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Post by huisrealgood on Nov 20, 2012 2:42:25 GMT -5
Illini win 94-64. Brandon Paul leads the way with 26 points on 6-9 from 3pt range and 6 boards. After building 31 point halftime lead, the Illini lost focus for much of the 2nd half and turned it over 12 times (20 for the game). That can't happen in future games. Tracy Abrams was the main culperate. He had 6 of his 8 turnovers in the 2nd half and just looked totally out of sync after playing incredibly well in the season up until this point including the 1st half of this game. He will learn I'm sure, but turnovers will be one of the Achilles heels of this team. The thing that I was most worried about coming into the game was rebounding against USC's huge size advantage. However, the Illini outrebounded the Trojans by a whopping 39-18 advantage. I was very impressed with the Illini big men and their work on the glass. They have some things to work on, but that 1st half was the most entertaining half of basketball since the Dee Brown/Deron Williams days. I mean 57 points in a half?!?!?! I'm not sure the Illini averaged 57 points in a game last season under Weber. That's what John Groce brings to the table... confidence. This team has good shooters just like they had good shooters last year, but Weber had stripped them of their confidence. Now they are not afraid to pull the trigger especially from behind the arc where they have averaged 12 3pt shots made a game this year. They haven't had a game under 11 3's made (they hit 13 vs USC). The 3-pointer is the great equalizer in the game of basketball today and the Illini make good use of it! I'm looking forward to whipping Chaminade tomorrow and then seeing what we're made of vs UNC or Butler in the title game! espn.go.com/ncb/boxscore?gameId=323240356
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Post by huisrealgood on Nov 21, 2012 1:49:17 GMT -5
Illinois takes care of Chaminade in easy fashion, but the shocker is that Butler dispatched UNC with ease. It's the Illini and the Bulldogs in the Maui Invite Title Game!!! Who would have thought that before the tournament started? It's now a showdown between Rub and I
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Post by huisrealgood on Nov 21, 2012 23:54:49 GMT -5
My boys are looking good again! Up 15 with 8 minutes to go. Clarke is the only thing keeping Butler in this right now. He has 24 and the rest of the Bulldogs only have 20. The Illini have 10 3's which means they have double digit 3's in each of their 6 games this year!
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Post by huisrealgood on Nov 22, 2012 0:41:52 GMT -5
Illinois is the 2012 Maui Invitational Tournament Champions!!! YES!!! They completely dominated the tournament too. They never trailed throughout the entire tournament! They won by 30, 23, and 17. It was an incredible display. Granted this wasn't exactly the 2000 tournament that featured 3 top 10 teams including the Illini, but you can only beat the teams on the schedule. Illinois beat Butler 78-61 tonight behind some balanced scoring. Brandon Paul struggled a bit from behind the arc, so he started driving and got to the line to the tune of 20 points and earned Maui MVP honors. DJ Richardson had 14 points and was rewarded with all-tournament honors. Tracy Abrams continued his remarkable sophomore transformation with 17 points on 5-9 shooting. Tyler Griffey had 14 points on 4 3's. The Illini struggled on the boards again, but played solid defense and shot well enough to keep a solid cushion the whole way. Butler was all Rotnei Clark. He scored 27 of Butler's 61 points, and didn't get much help all game long. I know Dunham and Marshall are really good players and played very well vs UNC, but they didn't really show up tonight. Illinois shut them down, but they will help Butler do some great things in the A-10 this year. I'm just really excited about this Illini team. I know they started 10-0 last year and came crashing down, but there was a difference in the way they won. Last year they were eeking out wins at home over St. Bonaventure and Illinois State in the 40's... ugly. This team is shooting the lights out and hasn't had a game under 10 made 3's all year! Groce has given this team confidence in their shooting and it shows! With the exception of the Hawaii game, they've blown the doors off of every opponent. It's just fun to watch. We'll see how they do @ Gonzaga, vs. Mizzou, and in the B1G, but right now, I love what I see!
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Post by huisrealgood on Nov 26, 2012 0:38:42 GMT -5
Illinois got a huge scare from Gardner-Webb today. Tyler Griffey had to hit a 3 with 4 seconds remaining to bail the Illini out and give them a 63-62 win. This was a Weber-esque win, but hey a win is a win. They'd better play better Wednesday night vs. Georgia Tech in the B1G Ten/ACC Challenge. In other news, CBS has the Illini ranked #18 in their top 25 plus 1 that is put together by their national writers Gary Parrish and Jeff Goodwin. I think that's a little high. Personally, I'd have them somewhere in the #23 to #28 range. I think this is a NCAA Tournament team that could finish as high as 4th in the B1G Ten or as low as 8th. I looked at their schedule the other day and had them going 21-10 in the regular season which includes 10-8 in the B1G Ten. www.cbssports.com/collegebasketball/blog/eye-on-college-basketball/21136576/updated-top-25-and-one
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Post by tubballfan on Nov 29, 2012 0:06:25 GMT -5
good win for the Illini tonight... wish OSU and MSU could have followed suit...
