Illini Game Musings

[Hungry Jack]

Probably the most impressive number from the box score is our 4 turnovers in 45 minutes. This Illinois team is not crazily athletic, but they are long, disciplined and physical. 4 turnovers is an amazing effort.

We shot 19% from 3 (4-21). There were enough open looks. Berry had a bagel (0 points). When CCC says he has a “midrange” team, then he is either saying we are capable of shooting much better, or he’s being really nice to Matt and Luke.

Leach’s game is emerging. I will take him shooting pull-up jumpers off screens all day. He has a very consistent stroke.

Nicholson was brilliant last night. He’s obviously healed, because he’s moving better than ever. I have learned to laugh at his offensive shortcomings, and love his defense. And the bloody elbow was awesome.

Illinois has two very good freshmen in Jacucionis (duh) and Will Riley. The latter is raw, but he was the most athletic guy on the court. How does underwood find great players in Lithuania?

Martinelli’s matchup mystifier manifested itself last night. He has a surprisingly quick jab step that he can use facing a defender, or he can bully ball you with a wide shoulder. They attacked Jacucionis with a vengeance in OT last night, forcing him to switch from Leach to Martinelli, where Nick backed him down like Uber backs up his Toyota in the east lot. I think they ran it 4 straight times in OT. Martinelli scored 7 of our 14 points in OT.

It’s not nice to pick on freshmen like that, but credit to CCC for riding that horse. we scored 14 points in 5 minutes after grinding out 56 in the first 40.

At 10:11 in the second half, Illinois went up 46-36. We went on a 20-10 run to finish the half. IIRC, Mullins was given the task of guarding Jacucionis around the time the run began. PWB will probably have more detail on that.

The most disappointing part of the game last night was the half court shot event at halftime. That poor guy could barely get the ball into the paint. Northwestern kids are not known for their athleticism, but that was pretty bad.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

First things first man, my heart can't take it! Another close one for NU basketball, but that's been the story for a while. Feels like every game comes down to the wire, and that's what makes them so exciting to watch, especially when they pull out wins like this.

The home court advantage is back, and it’s electric. That environment is buzzing, and I can't wait to be there in person this season. The energy on TV was off the charts—Matt pumping up the crowd, the student section going wild. It’s clear that the fans are locked in, and it’s a huge boost for this team.

Defensively, it’s another Collins-coached squad. Gritty defense is his signature, and it’s been that way since the upset against ranked Wisconsin in his first year. Martinelli's development has been huge—his positioning and footwork have taken a massive jump. Watching him stay with quicker guards and alter shots shows just how far he’s come. Barnhizer? Man, he might be the best defender in the Big Ten. He’s everywhere—affecting the game in ways that don’t always show up in the box score. He played a ton last night and made a massive impact.

Berry had an off night shooting and even got into foul trouble, but NU still found a way to win. That’s a sign of a defense-first team. When your best shooter doesn’t hit a single three and you still come out on top, you know it's all about the defense. Nicholson’s hustle was a game-changer, too—his bloody elbow and that monster block off the backboard gave the team a real spark.

This is a fun squad to watch. The defense is lockdown, and it’s going to them a shot in every game. If they can get consistent scoring outside of Barnhizer and Martinelli, watch out. Last night, Leach stepped up, and that’s the kind of effort they need to get those W’s. Go Cats!

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Probably the most impressive number from the box score is our 4 turnovers in 45 minutes. This Illinois team is not crazily athletic, but they are long, disciplined and physical. 4 turnovers is an amazing effort.

We shot 19% from 3 (4-21). There were enough open looks. Berry had a bagel (0 points). When CCC says he has a “midrange” team, then he is either saying we are capable of shooting much better, or he’s being really nice to Matt and Luke.

Leach’s game is emerging. I will take him shooting pull-up jumpers off screens all day. He has a very consistent stroke.

Nicholson was brilliant last night. He’s obviously healed, because he’s moving better than ever.

Illinois has two very good freshmen in Jacucionis (duh) and Will Riley. The latter is raw, but he was the most athletic guy on the court. How does underwood find great players in Lithuanian.

Martinelli’s matchup mystifier manifested itself last night. He’s obviously healed has a surprisingly quick jab step that he can use facing a defender, or he can bully ball you with a wide shoulder. They attacked Jacucionis with a vengeance in OT last night, forcing him to switch from Leach to Martinelli, where Nick backed him down like Uber backs up his Toyota in the east lot. I think they ran it 4 straight times in OT. Martinelli scored 7 of our 14 points in OT.

It’s not nice to pick on freshmen like that, but credit to CCC for riding that horse. we scored 14 points in 5 minutes after grinding out 56 in the first 40.

At 10:11 in the second half, Illinois went up 46-36. We went on a 20-10 run to finish the half. IIRC, Mullins was given the task of guarding Jacucionis around the time the run began. PWB will probably have more detail on that.

