UConn vs Illinois (Final Four) | Page 10 | The Boneyard

UConn vs Illinois (Final Four)

Waquoit said:
UConn eats guys like Wagler for lunch. Boo Buie went into hiding after he played UConn. Same with that other Illinois kid who I forget. What about Drew Timme? He was a household word the day before he played UConn. I actually saw him in an NBA game a couple weeks ago and he was pretty good. I didn’t know he had made the show.
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Did a pretty good job vs Fears of MSU/Isaiah Evans-Duke
 
superjohn said:
Conferences won't mean a thing to non UConn fans. Nobody outside of CT views us as the little engine that could. We're the biggest name in college basketball and the winningest program. Fans won't be thinking let's root for the little guy UConn.
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You misunderstand what I said. They know that UConn has the muscle to punch back at perceived injustice that is represented by the P4's. If they are present, and have no skin in the game, yea, UConn, fan wise, is the underdog. Conferences are a thing.
 
Wagler is definitely better than he was in November, but I think the difference is being overstated a bit. He was averaging 15 points a game in 31 minutes in the 7 games prior to UConn and 18 points in 32 minutes in the 7 games after. We just did a good job shutting him down and he only played 14 minutes
 
Zanzman said:
We have a chance"I knew CL meant cheer leaderr
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Whatever works for the Mojo!

(Against Duke, someone had posted "we have a chance" and Tom said "you would make a terrible cheerleader." That led me to post this picture and caption:

IMG_6881.jpeg

"Meh, we have a chance."​

It worked out pretty well for Duke, so I'm keeping it going.)
 
superjohn said:
Conferences won't mean a thing to non UConn fans. Nobody outside of CT views us as the little engine that could. We're the biggest name in college basketball and the winningest program. Fans won't be thinking let's root for the little guy UConn.
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True, but I think his other point is valid - fans of other B10 teams besides Illinois will be rooting for us, etc.
 
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housekeys said:
When it comes to fan support, there are underlying factors that probably favor UConn. One factor is the "power conference " versus everyone else. UConn represents everyone else. So any fans not favoring the P4's, are likely favoring UConn. Another factor is the B10 v SEC v B12. Again, the "a friend of my enemy is my friend" mentality favors UConn. Finally, Mullins is the Indiana "state" representative and he is a Husky. Of course I doubt the ancillary fans will be as vocal as die hard UConn fans that make the trip. So...
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The fans of all 3 other schools will be rooting against UConn, as they would rather play Illinois than a team that is in their 3rd Ff in 4 years

The only folks rooting for us in that building are the UConn fans that make the trip
 
NJHusky said:
The fans of all 3 other schools will be rooting against UConn, as they would rather play Illinois than a team that is in their 3rd Ff in 4 years

The only folks rooting for us in that building are the UConn fans that make the trip
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Arizona fans should be very afraid of Reed, who they never saw in December
 
CL82 said:
Whatever works for the Mojo!

(Against Duke, someone had posted "we have a chance" and Tom said "you would make a terrible cheerleader." That led me to post this picture and caption:

View attachment 119134
"Meh, we have a chance."​

It worked out pretty well for Duke, so I'm keeping it going.)
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Yes I have started the next game thread discussions recently . We have a chance !
 
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navery12 said:
Wagler is definitely better than he was in November, but I think the difference is being overstated a bit. He was averaging 15 points a game in 31 minutes in the 7 games prior to UConn and 18 points in 32 minutes in the 7 games after. We just did a good job shutting him down and he only played 14 minutes
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Great point.

Again, Reed and Mullins gave us 4 points.

Someone in this thread said Illinois is last in the country in defensive turnover percentage. That is huge.
 
navery12 said:
Wagler is definitely better than he was in November, but I think the difference is being overstated a bit. He was averaging 15 points a game in 31 minutes in the 7 games prior to UConn and 18 points in 32 minutes in the 7 games after. We just did a good job shutting him down and he only played 14 minutes
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I do think this kind of understates the difference. His pre-UConn averages were heavily buoyed by big scoring totals against LIU, FGCU, Colgate, and JKST. He scored 8 and 11 in their only real competition before UConn (on bad efficiency). He was also a very complementary scorer vs. effectively the stating PG making everything happen that he has turned into (which is shown by his massive jump in assist totals). He’s a much better player now and is deployed very differently.
 
WhereistheDove? said:
I do think this kind of understates the difference. His pre-UConn averages were heavily buoyed by big scoring totals against LIU, FGCU, Colgate, and JKST. He scored 8 and 11 in their only real competition before UConn (on bad efficiency). He was also a very complementary scorer vs. effectively the stating PG making everything happen that he has turned into (which is shown by his massive jump in assist totals). He’s a much better player now and is deployed very differently.
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Sure. But that isn’t the narrative. The narrative being pushed is be was some after thought who became a star after that game. That is understating the player he was then.
 
illinois offense isn't very intricate, they just have a lot of big skilled euros to space the floor and make their pnr game pretty lethal. as long as demary is healthy it should be fine.
 
