Illini Facing Road Gauntlet
One road game down...3 more to go over the next 12 days.
The Illini again had a pretty good offensive performance in Bloomington Indiana against the Hoosiers Thursday night...but Indiana went 35-42 from the free throw line.... and pulled away late to take down the Illini 84-71.
The final score was a little deceptive however....because there were 14 ties in the ball game...the last one coming at 46-46.
The Illini are now playing better on offense... shooting 52 and 54 percent in the most recent contests......but have given up 74 and 84 points in the last two games against Northwestern and Indiana. Obviously that trend cant continue.
The combined home record for Indiana, Michigan and Ohio State is now a combined 44-1. Getting wins in those locations will be tough...but not impossible (see Iowa winning at Wisconsin.....Minnesota winning at Indiana...Nebraska winning at Iowa....Purdue losing by 20 at Penn State...but playing Ohio State within 3 points in Columbus).
But...as Bruce Weber pointed out during last night's post-game radio interview....the reason the Illini are in the position they are in is because of close losses at Penn State and at Minnesota....as well as not being able to finish off Wisconsin and Northwestern at home when they had the chance. Those losses were costly for the Illini at the time they happened....and are proving even more costly now that the tougher part of the schedule is upon them.
It is on to Michigan next and the Illini have to forget about the foul-fest in Bloomington...and get ready to tangle with a continuing-to-improve-each-year-under-John Beilein Wolverine team.
When facing a road gauntlet like they are now...the Illini really do have to take "one game at a time". It is an overused cliche to be sure....but fits the situation the Illini face over the next two weeks.
We will talk to you from Ann Arbor at noon!
way to go Illini, keep up the good work you are doing a fine job! After all that is what you want to hear right? NOT! You're lazy and weak and heartless the whole dang bunch of you and you don't deserve to play in the tournament or even deserve to play in the big ten conference because you're a missouri valley conference team. Keep on keepin on giving up every game, why don't you boys just not play another game this season and transfer outta here and coaches you all go with them. I just don't know how much more embarrassment this once great university can take. Pride and Dignity does not reside at the University of Illinois. ILLINI NATION DO NOT CONTINUE TO WASTE YOUR HARD EARNED MONEY TO GO WATCH A BUNCH OF LOSERS LOSE. Its a waste of your valuable time and money.
Good comment, Tonyjb37. Nice fan you are. I feel like you should probably go somewhere else like all the players and coaches because "illini nation" doesn't need you. Way to stick with your team through thick and thin. Replacing a coach and players doesn't automatically mean success. Yeah, It would truly be great if all of the players transferred....we'd be Indiana of the last 3 years. Yup, going 10-45 in 3 years sounds a lot more fun than what we have now.
It's not time to throw in the towel on this team yet. There were some bright spots in this game. The defense needs to tighten up and the Illini were getting beat off of the dribble way too much but other than that, I felt that the effort was there.
The call against ML on the screen that freed up DJ for the 3 that DJ buried and then was called off was big in the overall scheme of things. It erased 3 points (that would've tied the game) and instead ML had to sit and then IU went on a run that was hard to come back from or stop with ML on the bench. On a neutral court, it would've been a very interesting game.
The Illini just need to move on. There was nothing to be ashamed of about their performance in Bloomington. OSU and Kentucky have both lost there this season and up until ML picking up his fourth foul, the Illini were right in the game. It did expose some areas that the Illini need to work on, especially on defense and hitting the boards. I am surprised at how often this team loses the battle on the boards. Those are both areas though where the Illini can make real improvements between now and the end of the season.
It was great to see more minutes from the bench (55!) even if it was due in part to foul trouble. The experience for some of the younger players could pay dividends down the road if they continue to get more playing time. The loss to Northwestern was pretty much a complete loss. There were some positivies coming out of this game that the team can build on.
I don't think that the Illini are going to meet my pre-conference seasson expectations of going 12-6 now in the B1G but I don't think that those expectations were set too high. I do expect them to finish no worse than 9-9 now though. At least pick up a win at Nebraska and hold court against Purdue, Michigan and Iowa at home. If the young talent on the bench can continue to get minutes and improve, the Illini could surprise in the tournament portion of the season. They've already beaten some good teams so it's at least been shown to be possible.
If the Illini can win the above 4 games and pick up another win on the road against Michigan or Wisconsin, they would finish 10-8 in the conference. With a decent showing in the B1G tournament and two wins in the NCAA tourney, it could still be a pretty good season.
Illini fans shouldn't be giving up on these guys and should be supporing the team.
Go Illini!
It is not the players fault. We have very talented and good players; even on the bench. Weber has yet to figure out a rotation that uses the athletics he has. Failures are the fault ot Weber, not the players. We have seen very little of Shaw and only recently has Henry had a chance. Griffey has also been forgotten and he certainly could give us some good minutes off the bench and let the starters rest so could go 100% while they are playing. The biggest defensive failure so far is not getting in front of opponents driving to the basket; we need to learn how to get out in front and take a charge. Losing at Indiana was expected. I agree the loses to Minnesota, Penn State, and NW were huge.
I think Weber played very few players in those games and with our depth he should have run them off the court. I hate to keep complaining about Weber as I'm sure he is a nice man but he coaches one way and everyone in big 10 knows exactly what he is doing the entire game. No surprises with Weber.
Take some deep breaths.Its Illinois BBi,its good,sometimes good and then not so good.However,its Illinois.Could you really play or coach better?I loved Henson's teams and his style.Its easy to go after Weber and Company after watching Lou ,time moves on.2015 is coming,relax and chill.It willbe contract time soon.
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