IlliniHQ 2
General Category => Fighting Illini Basketball Forum => Topic started by: ILLINICHIEF on March 30, 2026, 01:20:31 AM
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Alright, Alright, Alright.....time for B1G boy basketball.....long hard road to get back here. Time to show the naysayers, the doubters, ALL the forgetabouter's what ILLINI ball is all about. 30-0 B.S. be gone, monkey on the back jump the F**K off.
We gotta rebound, we gotta smack them in the chops first, second and last!!! 5 guys in double digits, not 2 like last time we met!! No lazy starts.
Defend like we've been doing, no letdown, no nerves, no bellyflops, and take care of the pill.
Keys:
Get Reed in trouble, Reibe will spell him, but that kid ain't asian so he can't get them a win....
Karaban....locate at all times....nothing easy, smack him down Humrichous/Stoyakovic
Ball can't be allowed to Ball out, find him, limit him, deflate that shit!!
ILLINI just has to do what they've been doin....raise the previous matchup FG % by 5% (37%) and the 3pt% by say 12-15% (36%) with choice shots...block 4-5 shots...and we get one more revenge on this Bout Damn Time Tour!!!
Early line is -1.5 ILLINI with an over of 139.5, if the ILLINI continue their defensive run as of late....that will be a hard one to bet.
End of Day for UCONN and Surly Hurley....Illini 76 - UCONN 71 Natty Game up Next
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A 5:09 tip for a game that I'm still surprised that we opened as favorites
Beat UConn !!
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https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/48348039/arizona-michigan-co-favorites-bettors-back-uconn
DraftKings reports early action backing the Huskies against the Illini, with a majority of bets and handle on UConn's moneyline and spread; theScore Bet also notes more tickets backing UConn +2.5, though there's a positive handle split toward Illinois -2.5.
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No go through The I Fund, but The
PAThey will still be in the house Saturday....
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Still debating it, tix are quite spendy
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Obviously harder due to two local teams, but the prices for the S16/E8 games dropped a lot as the week progressed. This is in a very large venue.
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Illini bet big on Europe and it paid off:
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7154541/2026/03/28/illinois-iowa-score-result-takeaways-march-madness/
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Yeah hoping prices drop, a lot.
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This is why we cannot have nice things.
Wagler out - torn ACL
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This is why we cannot have nice things.
Wagler out - torn ACL
WTF, I cannot find any news on this? Trolling?
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April 1
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Lolol
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The gritty style of Coach Brad Underwood has the Illini winning again, but CT, CF, and Tempo wringing their hands. Discuss here
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Lolol
It was poor form by me frankly. Some nerves should not be touched
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It was poor form by me frankly. Some nerves should not be touched
Well shit ya got me....don't fuckin do that again, the Final Four has been too long of a wait.
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Fuuuuck
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Fuuuuck
Another one bites the dust...thanks for joining me. LOL
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Great article
https://www.espn.com/mens-college-basketball/story/_/id/48037112/keaton-wagler-rise-illinois-freshman
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Another one bites the dust...thanks for joining me. LOL
ok, if I got the intended target, it's good, sorry Chief if you were collateral damage.
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ok, if I got the intended target, it's good, sorry Chief if you were collateral damage.
Minor heart attack, bordering on recovery and going to insane asylum......they said I could run it supposedly, be like their PG...LOL..
No worries, glad it was A-1 joke.
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Really hope we come out in the blue Fightin Illini jerseys....those are sick, also I would be disappointed if we don't wear a jersey specifically going back to the 89 team, that one would do it.
Blue against UConn
Orange against ????? AZ?
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This is why we cannot have nice things.
Wagler out - torn ACL
Appreciate the attempt at lightening the mood
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Really hope we come out in the blue Fightin Illini jerseys....those are sick, also I would be disappointed if we don't wear a jersey specifically going back to the 89 team, that one would do it.
Blue against UConn
Orange against ????? AZ?
we wore those in the MSG game just sayin
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Appreciate the attempt at lightening the mood
I haven't been this confident about an Illini game since we played Loyola Chicago!
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I haven't been this confident about an Illini game since we played Loyola Chicago!
Heard Illini are 4-1 playing teams the second time around after a loss the 1st game.....
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Somebody tell the Badgers.
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This is why we cannot have nice things.
