Illinois matchup
- Thread starter PizzaTheHutt
- Start date
This always goes the same way when other fans try to visit before a big game. Everyone's nicey nice for a while, then there's some perceived slights, then the chests starting getting puffed out and the smack talking starts. The "false allegations" claim is the beginning of the end here. Think it's going to ugly with that one.
I think Watson will get a good 10-15 minutes on Shannon as well. I doubt we'll see King on him, Shannon is too quick
TSJ has been playing at his best level by a wide margin as of late. Why? Only he knows. I do wonder if it is his last go before the NBA and shutting out the distractions and taking an us vs the world mentality. TSJ of last year at Illinois is nothing like what we are seeing now.
However, how will he do vs and incredibly good D like ISU? IDK. This is an absolutely fascinating matchup. Much respect to ISU. I LOVE good d.
I think defense is in your DNA and not something you can turn on for 1 game.
Ilini are good but the ONLY thing that concerns me is whistle happy refs calling phantom & ticky tack fouls
ISU 74-UI 68
not from me. I am too old and experienced for that. I just block or mute the nonsense. Don't know about this other Illinois fan though. Plus, behind keyboards, man....people act like damn fools. It is shocking to me.
Some more from CWilly on the matchup. From their comments, Illinois seems to be more focused on turnovers than their fans are, lol
The football analogy is good - and "we need to be decisive in our decisions" is excellent meaningless coach speak
The football analogy is good - and "we need to be decisive in our decisions" is excellent meaningless coach speak
man...i hear the logic. but they were decent at D last year and were decent at the start of the year. There is a weird switch they have turned on for runs lately... but nothing sustained. All I am saying is their D is not good and NOTHING like ISU but...it is actually a bit better recently in spurts when needed then the general numbers suggest. Just my watching them closely opinion of course.
TSJ draws a crap ton of fouls...
You’re comparing 2022 TSJ to 2024 TSJ? Interesting. Look up a picture of the two side by side and then get back to me. His game has completely changed since then. Averaging over double the points… I don’t think it’s fair to use those past games as a point of reference at all. That’s like comparing Shayok’s stats at UVA to what he did at Iowa State.
I'm comparing him lifetime against ISU. No doubt that he is better than he was then. Im not arguing that at all. But my statement was, ISU has done a pretty decent job of limiting him when they play
the decisive decisions i think is actually spot on. Domask HAS to move the ball really quickly to the opposite side open shooter. Vs teams like ISU you cannot catch the ball and look around. You have to MOVE IT QUICK.... otherwise, the d adjusts and it is too late.
yeah, but it has really very little relevance to the whole issue and his point imho. Look at TSJ vs anyone last year and now...night and day and often vs the same teams.
This is a good point and something our defense doesn't always limit. There often seems to be a 5 minute stretch - usually in the second half - where the game bogs down to a FT shooting fest and it seems like we can't do anything on defense without getting called. When that happens, we need to be quick to break out of it, and make sure that we are forcing the issue on the other end too.
I also think this is the kind of game where Gilbert or BRE get two quick fouls and it makes the rest of the first half really hard.
T
Yeah, I hope refs do not dictate the outcome of this game. We have depth, but Lipsey and Gilbert can't get in foul trouble.
This was my thought I had typed out but never hit enter a bit ago. I had seen on youtube comments someone point out how Illinois has started playing better defense and they'll be locked to play 40 minutes. Ehhh, I disagree with that. Sure, they can play a little better defense, but to be locked in 40 minutes balls to the wall is a mentality that ISU possesses. You can't just flip a switch and them be all worldly all of a sudden.
Yeah, I hope refs do not dictate the outcome of this game. We have depth, but Lipsey and Gilbert can't get in foul trouble.
I would bet this as well - Gilbert on Shannon.
From a pure basketball fandom, this game is really fascinating from a matchup perspective, just because of the weird matchups that Illinois creates. Shannon, Hawkins and Domask are all very unconventional players that create matchup problems.
The refs are a big key. We are not ones to shy away from contact to avoid picking up fouls. We are deeper than most and can't afford to compromise on what we do. I will say we generally get away with it a lot.
Our coach doesn't argue calls and he doesn't allow our players to either. He doesn't think it works, first of all. Secondly, he's an ISU lifer through and through and thinks it's a bad look for our beloved University. Im talking ZERO tolerance. 3rd, he probably thinks it buys him calls which he can't admit publicly, obviously.
He's like the only Big 12 coach that didn't get a technical. Depending on the crew, the refs often appreciate it and give us the benefit of the doubt, though they can't admit it obviously. Look for that tomorrow.
I bet Nebraska tells themselves the same thing about the first round lol!
Reminds me of the Iowa guard (maybe Dix) basically intentionally grounding a pass out of bounds in the game this year.
Understated key to the game. Our spies need to have really good angles to take pics of their huddles. Combine that with the TV camera and we should be able to get them from all angles.
