Pregame: Illinois vs Indiana, Friday, March 11th, 10:30am CT, BTN
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altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
Oh, he!! no we don't. BTT was in DC that March. Had to work that afternoon when we played, but followed the game online. Walked out on the street and ran into a couple young Illinois fans crossing the street clad in O&B. I stopped them and asked them if they'd been to the game. They had. "I'm so sorry you had to see that," was my observation.
Less than 48 hrs later JG was history.
altgeld88
- Arlington, Virginia
'99. Epic run. 3-13 regular season. Then three straight wins against ranked teams in BTT in three days. Played #2 in nation MSU tight at the half of final (they lost in FF that season, won Natty the following one.) Then ran out of gas in 2H.
Haha don’t think I would end up leaving if I went there. Dig the joke. Honestly wondering if anyone knows of bars that carry big ten network
I agree with this - not only have conference tournament champs rarely won NCAA titles, the late sunday timing of the BTT finals means the game won't affect are seeding much if at all
I do wonder what we do differently knowing this information - clearly it's full out try to win Friday against IN/MI given it impacts tourny seeding, it's another Q1 win, we want to be playing well and we're still not clicking on all cylinders.
Maybe the only real change I could see is if we're playing Rutgers on Saturday - it's not a Q1 game, likely won't help our seeding, if we play our bench a lot more and save the starters for the tournament and not play on Sunday. That is the only way if we are trying to not expend too much energy in the BTT - if we make the finals against Wisconsin or Purdue we're trying to win that game - full stop - and the players will certainly be wanting to win the game.
The double bye now almost makes it impossible to see that kind of run again - a team would have to play 5 games in 5 days - not even HS tournaments do that
Yep. 1999
lstewart53x3
- Scottsdale, Arizona
UConn did it in the Big East tourney in 2011, but still, highly unlikely to happen again.
I want Michigan, iowa and purdue en route to a B1G title. We will prove we are the best... Again!
I'd vote for a conference tournament championship if we get to the final as opposed to a close loss. We'll likley have to exert the same energy win or lose at the final unless we play our bench which I doubt Underwood would do if he reached the finals.
I think any negative correlation between winning a conference tournament, then winning the NCAAT is purely rooted in the extreme parity of NCAAT itself. You have at least 4 full days of rest after the conf tourney if you play in the finals, that should be enough for a conditioned athlete to recover. Maybe you factor in a bit of a mental hangover due to excitement but that seems hard to quantify.
drsmitty74
- Rochester
I hope we figure out how to somehow, keep this guy around our program. He is a Chet Frazier type guy to me. Anyone who was at the game Sun, saw Chester jumping on the court hyping up the crowd.........that is what I am referring to. TF Bleeds O&B, and will for the rest of his life.
Illinisteve25
- Champaign
Any update on BossMan during the presser today??
sacraig
- The desert
It's purely a knee-jerk reaction to winning the BTT last season and them flaming out. I don't think the idea that winning your conference tournament has a negative bearing on NCAA tournament performance has any validity whatsoever.
sacraig
- The desert
Are we still calling him Chet? I thought that died.
Either way, I can envision a future where Underwood retires after leading us to our first 2 or 3 championships, then hands the reins over to Chester Frazier with Trent Frazier on the staff after he finishes with his pro career (whatever form that ends up taking).
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
Illinisteve25
- Champaign
I see mainly positives on winning/playing as many games as we can in the Big Ten tourney. I also think the experience overall helps us in the Ncaa tournament. Playing in a single elimination tournament like the NCAA. Playing in a venue with the same atmosphere as the Ncaa tournament. Playing against most likely 3 Ncaa tournament teams. Our team has more depth than last year and most have played in both Big Ten tourney and Ncaa. With our team still working out kinks with Belo coming back and the emergence of others like RJ, C Hawk, and Goode I think the more games we play the better. I also like the exposer of playing in the Sunday game right before tournament show! JMO
skyIdub
Winged Warrior
sacraig
- The desert
Daydreaming beats working. However, I was just reminded that I have a telecon in a few hours that I haven't prepared for yet because the host never sent out a meeting request. If it's not on my Outlook calendar, it doesn't exist.This is oddly...yet delightfully...specific.
pruman91
- Paducah, Ky
This is oddly...yet delightfully...specific.
I find it more surrealistic........................................BTW , i just got home from the dispensary in Metropolis , IL so I might be somewhat gummy'd up.....
Vap is outstanding .....it really really is....................................................................................Cheese & Chong........boom badda bing.....................
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