That definitely felt like an away game for us. The ILL crowd defining showed up and showed out. You guys have some talented Freshman and I'd hate to be facing this team once they gain some more experience as the season progresses. Highly doubt there are 18 teams that are better than you guys right now. Wishing you all many wins and good health the rest of the way!
Thanks Wahoowa... I want to think our ceiling is much higher. Perhaps you guys are much closer to yours which keeps me hopeful!
 
#185      
Offensive rebounds:

UVA: 9
UI: 11

Second chance points

UVA: 11
UI: 12

I’m actually surprised by that last one. The weird and annoying stat to me was that we only committed one more turnover than they did but they outscored us 19-9 there and 12-3 on fast breaks.

They got better looks and finished them or got to the line. There’s not much else to separate the two teams, regardless of how it felt while we were watching it.
Actually both stats surprise me....while watching the game it felt like they were killing us on the boards (esp. offense), getting several second chance opportunities while we were primarily one and done....or at least that was my thoughts watching the game....getting to the line in the future more frequently would help as well
 
#186      
Wasted Dainja's inside ability by shooting the 3 way too much. He is such a force inside and usually makes the basket or draws the foul. Guards needed to get the ball to Dainja off the screen or drive to the basket and dish off to him. Either way will get you a basket or to the line.
Agree. The partial cause in the disparity in free throws was the Illinois dependence on the 3 ball. The ball needs to go inside. Just my old school view.
 
#188      
Actually both stats surprise me....while watching the game it felt like they were killing us on the boards (esp. offense), getting several second chance opportunities while we were primarily one and done....or at least that was my thoughts watching the game....getting to the line in the future more frequently would help as well
Yeah, I agree, and also agree with the bigger point that a putback or two down the stretch woulda been really helpful. I also think we gave more up to get ours by sending more players to the boards, which partially explains the points in transition stat.

This was a winnable game. I’m ok with that because of our youth and lack of continuity, just hope the team trusts each other a bit more next time out.
 
#189      
Pretty sure his shoulder was fine the whole time. No issue with him trying to get that call - has worked against us many times. And might have even got the call if they reviewed it. No idea why they wouldn’t at least look.

That aside, stripes were better than 98% of BIG games.
It might be that... it could have been his second flagrant 1 and it would have resulted in a disqualification.
 
#190      
After a night of sleeping on it, it really is fantastic how much our guards are being forced to grow up, and the potential of this team both this year and in the future. You’re talking about Skyy and Jayden going toe-to-toe with 5th year Clark who won the national championship as a freshman and Campbell whose been to a FF and has loads of college experience. Not to mention Sencire’s ability to be a spark. I know it’s a different age with transfers, but imagine how good this team would be when our backcourt is full of seniors rather than the other way around.
 
#191      
Not sure they were better, but definitely more experienced
Agreed. Or, at least they were better yesterday. When crunch time came, you could see the composure difference.

We will win a LOT of games this year, but we'll lose some frustratingly close ones I feel, too, due to this lack of experience.
 
#192      

WWWWRocU

Herndon, VA
UVA fan here just popping in to say gg. It was a hard fought game that could've gone either way. The difference was our experience and maturity prevailed at the end. That definitely felt like an away game for us. The ILL crowd defining showed up and showed out. You guys have some talented Freshman and I'd hate to be facing this team once they gain some more experience as the season progresses. Highly doubt there are 18 teams that are better than you guys right now. Wishing you all many wins and good health the rest of the way!
I tell you what, if my ILLINI are not playing on a given night, I know what game I'm looking for next!
 
#193      

WWWWRocU

Herndon, VA
For not showing the press: I wish BU would have thrown a few different presses at them if only to collect video to learn how UVA would break those presses for future use.
Glad Harris got in in the first half. I don't think UVA knew how to handle him. Would have loved to see more of him in the second half than he did.
In those last 5 minutes of the game, would have been nice to see a few of those 15 pass offensive sets we saw against Monmouth. It would have shown our discipline and avoided hero ball and might have thrown UVA off its focus.
 
#194      
Saying ahead of time...fan of both but...Cohawk is in the middle of things and RJ who I am a fan of is not...I believe it will improve...
Cohawk was doing what he could for the most part. He is not a creator except for his passing so he replies other players a lot for his scoring. He forces a little bit sometimes because driving to the basket is not his forte. He defended well but could add a few more rebounds. However, your rebound number is not going to be high when you stay at the perimeter most of the time.

RJ could really look into more ways of scoring. I think he has the talent.
 
#195      

jjv0004

Greenville, SC
I said before that 1-1 would be a very good result. I still believe that but after beating UCLA, I sure was hoping for 2-0. They are going to have to figure out how to beat teams when Shannon is not going off. I was really hoping for more from RJ and Coleman but neither seems like they will ever be scorers. Coleman has a hard time on offense. Rodgers has not been anywhere close to what I thought he would be like based upon all the hype leading up the season. I realize he is a freshman but the other 3 freshman have greatly outplayed him so far. Epps has been the best freshman so far by a mile. That dude is going to be a stud. Harris is all energy. Love the defense. Clark will be here for at least 3 years. I don't see the NBA in his future. Maybe I am way off. Once Goode is healthy and they hopefully get more from beyond the 3 point line from Mayer, Hawkins and Melendez, this team could be really dangerous. Hopefully at least to the sweet sixteen this year.
 
#197      
I said before that 1-1 would be a very good result. I still believe that but after beating UCLA, I sure was hoping for 2-0. They are going to have to figure out how to beat teams when Shannon is not going off. I was really hoping for more from RJ and Coleman but neither seems like they will ever be scorers. Coleman has a hard time on offense. Rodgers has not been anywhere close to what I thought he would be like based upon all the hype leading up the season. I realize he is a freshman but the other 3 freshman have greatly outplayed him so far. Epps has been the best freshman so far by a mile. That dude is going to be a stud. Harris is all energy. Love the defense. Clark will be here for at least 3 years. I don't see the NBA in his future. Maybe I am way off. Once Goode is healthy and they hopefully get more from beyond the 3 point line from Mayer, Hawkins and Melendez, this team could be really dangerous. Hopefully at least to the sweet sixteen this year.
You forgot to tell how bad Dain is doing. These kids have played 5 games.
 
#198      
I don't know if the numbers prove this out. However, it seems like we score a lot more efficiently when guys are moving and sharing the ball.

Most of our possessions that end up with hero ball seem like it's a missed shot or a strip on a dribble drive to me.

Should be a nice reminder to concentrate on playing as a team, as it doesn't really feel like we have any real weak links.
 
#199      
Hate to lose but lots of positives to be gleaned from this game. Need to present a better balanced offense in the half court. More Dainja would have been in order this game. Missed him a bunch when he was open. Don't think the guys completely trust each other yet. Look out when this team gels.
 
#200      
Just rewatched the highlights via Matt Loves BBall. I think it was a pretty well officiated game overall and was fairly called. But thing I did notice was how annoying Vander Plas was. Played very physical with our guys but flopped pretty bad a couple of times (specifically on the Skyy foul on his 3 and then in the last minute or so battling with Dain for a rebound on our end) and was able to bait the refs into a couple of crucial calls which gave him 5 FTs, which of course he made all 5.

Credit to UVA, their system works and they deserved to win. Slow the game down to a crawl knowing you will probably value possessions more than your opponent, and initiate contact when possible knowing you will probably pick up your share a foul calls. But it’s not the way I would want to play. Hope we get them again after we get a little more seasoning. I think we’ve got more talent.