IUBB vs Illinois- 2/5/2022 @ 12:00 on ESPN

[Southside]

Welp, hopefully Kofi is really worn out after scoring 37.....

TJD, Race, and Durr gonna have their hands full. 

At least their FT% sucks lol. Their 3pt % doesn't really scare me either.

[Brass Cannon]

Well I am glad Illinois won.  I didn’t want them super hungry/desperate for a win

[Stuhoo]

 

I'm coming to the realization that this will be another special Assembly Hall crowd.  One of those fully engaged - everyone all in experiences. 

After a few years without any of those, it's damn fine to get two of them in three weeks.

Oh, and for this game welcome back to the rotation Michael Durr.

 

[HoosierFan1994]

9 hours ago, Hooserfan1901 said:

Looks like we will be facing the #1 Big Ten team Saturday, can’t wait

Yes! And when IU wins they'll only be a game back from 1st place. 

[Southside]

6 minutes ago, HoosierFan1994 said:

Yes! And when IU wins they'll only be a game back from 1st place. 

MSU is also 2 games ahead of us IIRC. 

[Southside]

23 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

I'm coming to the realization that this will be another special Assembly Hall crowd.  One of those fully engaged - everyone all in experiences. 

After a few years without any of those, it's damn fine to get two of them in three weeks.

Oh, and for this game welcome back to the rotation Michael Durr.

I don't drink much or often when IU plays, but I really feel like denting a big bottle of booze for this game.

Sucks it's at noon. Maybe I'll make believe I'm on the beach and blend up some Pina Coladas. I can only drink 3-4 of those tops. 

Agree on Durr. We'll need to throw some bodies around. I'm interested though to see how all three (TJD, Race, and Durr do against Kofi).

[IUFAN1976]

One big advantage we have over Illinois is our bench.  We can use our bench to wear Illinois down.  Their starters played at least 33 minutes, that could affect them Saturday.  

[HoosierHoopster]

28 minutes ago, IUFAN1976 said:

One big advantage we have over Illinois is our bench.  We can use our bench to wear Illinois down.  Their starters played at least 33 minutes, that could affect them Saturday.  

I'm hoping Bates brings it -- he's kind of a wild card. 0-6 last game, not typical, after the game before had him looking like he was getting back on track. With the personal issues he had to go through and the intensity of B1G play he's sort of hit that Frosh wall - hope he punches through it, has the ability to make a difference.

[HoosierHoopster]

Reasons for optimism in this game

- Galloway and Geronimo are now playing in the 18-25 min range, and producing well on both sides of the ball

- Durr back

- Illinois is coming off a convincing W -- we should want this game more, our guys' energy will be there

- AH crowd will be rocking, limelight game, let's get it

[lillurk]

2 hours ago, Stuhoo said:

Oh, and for this game welcome back to the rotation Michael Durr.

I hope you’re right or you know something; I share the concern that this is game 3 of the the ol’ unspecified-but-everyone-knows three game suspension.

[Stuhoo]

3 minutes ago, lillurk said:

I hope you’re right or you know something; I share the concern that this is game 3 of the the ol’ unspecified-but-everyone-knows three game suspension.

After the first one Woody said it was "coaches decision" that he didn't play. Now I suppose it could have a coaches decision to suspend him. 

It certainly has been odd that Duncomb has been in for garbage time minutes twice since then but not Durr.

 

[lillurk]

4 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

After the first one Woody said it was "coaches decision" that he didn't play. Now I suppose it could have a coaches decision to suspend him. 

It certainly has been odd that Duncomb has been in for garbage time minutes twice since then but not Durr.

 

Exactly. Though I’m now remembering that it was public knowledge when Duncomb was suspended for 3 earlier this year, so perhaps that’s not what I feared. I think Durr dressed the last two, and Duncomb didn’t dress during his suspension. So probably no conspiracy: bad matchups, doghouse would be true “coach’s decision.”

If so, good. He’ll help on Kofi.

[Hoosierfan1901]

3 minutes ago, lillurk said:

Exactly. Though I’m now remembering that it was public knowledge when Duncomb was suspended for 3 earlier this year, so perhaps that’s not what I feared. I think Durr dressed the last two, and Duncomb didn’t dress during his suspension. So probably no conspiracy: bad matchups, doghouse would be true “coach’s decision.”

If so, good. He’ll help on Kofi.

Good catch, since I also remember that Duncomb wore street clothes 

[DChoosier]

1 hour ago, lillurk said:

Exactly. Though I’m now remembering that it was public knowledge when Duncomb was suspended for 3 earlier this year, so perhaps that’s not what I feared. I think Durr dressed the last two, and Duncomb didn’t dress during his suspension. So probably no conspiracy: bad matchups, doghouse would be true “coach’s decision.”

If so, good. He’ll help on Kofi.

Good observation about the street clothes. Hope your right as I found it very strange he didn’t play at all in the last two games. Early in the season I was glad we landed him specifically because of the PU and Illinois games.

[lillurk]

Bye week boredom posting:

1. I think we get a special X performance Saturday. 37 or more minutes, locked in on both ends.

2. This is the type of game where a pleasant surprise of a team can make a statement heading down the back stretch of conference play.

3. IU works to get Kofi matched against its 4s on offense, and Race and Geronimo get and hit open 3s as a result.

4. we get a meaningful Durr second half moment or two.

[Stuhoo]

1 minute ago, lillurk said:

Bye week boredom posting:

1. I think we get a special X performance Saturday. 37 or more minutes, locked in on both ends.

 

 

X will be guarded by Trent Frazier. It is extremely difficult to get going downhill against Frazier. 

I think this is a game where we need to seriously temper expectations for Xavier. He will need to be more patient than he is used to.

 

[HoosierHoopster]

8 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

X will be guarded by Trent Frazier. It is extremely difficult to get going downhill against Frazier. 

I think this is a game where we need to seriously temper expectations for Xavier. He will need to be more patient than he is used to.

 

Said another way, this is a game where it's really important that X not try to do too much himself, and to move the ball well

[lillurk]

12 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

X will be guarded by Trent Frazier. It is extremely difficult to get going downhill against Frazier. 

I think this is a game where we need to seriously temper expectations for Xavier. He will need to be more patient than he is used to.

 

I agree, and Frazier is really good. Illinois doesn’t really help in ballscreen defense, so my expectation comes from a place where Kofi/Frazier are playing ballscreen D 2-on-2. They’re good at it. I think X keeps it around the screen a lot and uses his wiles to get to the rim or get Kofi in foul trouble.

It may not be a big scoring game, but if he doesn’t force shots and limits TOs, he can have a big impact making good reads.

[Hovadipo]

18 minutes ago, Stuhoo said:

 

X will be guarded by Trent Frazier. It is extremely difficult to get going downhill against Frazier. 

I think this is a game where we need to seriously temper expectations for Xavier. He will need to be more patient than he is used to.

 

On the other hand, Stew will be guarded by Plummer likely? One of the worst defensive guards in the B1G since noted bad chair guarder Jimmy Blackmon? Let’s get him firing early and often. 

[lillurk]

2 minutes ago, Hovadipo said:

On the other hand, Stew will be guarded by Plummer likely? One of the worst defensive guards in the B1G since noted bad chair guarder Jimmy Blackmon? Let’s get him firing early and often. 

Great point, probably a day to dust off every Stew set