UConn vs Illinois (Final Four)

[jibsey]

UConn being dogs in this one against a team they've beat with the narrative that the AZ/UM game is the real NC is playing right into Hurley's hands. This is the first time Hurley is coming into this being the underdog.

I prefer this. According to the experts we are the least likely among the FF teams to win this being underdogs in both this game and a potential final. Our coaching staff has moved the players out of the clouds and is implementing the Saturday game plan. In fact they’ve already moved on from the shot.

 

[HuskyHawk]

And Vegas?

Line moved from 2.5 to 1.5. That tells me the money is coming in on UConn. I think people are seeing that we aren't shooting well and expecting that to continue. The smarter people may have a lightbulb moment and say "they made the final four while shooting like a 6th grade girls team" what if they start making shots? Because that team is dangerous as hell.

 

[Kemba15]

Line moved from 2.5 to 1.5. That tells me the money is coming in on UConn. I think people are seeing that we aren't shooting well and expecting that to continue. The smarter people may have a lightbulb moment and say "they made the final four while shooting like a 6th grade girls team" what if they start making shots? Because that team is dangerous as hell.

It's back at 2.5 at DK and FD, but yeah it's jumping around. Sharps are likely to back Illinois here based on the early line, if only to fade the public, which will be all over UConn after The Shot. That said, the public’s been pretty good lately!

 

[uh-no]

Line moved from 2.5 to 1.5. That tells me the money is coming in on UConn. I think people are seeing that we aren't shooting well and expecting that to continue. The smarter people may have a lightbulb moment and say "they made the final four while shooting like a 6th grade girls team" what if they start making shots? Because that team is dangerous as hell.

and reed is currently the best player in the country.

 

[caw]

Line moved from 2.5 to 1.5. That tells me the money is coming in on UConn. I think people are seeing that we aren't shooting well and expecting that to continue. The smarter people may have a lightbulb moment and say "they made the final four while shooting like a 6th grade girls team" what if they start making shots? Because that team is dangerous as hell.

UConn has been getting really good shots too. Anyone who watches the games has to know UConn is going to get good shots no matter who they play, its just a matter of if they are hitting or not. Especially in the second half if/when the other teams legs are turning to jelly.

 

[7774]

We are only dogs against Illinois to sleepers media and KenPom

lol there was a thread a couple months ago where the idiots couldn't grasp that Illinois would open as favorites against us if we played again. It was all the usual suspects. Seems like the same people still can't figure it out.

 

[ConnHuskBask]

right you are

Pretty sure Iowa beat us at MSG during the KO years (or early Hurley) as well.

 

[FfldCntyFan]

When you think about it, it's kind of remarkable (and quite baffling) that we are kindbof flying under the radar in this final four, our third in four years, in a season where we were ranked in the top five for all but the last couple of weeks before the tournament began.

My message to fans of other schools: UNDERESTIMATE US AT YOUR OWN PERIL!

 

[RuffRuff]

 

[WhereistheDove?]

I assume we’ll run a pretty similar defensive gameplan to Michigan State. Both teams play a 4 that’s going to have a lot of trouble keeping up with Karaban and both offenses are heavily dependent on a ball-dominant PG that wants to get into the lane off PnR and DHO.

I fully expect a HEAVY dose of Reed hedging to blow up those actions, which has been incredibly effective in the tournament. Combine that with the pressure of Demary and Ross, who I think will draw effectively all of the Wagler primary defender responsibilities, and hopefully they can limit Wagler. If AK can hold up defensively to Mirkovic, Illinois very well may have to go small, similar to Michigan State, which would negate a lot of the potential issues on the glass and defensively in the paint. Underwood clearly is not the best at in-game adjustments so who knows.

 

[caw]

Finkelstein nailed the F4.

I agree with them that you can't take a ton from the first game because of Wagler breaking out and Mullins/Reed being healthy. However, I do think there are some things you can take from it.

1) UConn outrebounded Illinois - they are big and the do rebound well but they aren't exactly physical and this isn't the BE where every rebound is a war. Point being, UConn can rebound with them.

2) Fouls were fairly even in the game. I would hope it's fairly close this coming game too. That will be to UConn's advantage if they are even.