Wagler out - torn ACL
Not cool, bro. Not cool.
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I felt my heart in my throat then about 1 second later remembered it was April 1st, but that was a very unpleasant 1-2 seconds.
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Somebody tell the Badgers.
Also heard Hurley has not lost a Final Four game....
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Also heard Hurley has not lost a Final Four game....
Perfect in Final Four, going 2-0 you are correct. He is also 10-0 in NCAA Tournament games from the Sweet 16 onward. Underwood/Antigua and Crocker with Boy wUnderkindbetter be stayin up late and often to plan for this.
I do think we stand a far better chance than earlier in the year, and we also are extremely HOT right now, where I do not think they are playing their best ball outside of Reed.
Drive the ball....Andrej, Wagler, and Boswell....try to get Reed in trouble. The key to the ILLINI has of late is NOT shooting a lot of 3's but driving the ball, and rebounding....both if we better them will get Reed out of his game.
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Perfect in Final Four, going 2-0 you are correct. He is also 10-0 in NCAA Tournament games from the Sweet 16 onward. Underwood/Antigua and Crocker with Boy wUnderkindbetter be stayin up late and often to plan for this.
I do think we stand a far better chance than earlier in the year, and we also are extremely HOT right now, where I do not think they are playing their best ball outside of Reed.
Drive the ball....Andrej, Wagler, and Boswell....try to get Reed in trouble. The key to the ILLINI has of late is NOT shooting a lot of 3's but driving the ball, and rebounding....both if we better them will get Reed out of his game.
Shooting 3s in a football stadium is a little tougher. Hopefully it goes well Saturday and Monday!
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It was poor form by me frankly. Some nerves should not be touched
In 2005 wasn't there one that a few players would miss the Louisville game due to illness
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Hurley had better teams when he was running the table. This team is still very capable of beating us, but they shouldn’t have gotten past Duke.
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Hurley had better teams when he was running the table. This team is still very capable of beating us, but they shouldn’t have gotten past Duke.
Totally agree. Those teams were scary and killing almost everyone, especially second halves. This team is good but can easily have lost last weekend and multiple other games. Their coach yelling and pouting to refs has gotten them a few extra wins.
Time to put a sock in Hurley and send him packing.
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Hurley had better teams when he was running the table. This team is still very capable of beating us, but they shouldn’t have gotten past Duke.
Correct, IF Reed doesn't pull a 30-15 kind of game, and or if Ball or Mullins don't go off then I don't see them winning.
I mean UCONN the last 3 games (Furman aside), they are barely getting 3 players in double figures with Reed and Karaban leading the charge.
Prop bet would be 1st half scoring take the under....IF ILLINI come out lights out and energized, take that loss and be happy.
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Illini bingo card
(https://i.ibb.co/zWzp9yNF/Screenshot-20260402-204214-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/j9Sm0cHz)
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Illini bingo card
(https://i.ibb.co/zWzp9yNF/Screenshot-20260402-204214-2.jpg) (https://ibb.co/j9Sm0cHz)
I will take What is the ILLINI most overused broadcast sayings for $1000.00 Alex.
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Almost T-Minus to a Natty time. I really hope we come out without butterflies, get Reed in trouble and then just fuckin smack down that smug little bastard Hurley. He has got to be the easiest guy in the world to root against....always...ALWAYS......comes across as a tool.
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I placed my bet, the illini are a lock at this point lol
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I placed my bet, the illini are a lock at this point lol
Much appreciated! Let's bring the D and drive the hoop!
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I placed my bet, the illini are a lock at this point lol
We thank you for your financial sacrifice
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Check out the errors in this bullshit article
https://sports.yahoo.com/mens-college-basketball/betting/article/2026-final-four-best-bets-odds-for-uconn-illinois-arizona-michigan-183324646.html?
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This is definitely a payback tour… Houston, UConn, but do we need Michigan? I mean Arizona could rightly claim payback.
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https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7170586/2026/04/04/illinois-david-mirkovic-final-four-karaoke-dj/
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Game day is here. Weirdly not as nervous as I was last week.
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Game day is here. Weirdly not as nervous as I was last week.
Was more worried about Houston
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Game day is here. Weirdly not as nervous as I was last week.
I made up my mind earlier today.
A buddy is going today and he bought tix for Mon. So I guess we're winning.