Brilliant game by CCC as well. I believe you play your best players as long as they can stay effective. Barney and Nick are strong as bulls. We had basically only 3 options on offense. CCC found a way to ride those 3 with 2 good defensive players to a victory. Nick was a stud. Fire in his belly. As CCC said, don’t over coach and play to the strengths of the team you have. Love that he didn’t call a timeout at the end of regulation, despite the miss.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

Brilliant game by CCC as well. I believe you play your best players as long as they can stay effective. Barney and Nick are strong as bulls. We had basically only 3 options on offense. CCC found a way to ride those 3 with 2 good defensive players to a victory. Nick was a stud. Fire in his belly. As CCC said, don’t over coach and play to the strengths of the team you have. Love that he didn’t call a timeout at the end of regulation, despite the miss.

Fully agree. That’s a Bob Knight and Coach K thing. Don’t give the defense a chance to get coached up and trust in your players to just be better. Worked really well with Buie. Barnhizer is getting off shots and almost hit a few this season.

 

[clarificationcat]

Probably the most impressive number from the box score is our 4 turnovers in 45 minutes. This Illinois team is not crazily athletic, but they are long, disciplined and physical. 4 turnovers is an amazing effort.

We shot 19% from 3 (4-21). There were enough open looks. Berry had a bagel (0 points). When CCC says he has a “midrange” team, then he is either saying we are capable of shooting much better, or he’s being really nice to Matt and Luke.

Leach’s game is emerging. I will take him shooting pull-up jumpers off screens all day. He has a very consistent stroke.

Nicholson was brilliant last night. He’s obviously healed, because he’s moving better than ever.

Illinois has two very good freshmen in Jacucionis (duh) and Will Riley. The latter is raw, but he was the most athletic guy on the court. How does underwood find great players in Lithuanian.

Martinelli’s matchup mystifier manifested itself last night. He’s obviously healed has a surprisingly quick jab step that he can use facing a defender, or he can bully ball you with a wide shoulder. They attacked Jacucionis with a vengeance in OT last night, forcing him to switch from Leach to Martinelli, where Nick backed him down like Uber backs up his Toyota in the east lot. I think they ran it 4 straight times in OT. Martinelli scored 7 of our 14 points in OT.

It’s not nice to pick on freshmen like that, but credit to CCC for riding that horse. we scored 14 points in 5 minutes after grinding out 56 in the first 40.

At 10:11 in the second half, Illinois went up 46-36. We went on a 20-10 run to finish the half. IIRC, Mullins was given the task of guarding Jacucionis around the time the run began. PWB will probably have more detail on that.

Ivisic was also very impressive. He needs to get stronger and he’s not very explosive but what a skill set. Best passer on the floor. Shoots the 3. And great touch around the basket. Hard to criticize Collins these days but I hope he can find one or two under the radar European players at some point. I assume the guys on Illinois are getting paid a lot since they were top recruits.

 

[SDakaGordie]

First things first man, my heart can't take it! Another close one for NU basketball, but that's been the story for a while. Feels like every game comes down to the wire, and that's what makes them so exciting to watch, especially when they pull out wins like this.

The home court advantage is back, and it’s electric. That environment is buzzing, and I can't wait to be there in person this season. The energy on TV was off the charts—Matt pumping up the crowd, the student section going wild. It’s clear that the fans are locked in, and it’s a huge boost for this team.

Defensively, it’s another Collins-coached squad. Gritty defense is his signature, and it’s been that way since the upset against ranked Wisconsin in his first year. Martinelli's development has been huge—his positioning and footwork have taken a massive jump. Watching him stay with quicker guards and alter shots shows just how far he’s come. Barnhizer? Man, he might be the best defender in the Big Ten. He’s everywhere—affecting the game in ways that don’t always show up in the box score. He played a ton last night and made a massive impact.

Berry had an off night shooting and even got into foul trouble, but NU still found a way to win. That’s a sign of a defense-first team. When your best shooter doesn’t hit a single three and you still come out on top, you know it's all about the defense. Nicholson’s hustle was a game-changer, too—his bloody elbow and that monster block off the backboard gave the team a real spark.

This is a fun squad to watch. The defense is lockdown, and it’s going to them a shot in every game. If they can get consistent scoring outside of Barnhizer and Martinelli, watch out. Last night, Leach stepped up, and that’s the kind of effort they need to get those W’s. Go Cats!

I love your posts and almost always agree, and I’m not trying to pick a fight, but I still disagree this was one of our better defensive efforts. Hummel constantly mentioned NU’s problems in getting lost switching; the BIG announcers implied at half that it was a really poor display of shooting by both teams, and Underwood mentioned multiple times that they had all the looks they wanted and that they missed lots of layups. I, of course, agree defense is our mantra and always has been. I think even CCC is kidding himself if he thinks our defense was our best effort last night. (I think he was saying so to keep the positivity with the players, but they will still have a lot to work on).

