Illinois Post Game Thread

[connVA]

Pretty sure Bill M went to Regis College in Denver

Born and raised in Illinois. Wikipedia says Evanston but I guess he decided to take a pass on following Northwestern sports (can’t say I blame him).

 

[ctbro1999]

This really must be how Duke feels. Literally the only people rooting for us are us.

I have a feeling OSU fans are rooting for us with a pinched nose.

 

[ctbro1999]

 

[NJHusky]

But it sucks that Luke is going to bc, otherwise I would wish him luck, but not to the evil empire!

The faster he does moderately well th faster he gets a top job

 

[NJHusky]

Is the move to fly to Cincinnati instead?

Check all airports within reasonable driving distance. Dayton, Cincy, Ft way Wayne and even Chicago. Then check departures from Bdl, Bos, nyc. Just a bunch of clicking around

Also, you may be surprised but y can often get great miles tickets last minute

 

[AllHusky]

Everytime my sister in law cam into the TV room and said “How are we Doing”, Illinois would score. We sent her packing.

Did same thing with my wife against Duke. "I'll let you know how it turns out Honey."

 

[Excalibur]

Solo's had plenty of issues on both ends of the court as we know but this was a sweet highlight dunk last night.

In real time, I seriously thought he was going to short it.

 

[Scoe]

Who’s the guy in the Braves hat next to Emeka? It’s driving me insane I can’t figure it out.

Awesome picture the crowd just keeps growing, it’s too bad Clingan and Castle can’t be there on Monday as they have games on that date. I thought there were no NBA games scheduled on the Monday of the national championship. Would be cool to have as many alums as possible obviously but also ex teammates of AK as possible to see him finish his career.

 

[UCFan1513]

Yeah, they’re not for people who are p***ies

 

[bendm]

The worst part of the Barkley jab is Hurley was obviously poking fun at them. Dude must have some weird beef with Hurley, it would explain why he was picking against our juggernaut teams as well.

He admitted the 24 team were one of the 2 teams he thought were unbeatable along with 2012 UK but I don’t remember him picking us in 2024 either

 

[Mr. French]

I read the tweet and saw soft pudding, I’m like man he’s calling people names? Then I watched it and he says “it’s off putting” which isn’t nearly as strong or funny.

 

[brihman]

Murray replacement? 😆

I like how Hurley is acknowledging KO

 

[Rocktheworld]

 

[Hoophound]

I’m not sure it’s about what he would have to prove by coaching for 15 more years, but with the start he’s had, he could compile some absolutely gaudy career numbers if he keeps it up. Some people are driven to leave behind an incredible legacy.

 

[ec33]

Solo's had plenty of issues on both ends of the court as we know but this was a sweet highlight dunk last night.

With the right hand, btw.

 

[DblCrossbar]

Geno alone has 25 Final Fours

“UConn has so many trophies…they’re using one as a doorstop.”

 

[ec33]

Why? I was just giving BugsyCT info about having room to hang FF banners in Gampel.

It is his schtick.

And as pointed out, Nan tells women's team season ticket holders to go back to the men's board. So you really can't win.

Well, the rest of us win, because it is all rather funny.

 

[ec33]

The faster he does moderately well th faster he gets a top job

This. Go .500 in year 2 or 3 and move on before the fans and donors wake up.

 

[Mike Honcho]

This is a fun listen.

“The reason UConn is so frustrating to me this season is that I have been treating them like a normal basketball team. And moving forward, I will do better to stop doing that. I’ve seen enough to know that G-d is real and he’s a UConn fan.”

And it continues...

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

There's a cool video of Hurley with the Fab Five in the tunnel after the game. I don't know how to post it because I saw it on the 'gram but it shows how well liked he is within college basketball circles.

 

[gtcam]

not the same as walking out of MSG in the OBE days!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[gsmooth]

There's a cool video of Hurley with the Fab Five in the tunnel after the game. I don't know how to post it because I saw it on the 'gram but it shows how well liked he is within college basketball circles.

Here is the video BigErnMcCracken is talking about:



It's during the interview between Hurley and CBS's Matt Norlander. If you don't want to watch the entire video just go to the 1:39 mark.

 

[mhshuskies]

But it sucks that Luke is going to bc, otherwise I would wish him luck, but not to the evil empire!

Do you not know your Huskies history? bc is the original evil empire!

 

[Scoe]

Do you not know your Huskies history? bc is the original evil empire!

An empire? Don't you have to be good to be an empire.

 

[Mots010]

W

Illinois was a solid, well coached team. But I didn't understand why we were the underdogs going into the game. Glad we were. Made for some extra hungry huskies.

We were a better team than them by a decent margin. We controlled the play for 90% of the game and Illinois never really had a chance. This game played out similar to the first game at MSG. I think analytics are struggling to capture how good this UConn team is.

 

[El Obrero]

My $0.02:
How many p5 conference teams with "bigger, quicker, much better athletes" do the Huskies have to beat before the country realizes that we might actually have more than a puncher's chance to win some of these games? I mean, the rhetoric leading up to this one was just delusional. Illinois lost four games in February/March, didn't they? Then they go on a nice run in this tournament-- while facing only one team lower than a nine seed in Vanderbilt, which had a significant injury in their starting lineup. Meanwhile, UConn takes down Furman, UCLA, Michigan State and Duke. But the needle never moves, not even after beating the number one seed in the tournament! All week everyone is crowning the Illini's ass because they're the B1G and playing a "less talented but feisty UConn squad". It brings back memories of Jim Calhoun telling everyone in the postgame how angry his team was going into that first championship game against Duke in 1999. Let's hope Hurley can tap into some of that.
These other teams' fanbases and beat reporters keep forgetting that Ilinois and Michigan aren't playing the Big East this weekend. They're playing UConn.
We are UConn. And you're not.
And one more thing: I've been following this program since the mid-1980's, watching almost every game, but I've never seen a UConn team enter any game with a bigger wad of house money than this one's bringing tomorrow night. I think they relax, enjoy themselves, and kick ass. And so will I.
(Bonus take: Furphy hits a three in garbage time. You heard it here first.)

 

[alexd]

 

[temery]

Maybe they should have booed a little louder?

The Asshat flipping them off was way over at the top.

 

[HuskyNan]

The Asshat flipping them off was way over at the top.

I imagine they were pretty well lubricated at that point

 

[aceboon]

Phil Nolan sighting