I L L
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This is definitely a payback tour… Houston, UConn, but do we need Michigan? I mean Arizona could rightly claim payback.
Yeah, was thinking about all the Demons we could exorcise by running the table on Iowa, UConn, and Michigan.
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Need to hit our 3s. Do and we win, don’t and we lose, I’m pretty sure.
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Rebounding would help too
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They are quicker in the paint. Down 9, 0 for 4 from 3.
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THIS is not the game to go completely cold from 3PT shooting areas....that said we don't want to have to take 40 either. We did that against UNC in 05 and it didn't end well for us.
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The threes have been good looks. Frustrating that they're not falling.
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The threes have been good looks. Frustrating that they're not falling.
There's one!
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Ain’t pretty but we’re up a point. We are settling for some very deep 3s
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Lighten up pussies
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We ramped up the defense but we have to capitalize on the offensive end.
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This won’t get it done in the 2nd half. Offense looks lost again. All one on one and mostly long 3s missing by a lot.
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Looked like we might get an advantage with foul trouble, but we’ve made a couple dumb fouls to even it out a little. Reed is killing us.
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We made our run as we should have when Reed/Karaban were out...then that equaled it all back up. Good news is we just aren't playing that well right now. The real ILLINI and Wagler show up, then let's see what happens.
Reed has to be got into foul trouble, and double teamed until then....we have the length to get back to others. I a freshman is gonna win it for his team, lets let that be an ILLINI one....Andrej keep driving the ball!
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Mullins legacy game
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Great Block, shitty shot to end the half, missed 2 tip ins from Boswell, weak 15' from Boswell, 12' side bank whatever from Mirk...8 more bunny pts there and get into a refs ear about them bodying up KW, and teach Ivisic to time that back down bump from Reed, let him fall on his ass once.
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Defense isn't bad but our shooting and shot selection is a yikes
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You can't shoot 34% and 21% from 3 and expect to beat anybody.
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Uconn played a near perfect half I think we got this if we do our thing in the second half
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I'll reiterate what I said last week. PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE do not give up a 30-0 blitzing to start the 2nd half.
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Let's go !!! Get some buckets and get the crowd in the game.
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Got an Easter gathering to go to after the game.....showered to get that 1st half stench washed away.
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Why is jake davis being so much playing time
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Why is jake davis being so much playing time
Bill Cole 2.0
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We’ve gotta get something going. Preferably some offense.
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UCONN making banked and bounce all over the rim threes
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Can we get some shots to fall, please?
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Why is jake davis being so much playing time
Team leader.
Tracks down long rebounds
+
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Can we get some shots to fall, please?
Maybe the last 10 minutes of our season right here. Now or never.
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We’re fucked if we can’t start hitting some open shots.
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Gotta hit our free shots to climb back in this.
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Free throws to extend game, can't get them in the double bonus too early though. Let Tomi school Reed, gotta get fouls
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Why is Humichrous in instead of Stojakovic?
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We need points…why is Stojakovic not in?
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Conversion there would have been huge. Gotta clamp down.
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Too many misses inside of 5 feet
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We need points…why is Stojakovic not in?
He needs another 3-5 minutes for sure
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He needs another 3-5 minutes for sure
Yeah
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Too many misses inside of 5 feet
3-5 feet.
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No more margin for error.
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In need of some heroics.
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Humrichous is trying his hardest to play on Monday
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That's probably GG.
EDIT: Maybe not!
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Why does Mullin have 11 band aids on his arm?
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Need to start fouling. Extend the game. Hope they miss free shots
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We needed that rebound. Wagler 3 gives us a little hope. Have to be perfect the last 44 seconds. Would be ecstatic with OT.
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Welp. Good season boys.
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I've seen this movie before
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It was a fun year, a great ROI on Wagler and Andrej to be honest....now the worry starts.
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UConn owns us. Disappointing effort. Hope whoever wins later steamrolls Hurley.
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Another choke job
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OK now that's GG on the season.
We fought our asses off. Just didn't have enough shot making in the end.
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Need to start fouling. Extend the game. Hope they miss free shots
we didnt' do it early enough and they didn't miss
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Maybe Murph can explain some more why Illinois was favored here.
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UConn owns us. Disappointing effort. Hope whoever wins later steamrolls Hurley.
