Pregame: Illinois vs Indiana, Friday, March 11th, 10:30am CT, BTN

Status
Not open for further replies.
#77      
aaeismacgychel
altgeld88 said:
Absolutely. That must be some sort of BT historical season-ending run. A one-win team goes on the road for the final three games. It wins them all, two against ranked opponents and one of those against a team that can win an outright title by simply winning at home.

Even better, the next-to-last place team then proceeds to lose that very evening, and the last-place team, by virtue of its win in their only head-to-head matchup, skips over them to snag the 13th seed.

Beautiful. It sucks to be Minnesota this morning.
Click to expand...

Wilder still, right before conference play started there was national talk of Ben Johnson being a National Coach of the Year candidate for Minnesota and projections that they might just finish near the top of the conference. There was also talk at the end of January about whether or not Nebraska would go winless in the B10. Funny how things work out. In a lot of ways this Nebraska team reminds me of Penn State during the Talor Battle years. They were the laughingstock of the B10 and then in the blink of an eye nobody was laughing anymore. I already get the same feeling of inevitable dread as I did back then whenever Battle dribbled the ball past the half-court line in a close game with a couple minutes left. Because you knew that no matter where he shot it from, he wasn't missing the rest of the game. If McGowens stays for a little while, Nebraska will be a tourney team.
 
#78      
Fr8trn16
PIT_ILL said:
I think this could be very important if there are any more rematches with Purdue. Ivey is a problem and if Hawkins can do to Ivey what he did to Murray that would change the game significantly. I think Ivey is probably faster than either Johnny Davis or Murray so that would be a challenge.
Click to expand...
Or even help with weak side defense on Edey and possibly Trayveon Williams. I'm just thankful he's gaining comfort and experience. We need all the height we can get and athleticism! That two handed block/rebound last night! Oh my goodness! Along with Grandison or Melendez on the court... makes for a significantly taller team, and athletic skill set on the court. Can you imagine next year with the guys coming in? I'm so excited!
 
Last edited:
#79      
aaeismacgychel
Piotyr said:
I will say that Illinois' BTT draw is significantly better than it would have been had they given up 3 more points. Looking at Michigan-Iowa-Purdue now instead of Ohio State-Purdue-Wisconsin.
Click to expand...
Absolutely. Being the 3 seed would have meant likely having to go through OSU, then Purdue, and finally Wisconsin/Iowa/Rutgers? Just brutal. The 1 seed definitely has the best path this year. Now we just have to take advantage of it.
 
#80      
jumpingjack
201154JC said:
So happy we finally are on top of the B1G once more. 17 years is a long time and yes, we got jobbed last year.
Trent and Damonte's perseverance and work ethic was finally rewarded. Cohawk's contribution was unreal yesterday.
Big hopes for him going forward. Kofi was Mr. Hustle when it counted most.
One thought that kept running thru my mind yesterday while watching Nebbie beat Wisconsin was how Alonzo Verge
transferring to Nebraska could play a huge role in us winning the B1G and of course it did. I L L............
Click to expand...
I was completely unimpressed with Verge and his decision making early in the year. He has made a huge leap the last month. Good for him!
 
#81      
Fighter of the Nightman
I suppose this belongs here for now? I think the BTT bracket will be crazy, and I am expecting it to be a lot of fun! My picks:

First Round
(13) Nebraska over (12) Northwestern
(11) Penn State over (14) Minnesota

Second Round
(8) Michigan over (9) Indiana
(5) Iowa over (13) Nebraska in OT
(10) Maryland over (7) Michigan State
(11) Penn State over (6) Ohio State

Quarterfinals
(1) Illinois over (8) Michigan ... suck it, Juwan!
(4) Rutgers over (5) Iowa ... I REALLY hope so, anyway...
(10) Maryland over (2) Wisconsin ... heh heh.
(3) Purdue over (11) Penn State

Semifinals
(3) Purdue over (10) Maryland
(1) Illinois over (4) Rutgers

Finals
(3) Purdue over (1) Illinois ... I think we come up just short and recoup/rest up for a deep Tournament run. :cool:
 
#83      
jumpingjack
ILLFAN67 said:
That’s pretty amazing! Bodes well for defending the Ivey like players we may run into the NCAA’s
Click to expand...
He's been a cooler all year, he's just now learned to do it without the cheapie fouls that limited his minutes. He's realizing the potential he's always had. I love it.
 
