Illinois getting humiliated
- Thread starter phatcat
- Start date
What a surprise.
Nine tired and dinged up (I assume) and disappointed/discouraged guys hailing from the state of Illinois (plus a couple from the East and/or Midwest) get to journey on down to that basketball hotbed of Tuscaloosa (5th largest "city" in AL) to entertain
Nine tired and dinged up (I assume) and disappointed/discouraged guys hailing from the state of Illinois (plus a couple from the East and/or Midwest) get to journey on down to that basketball hotbed of Tuscaloosa (5th largest "city" in AL) to entertain
Great news! Now I can enjoy reading the comments of Illinois fans with their typical overly high expectations for their 'elite' basketball program. Reality is harsh for them at times...and usually in March.
Best post so far: "Somewhere, Meyers Leonard is crying."
Best visual aide:
This post was edited on 3/18 4:07 AM by Gladeskat
Best post so far: "Somewhere, Meyers Leonard is crying."
Best visual aide:
This post was edited on 3/18 4:07 AM by Gladeskat
One of the best basketball states in the country with zero representation in the NCAA. Talk about underachievement.
Illinois swept NU by a combined score of 36 !!!
Sorry to rain on your parade, but may I remind you all, that that hapless Illinois team SWEPT our team by a combined score of THIRTY-SIX (36) POINTS, and scoring almost 90 in one of those games...very late in the season....The weaker they are the worse teams that got swept by them look...sorry, again.
Is Illinois one of the best basketball states in the U.S.? Indiana? California? New York? Also just heard a couple of guys on the SCORE anoint the illini next recruiting class as the second best in the conference. Who are these next All-Americans?
Illini have three four star players coming in, but no big man. As to Felis' comment about them beating us. Yes, they swept us for the first time in a while, but this sport is where Illinois has always had big advantages. They are able to recruit a lot of inner city players Northwestern can't, and they seem to have been able to keep them in school. Unlike football, they've had a consistent history of being good.
The fact is, they had a great chance this year to get to the NCAA with some great early wins and they really blew it down the stretch. They followed up a bad performance at the BTT with an even worse one in the NIT. It's embarrassing for them, and puts some extra pressure on Groce's team that will be very talented, but also pretty young, next year..
The fact is, they had a great chance this year to get to the NCAA with some great early wins and they really blew it down the stretch. They followed up a bad performance at the BTT with an even worse one in the NIT. It's embarrassing for them, and puts some extra pressure on Groce's team that will be very talented, but also pretty young, next year..
Last night the Illini starting lineup had three 4* recruits: Egwu, Nunn and Black.
Two 4* recruits came off the bench and had significant time: Hill and Colbert.
Another 4* recruit -- Abrams -- has been out all season. (let's hope he gets better and plays at 100% next year)
Over the last four years, three additional 4* recruits transferred out: Head, Shaw and Henry.
That's nine 4* recruits that gave Illinois a try the last four years.
I have to believe that since 1980, the average number of 4* recruits for any four year period on NU has never exceed two. And the average 4* over that entire period is below one.
With that talent Illinois should have swept a freshmen-heavy NU team. They should have beaten NU each game by about 70.
I thought Illinois might gel this year, get into the tournament and make a run. Instead they looked a little too much like Nebraska. They didn't look like they wanted to play together and win the game last night (but I stopped watching when the margin was 20).
Two 4* recruits came off the bench and had significant time: Hill and Colbert.
Another 4* recruit -- Abrams -- has been out all season. (let's hope he gets better and plays at 100% next year)
Over the last four years, three additional 4* recruits transferred out: Head, Shaw and Henry.
That's nine 4* recruits that gave Illinois a try the last four years.
I have to believe that since 1980, the average number of 4* recruits for any four year period on NU has never exceed two. And the average 4* over that entire period is below one.
With that talent Illinois should have swept a freshmen-heavy NU team. They should have beaten NU each game by about 70.
I thought Illinois might gel this year, get into the tournament and make a run. Instead they looked a little too much like Nebraska. They didn't look like they wanted to play together and win the game last night (but I stopped watching when the margin was 20).
Well, coach K seems to think so as he has swooped in for Scheyer, Parker and Okafor in recent memory. Frank Kaminsky, anyone? I came across an article 3-4 years ago on representation by state in the NBA and Illinois was second to California at that time. Obviously, it could have changed since then. With the Chicago metro area and usually some good teams downstate, I don't think there's any question that Illinois is one of the nation's best basketball states.
Re: Illinois swept NU by a combined score of 36 !!!
I'd say if the team that beat you badly looks really good, you look less bad yourself!!
And all I said was that the worse they look, the worse a team that got swept by them looks (especially when it was by 36 pts combined). Do you disagree?
I'd say if the team that beat you badly looks really good, you look less bad yourself!!