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

Ivisic was also very impressive. He needs to get stronger and he’s not very explosive but what a skill set. Best passer on the floor. Shoots the 3. And great touch around the basket. Hard to criticize Collins these days but I hope he can find one or two under the radar European players at some point. I assume the guys on Illinois are getting paid a lot since they were top recruits.

They have a ton of talent. Glad Red Ass kept that guy with the pig tails on the bench so long. He was a problem defensively.

 

[ThatkidfromHolland]

I love your posts and almost always agree, and I’m not trying to pick a fight, but I still disagree this was one of our better defensive efforts. Hummel constantly mentioned NU’s problems in getting lost switching; the BIG announcers implied at half that it was a really poor display of shooting by both teams, and Underwood mentioned multiple times that they had all the looks they wanted and that they missed lots of layups. I, of course, agree defense is our mantra and always has been. I think even CCC is kidding himself if he thinks our defense was our best effort last night. (I think he was saying so to keep the positivity with the players, but they will still have a lot to work on).

Illinois is a high-powered offensive team—no question about it. But forcing turnovers and holding them to 56 points in regulation? That’s great defense, no matter how you slice it. Yeah, there were some lapses, and they hit a some tough shots, but that’s what happens when you’re going up against elite offensive players. Great offense will beat great defense sometimes, but NU made them work for a lot of their shots. The first half, I’ll admit, was better than the second defensively—but that first half? That was some solid, tough defense. We’ve got our opinions, and that’s fine. We can agree to disagree, but I’ll take that kind of defensive effort any day. Keep building on it.

 

[SDakaGordie]

Illinois is a high-powered offensive team—no question about it. But forcing turnovers and holding them to 56 points in regulation? That’s great defense, no matter how you slice it. Yeah, there were some lapses, and they hit a some tough shots, but that’s what happens when you’re going up against elite offensive players. Great offense will beat great defense sometimes, but NU made them work for a lot of their shots. The first half, I’ll admit, was better than the second defensively—but that first half? That was some solid, tough defense. We’ve got our opinions, and that’s fine. We can agree to disagree, but I’ll take that kind of defensive effort any day. Keep building on it.

Ok thanks. We let up 80 against Iowa, and teams sometimes actually do have off-shooting night despite the defense, so I’m just not sold just yet that we are playing our best defense. Guess that bodes well.

 

[CappyNU]

Martinelli’s matchup mystifier manifested itself last night. He’s obviously healed has a surprisingly quick jab step that he can use facing a defender, or he can bully ball you with a wide shoulder. They attacked Jacucionis with a vengeance in OT last night, forcing him to switch from Leach to Martinelli, where Nick backed him down like Uber backs up his Toyota in the east lot. I think they ran it 4 straight times in OT. Martinelli scored 7 of our 14 points in OT.

Collins mentioned in the postgame interview with Hummel that he really liked that matchup, so they kept going to it.

Also:

 

[mickbula]

This win vs illini might be exactly what sets us up for more and more wins. Illini are best in Big 18. Keep winning and let's ramp it up!!

 

[AdamOnFirst]

Collins mentioned in the postgame interview with Hummel that he really liked that matchup, so they kept going to it.

Also:

View embedded media

Seemed like a classic bully ball matchup of putting an older, stronger, skilled player on a talented and athletic but less developed and built youngster.

 

[GatoLouco]

Fully agree. That’s a Bob Knight and Coach K thing. Don’t give the defense a chance to get coached up and trust in your players to just be better. Worked really well with Buie. Barnhizer is getting off shots and almost hit a few this season.

I don’t disagree with the principle, but when he got kind of stuck on the left, with like 3-4 seconds to go, IL having maybe 3 players denying him a lane, I thought a timeout was called for. Would have given us 3-4 seconds to try to get something going to the basket from the out of bounds.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I would’ve called the timeout. Our guys had gone really hard for 10 minutes, and could have used a brief rest for one final push. We are not a running team that beats teams in transition. We could’ve set something up for Martinelli to work inside, or kick to Leach or Berry for that final shot.

 

[ParisCat]

They have a ton of talent. Glad Red Ass kept that guy with the pig tails on the bench so long. He was a problem defensively.

My heart rate finally came down this morning after those crazy 2-and-a-half hours at the Welsh last night, so I spent some time looking at NBA mock draft boards. Illinois is indeed loaded with talent. Their KJ is a consensus top-10 pick and Riley is a consensus top 15-20 pick. They've got four other guys listed as potential second-rounders in various mocks: Ivisic, Ben H., K. Boswell, and Carey Booth. That's 6 NBA-caliber players vs. our zero. And yet, they remain our little brother when they come into our house. Gotta love it.