#84      
ptgrd23
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I suppose this belongs here for now? I think the BTT bracket will be crazy, and I am expecting it to be a lot of fun! My picks:

First Round
(13) Nebraska over (12) Northwestern
(11) Penn State over (14) Minnesota

Second Round
(8) Michigan over (9) Indiana
(5) Iowa over (13) Nebraska in OT
(10) Maryland over (7) Michigan State
(11) Penn State over (6) Ohio State

Quarterfinals
(1) Illinois over (8) Michigan ... suck it, Juwan!
(4) Rutgers over (5) Iowa ... I REALLY hope so, anyway...
(10) Maryland over (2) Wisconsin ... heh heh.
(3) Purdue over (11) Penn State

Semifinals
(3) Purdue over (10) Maryland
(1) Illinois over (4) Rutgers

Finals
(3) Purdue over (1) Illinois ... I think we come up just short and recoup/rest up for a deep Tournament run. :cool:
Click to expand...
Pretty good except last game - Purdue has played en fuego against us twice. Odds are against them going crazy again. If they play their normal we can beat them
 
#85      
WyattEarp
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I suppose this belongs here for now? I think the BTT bracket will be crazy, and I am expecting it to be a lot of fun! My picks:

First Round
(13) Nebraska over (12) Northwestern
(11) Penn State over (14) Minnesota

Second Round
(8) Michigan over (9) Indiana
(5) Iowa over (13) Nebraska in OT
(10) Maryland over (7) Michigan State
(11) Penn State over (6) Ohio State

Quarterfinals
(1) Illinois over (8) Michigan ... suck it, Juwan!
(4) Rutgers over (5) Iowa ... I REALLY hope so, anyway...
(10) Maryland over (2) Wisconsin ... heh heh.
(3) Purdue over (11) Penn State

Semifinals
(3) Purdue over (10) Maryland
(1) Illinois over (4) Rutgers

Finals
(3) Purdue over (1) Illinois ... I think we come up just short and recoup/rest up for a deep Tournament run. :cool:
Click to expand...
I love all the detail. Squawks Squeak by the Huskers in OT…very specific, noice touch.

Is it bad I hope Penn St. takes out the Boilers so we don’t have to? I want revenge
and all…but that match up IS a BEAR.
 
#86      
Fighter of the Nightman
ptgrd23 said:
Pretty good except last game - Purdue has played en fuego against us twice. Odds are against them going crazy again. If they play their normal we can beat them
Click to expand...
I think we CAN beat anyone. I just think, for some reason, we aren't going to win the BTT due to being so focused on what's to come. Hope I'm wrong and we win the BTT AND run the table in March Madness! :)

By the way, out of the 23 Big Ten Tournaments since 1998 (no finished tournament in 2020), the regular season champion has only won the BTT 8 times:

1999: Michigan State
2000: Michigan State
2005: Illinois
2007: Ohio State
2008: Wisconsin
2011: Ohio State
2012: Michigan State
2015: Wisconsin
2019: Michigan State

The only years in which a SHARED/co-champion won the BTT were 2012 (MSU shared with Michigan and OSU) and 2019 (MSU shared with Purdue), so that tells me most of the times teams do this they are the truly dominant team in the league (e.g., 2000 MSU, 2005 Illinois, 2007 OSU, etc.). It's hard to win both, but this year is as wide open as ever, so we might as well go do it!!
 
