OT: Non-UConn games Week of 1/17

[Hey Adrien!]

#4 Purdue @ #17 Illinois tied at 69-69 (nice) entering OT.

Andre Curbelo's first game after missing twelve games w/ a concussion. 16 points on 6-10 shooting and he's scored the last two baskets for Illinois.

One of my favorite college basketball players. Glad he's back and healthy.

Cockburn fouls out in OT with 4:20 (nice) remaining.

Ivey is killing Illinois with his ability to get to the line. Remember that when you fill out your brackets.

 

[TerryBoyz]

Good game. Watching now it’s in OT.Kofi just fouled out. Purdue has a well balanced team. Let’s see what happens.

 

[TerryBoyz]

Wow!! Ivey v curbelo. 2nd OT. Stop reading this and turn it on

 

[Hey Adrien!]

I really like the blend of talent and skill in Purdue's end of game lineup:

1. Eric Hunter, 6'4 175. Athletic cutter for when Williams has the ball and good 2nd ball handler.
2. Jaden Ivey, 6'4 195. The lead guard, three-level bucket-getter who gets to the line.
3. Sasha Stefanovic, 6'5 205. Shooter w/ ice in his veins.
4. Mason Gillis, 6'6 230. Efficient, low-mistake forward who will do the dirty work.
5. Zach Edey 7'4 295 or Trevion Williams 6'10 255. Edey 71.3 fg% and the rim protector while Williams is arguably the best post passer in the nation.

 

[Jay-Bone]

Great game. Between covid and injuries, so refreshing to see everyone playing from both teams.

If it finished in reg time I would have hit all 9 of my bets. Lost Iliini +3.5, +5.5 & +6.5. No thanks to Stefanovich missing that free throw even though he's 90%. He also missed one of the flagrants.

To be fair, for a home game, I thought the refs were really hard on Illini's big men. They gave Kofi his 4th and he sat out for over 10 mins in the 2nd. 2 of his fouls were suspect. Omar Payne really killed them with a stupid obvious flagrant in the first. Bosmans stepped up and he even had some tough calls against him.

Edey & Trevion are so dangerous. Edey worked Kofi in the first. Trevion had a plethora of great moves and then clunked a dozen within 6. Also Ivey missed a bunch of easy buckets.

Purdue is really good. Besides the big men, both have a great supporting cast and depth. First game Illini is 100%, so I expect them to really gel late in the season.

 

[navery12]

1. Zach Edey 7'4 295 or Trevion Williams 6'10 255. Edey 71.3 fg% and the rim protector while Williams is arguably the best post passer in the nation.

Hopefully Hurley spends all offseason watching tape of Purdue's offense for when Clingan plays. We should be able to get a ton of points with guys cutting to the basket looking for passes from him

 

[TerryBoyz]

Catching the 2nd half of Howard b ND. Plenty of time left but Howard is up by 5.
Interesting…
Looks like that PowerPoint slide deck can wait till later

 

[navery12]

Granted it's in the MEAC so the competition isn't great but glad to see Elijah Hawkins playing well as a freshman for Howard. He looked like a solid player for DeMatha last year the few times I watched them for our Hawkins. Averaging 12 points, 4 rebounds and 6 assists a game as a freshman but pretty inefficiently. Had a nice game against Villanova earlier this year too with 16 points and 11 assists

 

[Hey Adrien!]

Very solid crowd for this game. The Burr looks like a great spot to catch a game...not a bad seat in the house and crazy that so much wall space is outdoor facing windows. Here's a link to @Greathusky's excellent review on the arena.

Between sophomore Steve Settle III (13.5 ppg) and freshman Elijah Hawkins (12.4 p, 6.4a, 2s), Howard has a heck of a young foundation to build on. They add Sierra Canyon's Shy Odom next year, nationally ranked as the #240th best prospect of '22. Offers from USC, Georgetown, Penn State and others.

Props to Mike Brey for traveling to this game. Impressive that Howard is making this a game the entire game!

Let's get a HBCU game on national television every MLK Day! Really cool learning about the history.

Unrelated note, but I'm catching the CCSU @ Sacred Heart game tonight. The battle of my parents' alumnus and I'm looking forward to seeing Patrick Sellars coach live. Also, Anthony Latina is one of my favorite arena coaches.