3) They said Illinois is deeper, but they only went 8 deep in their elite eight game. They actually cut down on their rotation considerably from the game earlier in the year. One thing of note is that Illinois really doesn't have a great guard rotation from the bench right now. They do have a two bigs and a wing off the bench.

 

[TroyHall98]

I doubt it. I just think St. Johns contesting every inch of the floor, and every inbound, all game long, is exhausting. Most teams never face another team that plays that way all season. UConn gets it repeatedly, with St. Johns and Seton Hall both playing that way, and sometimes PC as well. Duke had clearly not faced a team that never gives you a moment to breathe. Pitino did the same thing at Louisville. I do think it helped us that St. Johns took so much out of them.

Did we worry about inbounding the ball even once against Duke? Nope. Yet all of us think it's a huge issue, but that's because of who we play so often.

This. The Big East has teams who play a very aggressive defensive style that actually stresses a team’s conditioning. We carry the muscle memory of those stresses with us into each game and can apply it to the teams we face. The conditioning of these non Big East team is an issue for them when they face us.

 

[KingAG]

lol there was a thread a couple months ago where the idiots couldn't grasp that Illinois would open as favorites against us if we played again. It was all the usual suspects. Seems like the same people still can't figure it out.

I’m drawing a delineation between Vegas odds/KenPom numbers and national discourse. The national discourse does not have Illinois favored.

I definitely wouldn’t say we are an underdog.

 

[RuffRuff]

I agree with them that you can't take a ton from the first game because of Wagler breaking out and Mullins/Reed being healthy. However, I do think there are some things you can take from it.

1) UConn outrebounded Illinois - they are big and the do rebound well but they aren't exactly physical and this isn't the BE where every rebound is a war. Point being, UConn can rebound with them.

2) Fouls were fairly even in the game. I would hope it's fairly close this coming game too. That will be to UConn's advantage if they are even.

3) They said Illinois is deeper, but they only went 8 deep in their elite eight game. They actually cut down on their rotation considerably from the game earlier in the year. One thing of note is that Illinois really doesn't have a great guard rotation from the bench right now. They do have a two bigs and a wing off the bench.

With the pace likely being slow, I don't think depth is a major factor. Illinois does not foul, which means we'll be running our actions without much friction. I like how we set up for this one.

 

[caw]

With the pace likely being slow, I don't think depth is a major factor. Illinois does not foul, which means we'll be running our actions without much friction. I like how we set up for this one.

I agree that it shouldn't be a huge issue because these are great athletes, but it might have an effect on the second half shooting for Illinois. I fully believe all of UConn's actions does have a wearing effect on a team, especially the guards. So while the pace is slow, the amount of running and cutting is probably much higher than most games played.

 

[RuffRuff]

I agree that it shouldn't be a huge issue because these are great athletes, but it might have an effect on the second half shooting for Illinois. I fully believe all of UConn's actions does have a wearing effect on a team, especially the guards. So while the pace is slow, the amount of running and cutting is probably much higher than most games played.

The one thing that scares me is that we do have to guard two effective on ball guards in Wagler & Boswell. Where they lack is on perimeter defense - if you look at their last loss to Wisconsin, their two guard went bananas on them for a combined 69 points. Guards score against these guys.

 

[WhereistheDove?]

The one thing that scares me is that we do have to guard two effective on ball guards in Wagler & Boswell. Where they lack is on perimeter defense - if you look at their last loss to Wisconsin, their two guard went bananas on them for a combined 69 points. Guards score against these guys.

Boswell hasn’t been all that good for a while. Ball played much better D last game. I think Ball/mullins/Smith can do fine against him. He’s also just not a huge focal point of their offense anymore. Wagler is so ball-dominant.

 

[dennismenace]

I doubt it. I just think St. Johns contesting every inch of the floor, and every inbound, all game long, is exhausting. Most teams never face another team that plays that way all season. UConn gets it repeatedly, with St. Johns and Seton Hall both playing that way, and sometimes PC as well. Duke had clearly not faced a team that never gives you a moment to breathe. Pitino did the same thing at Louisville. I do think it helped us that St. Johns took so much out of them.

Did we worry about inbounding the ball even once against Duke? Nope. Yet all of us think it's a huge issue, but that's because of who we play so often.