#87      
Rocky
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I think we CAN beat anyone. I just think, for some reason, we aren't going to win the BTT due to being so focused on what's to come. Hope I'm wrong and we win the BTT AND run the table in March Madness! :)

By the way, out of the 23 Big Ten Tournaments since 1998 (no finished tournament in 2020), the regular season champion has only won the BTT 8 times:

1999: Michigan State
2000: Michigan State
2005: Illinois
2007: Ohio State
2008: Wisconsin
2011: Ohio State
2012: Michigan State
2015: Wisconsin
2019: Michigan State

The only years in which a SHARED/co-champion won the BTT were 2012 (MSU shared with Michigan and OSU) and 2019 (MSU shared with Purdue), so that tells me most of the times teams do this they are the truly dominant team in the league (e.g., 2000 MSU, 2005 Illinois, 2007 OSU, etc.). It's hard to win both, but this year is as wide open as ever, so we might as well go do it!!
Click to expand...
So strange to think we are Big Ten Champs, but failed to beat Purdue and Ohio State. But I'll take it.
 
#89      
Ferd
Fighter of the Nightman said:
I think we CAN beat anyone. I just think, for some reason, we aren't going to win the BTT due to being so focused on what's to come. Hope I'm wrong and we win the BTT AND run the table in March Madness! :)

By the way, out of the 23 Big Ten Tournaments since 1998 (no finished tournament in 2020), the regular season champion has only won the BTT 8 times:

1999: Michigan State
2000: Michigan State
2005: Illinois
2007: Ohio State
2008: Wisconsin
2011: Ohio State
2012: Michigan State
2015: Wisconsin
2019: Michigan State

The only years in which a SHARED/co-champion won the BTT were 2012 (MSU shared with Michigan and OSU) and 2019 (MSU shared with Purdue), so that tells me most of the times teams do this they are the truly dominant team in the league (e.g., 2000 MSU, 2005 Illinois, 2007 OSU, etc.). It's hard to win both, but this year is as wide open as ever, so we might as well go do it!!
Click to expand...
You forgot 2021 Illinois.
 
#90      
bootsy1974
Fighter of the Nightman said:
Finals
(3) Purdue over (1) Illinois ... I think we come up just short and recoup/rest up for a deep Tournament run. :cool:
Click to expand...
Come On Reaction GIF
 
#91      
sinmyp1
EyeoftheIllini said:
I hope Indiana beats UM. Do I think Illini can beat UM? Absolutely. But Indiana is a much better matchup for Illini. Screw revenge and such, and give me the easiest route to a championship — in BTT and NCAAs. No one is going to say, “yeah they won a championship but they had an easy route.” And if the do, screw them because Illini will have championship (s).
Click to expand...
I hope it is IN because I think that keeps Mich out of the NCAA tourny
 
#92      
BRucks
Three games in three days. We need to get our guys healthy this week. We can't expect to get 30 minutes-plus out of our starters that many days in a row and then roll into the big dance.
 
#93      
ptgrd23
Hopefully Grandison will be back, Hawkings will continue to play well, RJ will continue to play well.

It would help if Payne and Goode can play some more minutes.

Also a blowout vs IU/MI winner would be nice.
 
#96      
Ignatius Shang
I really like the seedings of the BIG tournament. I would rank the BIG teams as: Purdue, Illinois, Wisconsin, OSU, MSU, Rutgers, Iowa, Michigan. We avoid all top 5 teams until the final. Cannot expect better.
 
#100      
Piotyr
Homecoming 2019 said:
Most accurate way to tell where we stand. We were a 3-seed when the top 16 was released on this site.
Click to expand...
Yeah, Illinois was a 3 seed at the time, but the overall resume has taken a hit, despite going 5-1 since then (Marquette, K-State, Cincy, NW, and Rutgers have taken dips). Where Illinois was #12 in the NET and #13 SOR at the time of the ranking, now they're #14 and #15, respectively. So, effectively, they're in the same place, about even with Wisconsin and UCLA, borderline 3/4 seed, playing this week to solidify a 3 seed, with an outside shot at a 2 seed if teams above them fall short.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back