Oh, I think they will
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Another choke job
Lol hard to choke a game when you're trailing for pretty much the entirety of it.
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Lol hard to choke a game when you're trailing for pretty much the entirety of it.
23% 3 point shooting....
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Lol hard to choke a game when you're trailing for pretty much the entirety of it.
I think he means from the perspective we were favored and lost to a beatable team.
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23% 3 point shooting....
I’m surprised it was that good.
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I think he means from the perspective we were favored and lost to a beatable team.
And it was a de facto home game with this crowd.
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Haven't beat UCONN since 1938
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This place is going to clear out
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I think he means from the perspective we were favored and lost to a beatable team.
Still not a choke
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Still not a choke
I won’t call it a choke, but that’s arguable. It was a very winnable game and we didn’t bring much of anything.
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Great season by any measure. UConn just knows how to win.
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Were favored, Couldn't hit a 3. Couldn't get a rebound when needed. Missed free shots. Partisan crowd Seen this movie too many times.
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Seems like about 3x when we were one positive play away from taking command of the game UConn reversed it on us.
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They played better. Some shots fall for us and it's a different game.
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Damn. Sucks for all of us. Great season. Tough ending. Could have won with some shots falling instead of rimming out.
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Hope it’s not another 21 years for us to make a Final Four. I’d be Trump’s age. But if that McDonald’s eating lard ass can make it to 79 I guess I have a shot.
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This was still a very good season for us and a great year for Wagler.
Lots of outstanding freshmen this year.
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Seems like about 3x when we were one positive play away from taking command of the game UConn reversed it on us.
Yep. No way can blame the crowd.
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I’d love to see some freshmen become sophomores.
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They played better. Some shots fall for us and it's a different game.
Same thing 21 years to the day.....
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Same thing 21 years to the day.....
Maybe we should put the bubble over Memorial Stadium and practice in a football stadium.
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Maybe we should put the bubble over Memorial Stadium and practice in a football stadium.
Like texting Bill Self, it couldn't hurt.
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Sitting here for this second game makes me want to puke
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Then again, it could be the Casey's pizza I tried to say I tried it.
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Michigan has decided to slide their penis into Arizona’s butt.
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Then again, it could be the Casey's pizza I tried to say I tried it.
It takes some getting used to
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Maybe Murph can explain some more why Illinois was favored here.
Because we shoot better than 23% from 3 usually?
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Got big boy’d and wet our pants a little. Tons of opportunities but not enough wherewithal to take advantage of them. At least we didn’t get embarrassed?
Oh well, fun run, we’ll go get more good players and try again next year.
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Michigan has decided to slide their penis into Arizona’s butt.
But now Yaxel is hurt… it would be so on song for UM to win and UConn get UM without him
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It takes some getting used to
The pizza, or getting penis slid into your butt?
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The pizza, or getting penis slid into your butt?
The pizza. Which is what I replied to. Dumbass.
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But now Yaxel is hurt… it would be so on song for UM to win and UConn get UM without him
Not sure Michigan needs him to beat UConn.
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The pizza. Which is what I replied to. Dumbass.
Sorry my attempt at humor failed you.
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Sorry my attempt at humor failed you.
It was stupid. You’re better than that.
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If Michigan buttfucks Hurley like this, I will be extremely overjoyed.
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I wish Michigan could lose by 100. Then winning for the B1G doesn’t help us at all. They’ve never won a title they haven’t cheated like a mofo to get. They were talking about the Fab 5 during our game. Fuck Michigan.
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I wish Michigan could lose by 100. Then winning for the B1G doesn’t help us at all. They’ve never won a title they haven’t cheated like a mofo to get. They were talking about the Fab 5 during our game. Fuck Michigan.
+1
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I wish Michigan could lose by 100. Then winning for the B1G doesn’t help us at all. They’ve never won a title they haven’t cheated like a mofo to get. They were talking about the Fab 5 during our game. Fuck Michigan.
We haven’t won a title period. And we were cheating our asses off lol.
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Man did we choke or what. I'm not mad cause making the FF is a huge win any season or any way you look at it.
But man did we choke today. Michigan will slotter them.
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Flat tire in Bourbonnais at 245AM is the chef's kiss to today.... Hanging out with Kankakee County sheriff duputies and Bourbonnais police at the Road Ranger was not on the bingo card.