WhereistheDove? said:
I do think this kind of understates the difference. His pre-UConn averages were heavily buoyed by big scoring totals against LIU, FGCU, Colgate, and JKST. He scored 8 and 11 in their only real competition before UConn (on bad efficiency). He was also a very complementary scorer vs. effectively the stating PG making everything happen that he has turned into (which is shown by his massive jump in assist totals). He’s a much better player now and is deployed very differently.
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He's definitely a much bigger focus and is a great player, so not trying to discount him at all. He'll be a tough assignment for our guys. But he also followed up the UConn game with 16 against Tennessee and 19 against Ohio State a week later with 5 assists both games, then 23 and 10 against Nebraska. Just seems a little too convenient for the narratives I've seen from all the B10 guys on social media
 
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What happened with Wagler in the first meeting is that he picked up two fouls in the first half and sat the last 8 minutes or so. Then we built the lead up to almost 20 in the second half with him out there - and Illinois went on a run and got it down to 7 or so with him on the bench - and they stayed with the lineup that was working. It wasn’t that he wasn’t a big part of their rotation yet.
 
Gurleyman said:
What happened with Wagler in the first meeting is that he picked up two fouls in the first half and sat the last 8 minutes or so. Then we built the lead up to almost 20 in the second half with him out there - and Illinois went on a run and got it down to 7 or so with him on the bench - and they stayed with the lineup that was working. It wasn’t that he wasn’t a big part of their rotation yet.
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I honestly don't know how much of that game really matters anymore. I doubt the coaches are even spending much time on it TBH. I would think tape in the last month is most relevant. They are an easy system to plan for, it's all about execution. We are much more unpredictable and variable - I barely know how we are going to do it game to game.
 
Gurleyman said:
What happened with Wagler in the first meeting is that he picked up two fouls in the first half and sat the last 8 minutes or so. Then we built the lead up to almost 20 in the second half with him out there - and Illinois went on a run and got it down to 7 or so with him on the bench - and they stayed with the lineup that was working. It wasn’t that he wasn’t a big part of their rotation yet.
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I agree mostly. He had threee games where he wasn’t in double figures this year and was starting. The other two below 10 he was at 8. He was high on any scout even in the first game.

That said, functionally they greatly changed how they use him. It would be like if we suddenly made Ball our full time PG and gave him a silly green light.
 
RuffRuff said:
www.cbssports.com

Final Four breakdown: Why Illinois has answers for UConn, Michigan holds edge vs. Arizona

Illinois-UConn and Arizona-Michigan headline a loaded Final Four. Here's a full matchup breakdown, key advantages and predictions for both games
www.cbssports.com www.cbssports.com

Interesting exercise in that in both cases, he seems to pick the team that has less overall positional advantage.
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I was just coming over here to post this. Yes, if you read his positional analysis we seem to have the edge. Then he spends 5 paragraphs analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and he makes it sound like Illinois is going to kill UConn. Then ends with, "Karaban, Ball and Mullins need to go berserk from downtown, or UConn's run ends in the Final Four." People said that before the Duke game and UConn was absolutely horrendous from three, especially the first 35 minutes, and still won.
 
HooperScooper said:
I was just coming over here to post this. Yes, if you read his positional analysis we seem to have the edge. Then he spends 5 paragraphs analyzing the strengths and weaknesses of both teams and he makes it sound like Illinois is going to kill UConn. Then ends with, "Karaban, Ball and Mullins need to go berserk from downtown, or UConn's run ends in the Final Four." People said that before the Duke game and UConn was absolutely horrendous from three, especially the first 35 minutes, and still won.
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I'm done thinking they need to do this or that to win - we beat Duke shooting terribly from three and were able to do something we don't normally do well (turn the opposition over), to win the game. If I was betting this game, I'd put a lot of weight on the coaching advantage in a game like this.

There are some funky variables - Luke going to BC, Illinois home game, that are tiny factors.
 
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RuffRuff said:
I'm done thinking they need to do this or that to win - we beat Duke shooting terribly from three and were able to do something we don't normally do well (turn the opposition over), to win the game. If I was betting this game, I'd put a lot of weight on the coaching advantage in a game like this.

There are some funky variables - Luke going to BC, Illinois home game, that are tiny factors.
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The three other teams left standing are all bigger than us and they would all be favored. The other teams have the star freshmen and more players who have gotten buzz throughout the season. The thing is we have the best staff and our coaches and players find a way. We also have the player who is playing the best basketball in the country at the moment, Tarris Reed.
 
I also see a lot of people quoting stats from Illinois in the NCAA Tournament. They have played an average seed of 9 so far. Conversely, UConn has played an average seed 6. So of course Illinois stats in the tournament look better.
 
98Uconn said:
Too much positivity in this tread. Not good for the MOJO
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I tend to be pretty cautious by nature, but the more I break this game down, the more I think we should be the favorites. The biggest concern is our outside shooting, but even there, our defense does a lot to compensate. And as mentioned earlier, it’s not like we had any major edge in shooting or free throws in the first game either.
 
Tenspro2002 said:
The last time we faced a team in the Final Four we had already beaten during the regular season, we were also considered underdogs going into that game after an uneven regular season.

We beat Florida and went on to win the championship.
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Actually this was true in 2011 as well...
 
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