IL - NostraCatus prediction - you heard it here first

[IGNORE2]

To feel better about myself. It's working.

No, I'm baffled that morons like Baz throw stones at other programs. Nobody is without skeletons in their closets.

Illinois suspended Shannon and then a federal judge told them they couldn't.

I agree. UoI, it’s fans, students - not known to be bright so no reason to expect their coach to be. If it happened to NU, the player would see little to no minutes and in the pressers, the coach would coach speak about poor practices, distracted, blah blah blah to justify lack of PT. Probably would lead to suspension for breaking team rules - with a guy like Shannon after a game or two. And then they would also watch his grades like a hawk knowing Shannon unlikely to be keeping them up. So, in effect, suspending without suspension and maintaining the high moral ground within the confines of the ruling. (If Shannon found a lawyer willing to litigate the matter…that would be worth the price of admission to watch)

But nobody expects the UoI coach to be that smart…or moral so bring on the rapist and morons.

 

[IGNORE2]

We have one of the top 5 cleanest athletic departments in the country and it isn’t even debatable.

Doesn’t mean we’re perfect… but yeah we are pretty close to it in this scummy world of modern college athletics.

Also, we hold actual academic standards for our athletes (in all sports) unlike Illinois and every other program in the B1G. Very few programs do that. Really just us, Stanford, Rice and Vandy in FBS that I can think of off hand. Notre Dame used to and then Lou Holtz came and they gave up trying to win “the right way…”

No - we don’t. Besides the Fitz debacle, baseball, volleyball, point shaving…. You just want to believe we do because it helped swallow the terrible teams we ran out there.

 

[IGNORE2]

We have one of the top 5 cleanest athletic departments in the country and it isn’t even debatable.

Doesn’t mean we’re perfect… but yeah we are pretty close to it in this scummy world of modern college athletics.

Also, we hold actual academic standards for our athletes (in all sports) unlike Illinois and every other program in the B1G. Very few programs do that. Really just us, Stanford, Rice and Vandy in FBS that I can think of off hand. Notre Dame used to and then Lou Holtz came and they gave up trying to win “the right way…”

I would agree top five in the B1G. Not in the country. C’mon.

 

[GatoLouco]

To feel better about myself. It's working.

I recommend doing what most 14 year olds do to feel better: have a wank or two. If you are older, scratch my head.

 

[SmellyCat]

Bump

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

I really don't like the way we match up against IL. Strong, fast, athletic backcourts/4 are a nightmare for us.

To me, IL is harder for us to beat than Purdue.

So, naturally, I hope I am dead wrong, as I was last week against Nebraska.

Keep predicting losses please.

 

[GatoLouco]

Keep predicting losses please.

I predict we get smoked by Ohio State

 

[TheC]

I predict we get smoked by Ohio State

This is one of those games that we should definitely lose, which means it is also one of those games that we'll find some incredible way to pull off.


(Might as well keep doing it until it no longer works...)

 

[DaCat]

That was clearly a goal tend by Shannon.

 

[eastbaycat99]

While I was completely pessimistic about the first Illinois game downstate, I have some hope for the Cats in tonight’s game. The coaches have helped them cleanup some of the breakdowns Illinois exploited the first time out. Barnhizer has recovered from injury and Nicholson, whether due to physical or psychological change, has been playing much better. Collins has varied his rotations more in response to opponents’ lineups.
To me, the real wildcard is the return of Shannon to the Illinois lineup. He is an excellent player. In the long run, he may very well change a top 10 team into a top 4 team. All that doesn’t address the variability he injects into tonight’s game. Illinois played a near perfect, balanced, almost flawless team game the last time the Cats saw them. I think it is possible it will take a game or 2 for the team and him to get in synch. I expect to see a handful of miscommunications on both ends of the court in the minutes he gets tonight. The last month also must have been emotionally difficult for him. He may try to makeup for his problems by playing hero ball, either taking the game over and destroying the Cats or throwing the game away trying to redeem himself. Illinois is a good enough team that he could come out, mesh perfectly, and laugh his way past the student section to the locker room, triumphant. I tend to think he will cost the Illini a few points tonight compared to the lineup they would have fielded, but who knows.

Regardless of the Shannon factor, I think this will be a much closer game. My guess is Illinois wins, but the spread is very close to the 4.5 points I last saw.

I think Shannon’s playing tipped the scales to the Cats. The Illini’s defensive communication/assignment knowledge was terrible: the Cats went 11-17 from 3, and it was from getting wide open looks off screens. Shannon pressed on offense, going 1-5 from 3. While Illinois will be better for Shannon’s presence, he kept them from the optimal play they showed the Cats a few weeks ago.

 

[EvanstonCat]

I predict we get smoked by Ohio State

You are quickly becoming the Corbi of the Hoops board.

The anti-Moose

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Keep predicting losses please.

On the flipside, Bruce Weber and Raphael Davis were talking in BTN studio about a text Weber sent to Davis after Illinois blew us out in Champaign.

Immediately after that first game Weber texted "Northwestern will beat Illinois on Jan 24."

 

[SmellyCat]

On the flipside, Bruce Weber and Raphael Davis were talking in BTN studio about a text Weber sent to Davis after Illinois blew us out in Champaign.

Immediately after that first game Weber texted "Northwestern will beat Illinois on Jan 24."

I love the way Raphael Davis says "Boo Buie." I think he does too. Weber and Davis love the guy.

 

[hdhntr1]

I really don't like the way we match up against IL. Strong, fast, athletic backcourts/4 are a nightmare for us.

To me, IL is harder for us to beat than Purdue.

So, naturally, I hope I am dead wrong, as I was last week against Nebraska.

And again. Predict some more losses

 

[DaCat]

And again. Predict some more losses

No, please don’t do the @mikefitz77 shtick, it gets tiring very quickly.