Re: Illinois swept NU by a combined score of 36 !!!
Is this some sort of news flash? We were 6-12 in the conference and had a sub-.500 record. Not very good as we all know. Illinois has basically sucked since they put Rice back in the lineup - zero chemistry.
Is this some sort of news flash? We were 6-12 in the conference and had a sub-.500 record. Not very good as we all know. Illinois has basically sucked since they put Rice back in the lineup - zero chemistry.
Illinois has had approximately 10 losing seasons in 100 years of basketball and are close to the top 10 in all time winning %. It's hard to claim they aren't very strong/elite in basketball and have that legacy.
On the inverse, there's NU basketball.
This post was edited on 3/22 3:18 PM by PIP773
On the inverse, there's NU basketball.
This post was edited on 3/22 3:18 PM by PIP773
Best way to tell a team is in trouble is when their fans have to resort to all-time stats. It's sort of hard to claim Illinois doesn't have that legacy... It's very easy to claim that they aren't elite.
I will say though, you're dead on about NU being the inverse. Terrible historically but with a bright future vs. bright past that you won't touch again anytime soon.
I know who I'd rather cheer for right now.
I will say though, you're dead on about NU being the inverse. Terrible historically but with a bright future vs. bright past that you won't touch again anytime soon.
I know who I'd rather cheer for right now.
NU lost to Illinois twice this year. How's that for a stat?
Best way to tell a team is in trouble is when their fans have to resort to HOPE and CHANGE and talk about the future based on those two ideals.
This post was edited on 3/22 3:39 PM by PIP773
Best way to tell a team is in trouble is when their fans have to resort to HOPE and CHANGE and talk about the future based on those two ideals.
This post was edited on 3/22 3:39 PM by PIP773
What's even more troubling is that Izzo (the most respected coach in the B1G) has been repeatedly losing out on top Chicago recruits to the likes of Dook, UK, etc.
It's going to take one of those special kind of players (wants to stay close to home and create his own legacy and not just be another peg for a traditional powerhouse) in order for CC to have a shot at landing a program-changing type of player.
Talking about overall record, you bozo - which for UI and all the advantages it has, is simply embarrassing.
And that's even w/ the near 3-decades of futility due to the NU admin starving its sports programs.
This post was edited on 3/22 7:41 PM by Katatonic
And that's even w/ the near 3-decades of futility due to the NU admin starving its sports programs.
This post was edited on 3/22 7:41 PM by Katatonic
"Best way to tell a team is in trouble is when their fans have to resort to all-time stats."
You lost to an inferior program, but you lost. It's not like your recruiting in basketball or football is going to bring hope and change to your "superior" program, but godspeed anyway.
You lost to an inferior program, but you lost. It's not like your recruiting in basketball or football is going to bring hope and change to your "superior" program, but godspeed anyway.
Way to change the goalposts. We can't talk about the past, because Northwestern is about the future. We can't talk about last year, because of a storied past. We can't talk about recruiting, because it doesn't fit your narrative.
Get your fans on here to pick a benchmark and get to a consensus. Jesus.
Get your fans on here to pick a benchmark and get to a consensus. Jesus.
Go ahead, talk about the past. It just highlights how much of a failure the Illinois program has been over the past 20 years. Sheesh, when I go over to your boards, I find all kinds of posts complaining about how horrible Illinois football has been. I even find numerous posts where Illinois fans compare NU football favorably to Illinois football over the past 20 years.
Go ahead, talk about recruiting! It just highlights how horrible the Illinois coaching staff has done wasting talent and losing football games. Three NFL players on your DL in 2012 and NU ran and passed at will on you guys while running up a 50-14 win. Illinois probably was done less with more than any other team in the Big Ten, if not the country. Jesus!
The Illini are a bubble team whose bubble has been burst in three of the past four years. NU has split with them over the 4-5 years except for this year. The game in Evanston this year was a tight game where Nunn, Crosby and Starks probably had their best game collectively of the season and scored around 55 or the team's 74 points. Then Crosby was suspended and thrown off the team. Also, Egwu ripped the ball out of Olah's hands on at least one or two key rebounds in the second half. Bottom line: the Illini has not been more than bubble team after Self's trio of Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head left the campus. Yes, the Illini spanked NU in Champaign this spring as they hit something like 9 3's in the first half, many of them were 3-5 feet beyond the three point line. Since NU was struggling offensively as McIntosh played like he ran out of gas the last five games and Lumpkin scored his standard 0 points, it was tough to come back from a double digit deficit. For the past five years, the Illini are mainly a three point shooting team that starts strong in the non-conference and runs out of gas after getting banged up in Big 10 play. You remove Egwu and Ravonte Rice from the team next season, there is no reason why NU led by Olah, Demps, McIntosh, Law and Lindsey should not split and hopefully, sweep the Illini even with all of their four star players.
