I know there a few Ty Rodgers fans here, and to be fair he is one of our five best players FWIW which I guess says more than a few things about this team, but my growing concern has been how to handle endgame on offense and, like all of us, wondering WTF is going on defensively.
Ty does a lot of good hustle play things, plays harder than anyone out there, and has a nose for the ball, but is not a point guard and we do not have a plan for him or anyone yet assuming a leadership role at end of games. In some games he is not even in and they go with Harmon. For some reason we had Goode in the game as we were leaking oil at PSU.
Staff need to sort this out. Every BT and NCAA tourney game will be tough and come down to closing out with a lead or making plays to overcome a lead.
The reality is we have a very strong collection of players, but have not actually won any games vs Top tier teams so far. Certainly competed vs Tenn, Marquette, Purdue and showed that we can hang with anybody, but need to figure how to get over the top.
This article from Champaign Room pretty informative:
https://www.thechampaignroom.com/2024/2/22/24079892/accept-the-reality-of-illinois-basketball-underwood-big-ten-penn-state-ncaa-tournament-tsj-hawkins L at Penn State (90-89): 0 FG in the final 2:30. Penn State ended the game on a 20-7 run, erasing a 12-point lead in the final 8:00.
W at Maryland (85-80): 0 FG in the final 1:53. Illinois blew a 7-point lead and let Maryland tie the game twice.
L at Michigan State (88-80): 1 FG in the final 7:38. Michigan State ended the game on a 24-8 run, turning an 8-point Illinois lead into an 8-point Illinois loss.
W vs. Nebraska (87-84 OT): 0 FG in the final 3:29 (of regulation). Timeout heard around the world. Underwood calls a timeout to “set the defense.” Nebraska closes regulation on an 11-1 run to force OT. Marcus Domask made one free throw after Nebraska “fouled” him with under five seconds left.
L at Northwestern (96-91 OT): 1 FG in the final 3:29. Domask missed a 10-footer to win the game at the buzzer. Could not stop anyone in OT.
W vs.Michigan State (71-68): 1 FG for the final 5:29. No Terrence Shannon, Jr. for this game. Illinois gutted out a win.
Loss at Purdue (83-78): 0 FG in the final 3:06. Fake rally comes up short.
Total damage: 27:44 of game action - four total field goals made.
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