Are you saying the teams we are facing are as well conditioned? If so, "why are they (Duke) gassed" as was commented on and clearly evident visibly in the St John's game? We turned up the pressure (though not full court) in the second half and also continued our merry go round offense demonstrating that we can do physically what they cannot do without it having an effect. That is, exhaust them without exhausting ourselves (= better conditioning). Correct?

 

[UConnSportsGuy]

Has any team ever beaten 4 teams from the same conference in a single NCAA tournament? Guessing the answer to that one is no. Given all the media hype around the Big Ten this year, can we hang a 2026 Big Ten Championship banner if we pull it off since we don't have the Big East banner to hang? 😀

 

[BFieldHusky]

Has any team ever beaten 4 teams from the same conference in a single NCAA tournament? Guessing the answer to that one is no. Given all the media hype around the Big Ten this year, can we hang a 2026 Big Ten Championship banner if we pull it off since we don't have the Big East banner to hang? 😀

We beat 3 Big Ten teams (Northwestern, Illinois, Purdue) in the 2024 tournament.

 

[HuskyHawk]

Are you saying the teams we are facing are as well conditioned? If so, "why are they (Duke) gassed" as was commented on and clearly evident visibly in the St John's game? We turned up the pressure (though not full court) in the second half and also continued our merry go round offense demonstrating that we can do physically what they cannot do without it having an effect. That is, exhaust them without exhausting ourselves (= better conditioning). Correct?

I simply don't think it's conditioning. Duke arguably has better athletes than we do at most positions. Facing pressure is more mental than physical. It's mentally fatiguing. It leads to mistakes. Our team has faced it and dealt with it more than anybody, because it's damned effective against our offense and the Big East has teams that play that way.

 

[CTBasketball]

I simply don't think it's conditioning. Duke arguably has better athletes than we do at most positions. Facing pressure is more mental than physical. It's mentally fatiguing. It leads to mistakes. Our team has faced it and dealt with it more than anybody, because it's damned effective against our offense and the Big East has teams that play that way.

Evans and Boozer both called to be taken out at the U16 TO and were gasping for air after chasing Karaban/guards around all our wheel actions and pins.

It’s a big factor in the 2H, and Illinois plays low tempo because they don’t have high level athletes who run like gazelles.

 

[AreBee1969]

This was my first thought when I saw the matchup.

 

[AreBee1969]

Correct. Should have been more specific ..Nate/CK/Pearl/Kenny/Chuck

We have video of everybody's reaction to Mullins' shot but not these knuckleheads. They don't do the post game, so maybe they left after the halftime show.

 

[ecasadoSBU]

This was my first thought when I saw the matchup.

View attachment 119106

I get from the responses to my comments above that all the players from 2024 have move on. But there is no way that the coaching staff and the fan base doesn't have at the very least some trauma from this game. This will in the back of their minds all game. It has to.

I sure as hell wouldn't forget a game like this one. It was brutal for the Illini.


Will it make a difference? Maybe not. But the dreamer in me sure as hope as hell they play a bit tight and worried.

And of-course... that's without considering that we already beat Illinois earlier this year.

TLDR: GO huskies!!!!

 

[Mike Honcho]

When you think about it, it's kind of remarkable (and quite baffling) that we are kindbof flying under the radar in this final four, our third in four years, in a season where we were ranked in the top five for all but the last couple of weeks before the tournament began.

My message to fans of other schools: UNDERESTIMATE US AT YOUR OWN PERIL!

Gotta give you credit. You were beating the drum consistently about not needing a "special draw" in the tournament. We would rise to the occasion. Props.

 

[bendm]

March Madness 2026: Ranking every starter for the Final Four teams from No. 1-20

From Michigan's Yaxel Lendeborg to UConn's Solomon Ball, here's where every player lands

www.cbssports.com

 

[Donyell 360]

73-72 is the new 77-74

You forgot 79-78 (2004 semifinal)

 

[uh-no]

Evans and Boozer both called to be taken out at the U16 TO and were gasping for air after chasing Karaban/guards around all our wheel actions and pins.

It’s a big factor in the 2H, and Illinois plays low tempo because they don’t have high level athletes who run like gazelles.

FWIW, duke also had conditioning/cramping problems earlier in the year. They improved as the year went on, but clearly were not at the condition that an experienced Uconn team is.

 

[husky8273]

You forgot 79-78 (2004 semifinal)

82-73 (2004 final)