 

[UpsetAlert]

I would’ve called the timeout. Our guys had gone really hard for 10 minutes, and could have used a brief rest for one final push. We are not a running team that beats teams in transition. We could’ve set something up for Martinelli to work inside, or kick to Leach or Berry for that final shot.

Saved it for OT and worked better to have another one in the pocket.

 

[Purple Pile Driver]

I don’t disagree with the principle, but when he got kind of stuck on the left, with like 3-4 seconds to go, IL having maybe 3 players denying him a lane, I thought a timeout was called for. Would have given us 3-4 seconds to try to get something going to the basket from the out of bounds.

If it was a young team I would agree. However, I am rolling without the TO in a tie game where there could be confusion for a young Illini squad. We were having some difficulty just inbounding and Red Ass could have brought in a switch to a defensive player. Felt like over coaching to call the TO, but we’ll never know.

 

[Hungry Jack]

My heart rate finally came down this morning after those crazy 2-and-a-half hours at the Welsh last night, so I spent some time looking at NBA mock draft boards. Illinois is indeed loaded with talent. Their KJ is a consensus top-10 pick and Riley is a consensus top 15-20 pick. They've got four other guys listed as potential second-rounders in various mocks: Ivisic, Ben H., K. Boswell, and Carey Booth. That's 6 NBA-caliber players vs. our zero. And yet, they remain our little brother when they come into our house. Gotta love it.

Ben Hummer was pretty bad last night

 

[macarthur31]

If it was a young team I would agree. However, I am rolling without the TO in a tie game where there could be confusion for a young Illini squad. We were having some difficulty just inbounding and Red Ass could have brought in a switch to a defensive player. Felt like over coaching to call the TO, but we’ll never know.

I got seniors and juniors out there - I'm gonna trust 'em and not allow Underwood to set his defense up.

Also, it was a tie game. I wonder if we were down one, maybe Collins would've felt compelled to draw one up.

Somewhat related, un-related: this afternoon against the Wolverines at Crisler, Iowa had sideline inbound in the frontcourt down 2 points with 1.1 to go. This time, Iowa was only able to loft a rainbow pass to the far corner 3 which did get a shot off, but just hit rim. (Perhaps UM had more agile height - having Danny Wolf and Vlad Goldin on the cover) UM wins (despite being up double digits at various points of the day). However, I thought, man - is Iowa gonna open the season with B2B buzzer beaters down 2?

 

[Gatabowl]

Ivisic was also very impressive. He needs to get stronger and he’s not very explosive but what a skill set. Best passer on the floor. Shoots the 3. And great touch around the basket. Hard to criticize Collins these days but I hope he can find one or two under the radar European players at some point. I assume the guys on Illinois are getting paid a lot since they were top recruits.

Can we get Vedran on the horn to help?

 

[CatManTrue]

Probably the most impressive number from the box score is our 4 turnovers in 45 minutes. This Illinois team is not crazily athletic, but they are long, disciplined and physical. 4 turnovers is an amazing effort.

We shot 19% from 3 (4-21). There were enough open looks. Berry had a bagel (0 points). When CCC says he has a “midrange” team, then he is either saying we are capable of shooting much better, or he’s being really nice to Matt and Luke.

Leach’s game is emerging. I will take him shooting pull-up jumpers off screens all day. He has a very consistent stroke.

Nicholson was brilliant last night. He’s obviously healed, because he’s moving better than ever. I have learned to laugh at his offensive shortcomings, and love his defense. And the bloody elbow was awesome.

Illinois has two very good freshmen in Jacucionis (duh) and Will Riley. The latter is raw, but he was the most athletic guy on the court. How does underwood find great players in Lithuania?

Martinelli’s matchup mystifier manifested itself last night. He has a surprisingly quick jab step that he can use facing a defender, or he can bully ball you with a wide shoulder. They attacked Jacucionis with a vengeance in OT last night, forcing him to switch from Leach to Martinelli, where Nick backed him down like Uber backs up his Toyota in the east lot. I think they ran it 4 straight times in OT. Martinelli scored 7 of our 14 points in OT.

It’s not nice to pick on freshmen like that, but credit to CCC for riding that horse. we scored 14 points in 5 minutes after grinding out 56 in the first 40.

At 10:11 in the second half, Illinois went up 46-36. We went on a 20-10 run to finish the half. IIRC, Mullins was given the task of guarding Jacucionis around the time the run began. PWB will probably have more detail on that.

The most disappointing part of the game last night was the half court shot event at halftime. That poor guy could barely get the ball into the paint. Northwestern kids are not known for their athleticism, but that was pretty bad.

NU’s AD is slacking. Get locals from Evanston and Skokie that can make the half court shots. SAD!