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Back the Blue
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We shot ourselves out of winning.
A couple of buckets from anywhere, from the rim to outside the 3 point line, just wasn't in the cards.
And I didn't like bricking the 2 shots from 3 to start the game.
We had tix for Mon.
We had a good year. Az is saying the same.
Next year is at Ford Field.
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Our ILLINI just couldn't get it together, and man did they try. The game overall was as physical as I thought one could be...........until the Fichigan game, that game was getting brutal for awhile, and the refs in both games seemed to say for once....let's let em play B1G 10 ball.
That said, even though we shot 20+ FT, it could have been 40, BUT that isn't why we lost....we just couldn't make a basket....Andrej tried, Tomi was ballin out, but overall our offense went extinct. Our defense kept us in, but when the other team starts bank shotting 3's in you pretty much know it's not your night.
On to next year, it was a great year, lot of highs, a few lows, great storylines, but what's next..............
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Flat tire in Bourbonnais at 245AM is the chef's kiss to today.... Hanging out with Kankakee County sheriff duputies and Bourbonnais police at the Road Ranger was not on the bingo card.
I remember my dad getting a flat tire on a hot summer day just south of there by the landfill when I was a kid. We got a ride with some guy who took us to that truck stop way back before it was a Road Ranger. Felt like we sat there for 8 hours. Glad you didn’t end up in the clink.
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Real bummer we couldn’t have found a way to beat UConn. Not likely we’d have beaten Michigan, but an Illinois/Michigan Final would have been epic for U of I.
Hopefully we can keep the nucleus together and Petrovic, assuming he’s here is an adequate replacement for Wagler.
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Flat tire? That's a making a tough day unnecessarily long. Brutal.
We had good effort but couldn't buy a bucket too often. The lack of assists had more to do with missed shots than anything else IMHO.
Twin towers coming back? I think Mirk is.
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Twin towers coming back? I think Mirk is.
I would suspect BU and the staff will find a way to keep those 3...Z likes it at Illinois as well, and Tomi was coming on again at the end of the season. Not sure we can keep Andrej in the fold, but he would be an essential piece....if we can keep all 4 and I think there is a chance, we play that core with Jake and Ty along with freshman guards again....Morillo/Coleman, we got back to an Elite 8 at least imo. Brown/Davis add to the mix and a transfer or two more?
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Nothing Wags hasn't seen before
https://x.com/craigwchoate/status/2040566887751303440?s=20
Down by 1 with the ball. 2 minutes later we were down by 10.
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Andrej talks like he’s an Illini lifer, but you never know now that real money is in play.
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+1
The brain trust with another dumbass take.
If Michigan shuts out UConn my thinking would be that UM should have held them to fewer points
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We rebounded.
We defended.
We only turned it over 8 times.
Unfortunately, what it boils down to is that we didn't make enough shots.
Seemed like every time we were about to make our move, a shot would rim out for us and UCONN would make a shot that bounced 4-5 times around the rim before going in. The Andrej layup that rimmed out and stayed still on the back iron and took like six business days to come down was diabolical and pretty much encapsulated the night for us. Luck factor was in UCONN's favor but they made the plays they had to to win in the end. We simply did not.
I'm over it and at peace with it now. Season was already a success when we made it to the Sweet Sixteen, and we still get to do the thing we all joked endlessly about in the dark times - hang a Final Four banner.
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What a great season, obviously one of the best ever with getting to the FF.
I was at peace the whole night and not mad at all when we lost. Elite 8 two years ago and now this, so good.
Also I never expected to beat Michigan or Zona or Duke for that matter. We are a big step down from them and never thought we'd be able to win a title. So for me just getting to the final four was satisfying enough.
Thank you to the team and coaches.
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Mostly agree, but seeing your team in the title game is definitely better than just making the Final Four. Something extra special about watching your team play for all the marbles.
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What a great season, obviously one of the best ever with getting to the FF.
I was at peace the whole night and not mad at all when we lost. Elite 8 two years ago and now this, so good.
Also I never expected to beat Michigan or Zona or Duke for that matter. We are a big step down from them and never thought we'd be able to win a title. So for me just getting to the final four was satisfying enough.
Thank you to the team and coaches.
Nicely said. I'm looking forward to seeing Ty next season.