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Post by huisrealgood on Nov 29, 2012 2:37:51 GMT -5
Yeah I just got back from the game. It was a solid 13 point victory over a decent ACC team in Georgia Tech. I feel like tonight was our team in a nut shell both good and bad...
1st Half: -Turned the ball over at an alarming rate (12 TO's in 1st half) -Tracy Abrams the sophomore PG did some things right, but tried to do too much & got himself in trouble -Failed to close out well on shooters leading to several GT 3's. -Lack of a post presence hurt as we got destroyed down low in the paint. -We shot the 3 incredibly well and played with enough energy to grab a 1 point halftime lead -Groce switches to a zone late in the half that stifles the GT offense
2nd half: -Defense intensity from the end of the half continues for a short time then wains as GT recaptures the lead. We ratchet up the D with 6 min to go and go on a decisive 21-4 run. -We limit the turnovers as Joe Bertrand plays in place of Abrams (2 TO's in the 2nd half) -We continue to shoot the lights out from 3 (14 made 3's total) -Tyler Griffey knocks down several shots, but is a liability on defense. -Joe Bertrand takes over the game with a personal 10-0 run to secure the victory. -We miss a ton of FT's (7-18) which keeps the game closer than it should be
This is who we are... a fantastic shooting team that is going to win a lot of games because we can hit 3's, but we have major holes inside that can be exploited by teams with size and depth. We struggle at times with defense and turnovers, but other times we're excellent. After watching most of the B1G Ten/ACC Challenge last night and following the other scores from tonight, I fully expect the Illini to finish somewhere between 4th and 6th in the B1G Ten and make the NCAA Tournament with relative ease as a 7 seed. After that who knows. There is a clear top 3 of Indiana, Michigan, and Ohio State. After that it gets muddled with Minnesota and Illinois looking stronger right now than Michigan State, Purdue, Wisconsin, and Iowa but there is plenty of time for that to change. I don't believe Northwestern, Nebraska, or Penn State will compete for an NCAA berth this year.
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Post by huisrealgood on Nov 29, 2012 13:59:20 GMT -5
This play capped Bertrand's personal 10-0 run and I thought the roof was going to come off the place!
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Post by huisrealgood on Dec 9, 2012 2:01:38 GMT -5
The Illini beat up on the #10 Gonzaga Bulldogs 85-74 in Spokane tonight. Brandon Paul went into beast mode and scored 35 points and the Illini silenced all of those national writers who called them the most over-rated team in the country. Do they have flaws? Of course. We do not have the interior presence to hang with Indiana or Michigan most games. Egwu and McLaurin are OK, but they really struggle with rebounding and don't give you a ton offensively in the post. Tyler Griffey has been phenomenal on the offensive end, but he is a liability defensively. However, the Illini have great guards who have stepped up, most notably Brandon Paul who is playing like an All-American. Good guard play will win you a lot of basketball games. They've earned a top 10 rating right now. Will they finish there? Who knows, but I am excited to go along for the ride! scores.espn.go.com/ncb/recap?gameId=323432250
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Post by rubalamp on Dec 9, 2012 8:49:21 GMT -5
The Big Ten will be exciting to watch this season...lots of top 10 Pairings game potential
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Post by tubballfan on Dec 22, 2012 19:26:56 GMT -5
Bad night for Illinois to prove you right on their weaknesses HIRG... a cold night and a bad rebounding night...
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Post by tubballfan on Dec 22, 2012 20:01:25 GMT -5
They had a nice comeback but now their energy seems gone... their weakness down low seems evident. It doesn't help that they've been dead from the three most of the half.
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Post by tubballfan on Dec 22, 2012 20:05:46 GMT -5
Brandon Paul has been pretty quiet too... hard when you're cold to have confidence in your shot, but hopefully they can find it.
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Post by huisrealgood on Jan 5, 2013 16:52:57 GMT -5
Nice bounce-back win over the #8 Buckeyes at Assembly Hall today. The Illini played awful and were "out toughed" Wednesday night at Purdue, but not so much today. They played focused, intense ball and took care of the many Ohio State turnovers early. They got sloppy at the end, but they still won by 19 points. Nanna Egwu stepped up and played like the big we need him to be today and I believe that was a big difference from Wednesday. He had a career high 16 points on 7-10 shooting and 8 boards. He's not going to do that every night, but we need him to be more consistent on the glass and knocking down those mid-range jump shots. Good win, but they have another tough test with the #9/#13 Minnesota Golden Gophers coming to town Wednesday.
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Post by Axman on Jan 6, 2013 12:24:50 GMT -5
I will be surprised if the Buckeyes finish in the top half of the Big 10 this year. They have no consistent scoring option after Thomas.
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