Illinois-Missouri: Just the facts
What happened
Illinois tried everything. A box-and-2 defense for the first time this season. A shorter bench that leaned on inexperienced guards Crandall Head and Joseph Bertrand, who exploded during a near-comeback in the second half. The Tigers showed the experience of a team with four senior starters in winning their third straight Braggin' Rights game.
What it means
Missouri doesn't have the college game's best point guard (though Phil Pressey is a future star). It doesn't have the same buzz (yet). But there are distinct parallels between the always-attacking Tigers and the brilliant Illini of 2004-05. (Score in 2004: Illinois 70, Missouri 64). The current Illini should have no shame despite Thursday's defeat.
What the Illini said
"When he (Joseph Bertrand) plays like that, it makes me very happy." — Brandon Paul
"I just told Joe, 'I can't help you. You have to come and be a player. If you're a player, you'll be a player.' " — Bruce Weber
What the Tigers said
"I thought we took some quick shots and settled for some threes and lost the lead. With that said, these guys fought and stayed together and found a way to win." — coach Frank Haith after his first Braggin' Rights game — and win
What's next
After a five-game stretch that has revealed some of the team's strengths (guts) and some weaknesses (shot-making), the Illini need a break. It's a short one, just enough for Tyler Griffey to stay in St. Louis and the Chicago guys to return home for Christmas. Next up is the Big Ten opener against Minnesota at the Assembly Hall on Tuesday (6:30 p.m., BTN).
Ok, it was a late game, and I missed it (sleeping). Checked here this morning for a box score, or even a score, but had to read through a couple of articles to even discern who won.
Guess I'll just wait for the trusty paper.
Unless I'm missing something, there's no excuse for this, guys.
Its amazing to me how NG edits these post. I feel Illinois was playing 5 against 8(3 refs). Go ahead and watch the game again and watch how many times an Illinois player had the ball going towards the basket and was slapped, or hacked, anyhow almost every time an Illinois player had it close to the basket he had to hold onto the ball with two hands as not to loose control of the ball. Somehow Illinois was whisted for doing the exact same thing time and time again while Mizzou was not. Is someone going to try to tell me Illinois wasn't moving there feet and thats why. Anyhow, just like the policy that coaches aren't allowed to discuss offciating(or face a fine). Apparently we too risks our post being edited or deleted if we do the same. As my post earlier was apparently deleted. Nice way to run a website fellas.
Comments
IlliniHQ.com embraces discussion of Illini sports. We welcome you to contribute your ideas, opinions and comments, but we ask that you avoid personal attacks, vulgarity and hate speech. we reserve the right to remove any comment at its discretion, and we will block repeat offenders' accounts. To post comments, you must first be a registered user, and your username will appear with any comment you post. Happy posting.