So, Illinois...
- Thread starter RUSCFORMERLYRULOU
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They're really good defensively. Underwood got rid of the all-out press and the result is that they cause fewer turnovers but do everything else way better defensively. Kofi Cockburn is a terror inside, it's going to be tough.
On offense they aren't a good shooting team. Of course anyone can get hot but that's been their M.O. so far this year.
Game will come down to if we can neutralize Cockburn (like we did Watkins in the second half) and make enough shots.
On offense they aren't a good shooting team. Of course anyone can get hot but that's been their M.O. so far this year.
Game will come down to if we can neutralize Cockburn (like we did Watkins in the second half) and make enough shots.
In 52 B1G games thus far, I believe there have been 4 road wins.
And RU has one of them. :WideSmile:
I thought it was only three.
Rutgers at Nebraska
Wisconsin at Ohio State
Michigan State at Northwestern
I would guess same game plan as Penn St., Myles on Kofi Cockburn and Ron Harper steps up on Georgi like he did with Stevens, and 40 minutes of Mathis/Young on Dosunmu or whichever guard gets hot.
This is a tough one - they play the same style as we do. perhaps shoot a little better - and have strong big men.
I am not optimistic here.
I am not optimistic here.
This league is insane, Illinois held Purdue to 37 points.
If you're not prepared and ready to play you get destroyed in this league.
If you're not prepared and ready to play you get destroyed in this league.
I think we match up well with them and even though it's on the road and the team might have a letdown, I'm not about to predict that RU will lose based on the roll that they're on now. I think our defense and depth will result in a tight win.
Offense.
Rutgers FG % 47.2 42nd out of 353
2pt. FG % 54.8 42nd
Illinois FG % 47.0 49th
2pt. FG % 54.3 57th
About the same before Wisconsin tonight.
Illinois doesn't rely on 3s either, same as us, for wins, 81 of 270 30%. Penn St is a better defensive team than Illinois by stats, but expect a close game. 2 of the top defensive stat teams they faced @ Md L 58-59 and (N) Missouri L 56-63. Beat Purdue 63-37 but Purdue is overrated defense stat wise even though they don't give up a lot of points, FG% D is higher than you think probably slower paced offense. Expect a close game.
Rutgers FG % 47.2 42nd out of 353
2pt. FG % 54.8 42nd
Illinois FG % 47.0 49th
2pt. FG % 54.3 57th
About the same before Wisconsin tonight.
Illinois doesn't rely on 3s either, same as us, for wins, 81 of 270 30%. Penn St is a better defensive team than Illinois by stats, but expect a close game. 2 of the top defensive stat teams they faced @ Md L 58-59 and (N) Missouri L 56-63. Beat Purdue 63-37 but Purdue is overrated defense stat wise even though they don't give up a lot of points, FG% D is higher than you think probably slower paced offense. Expect a close game.
I just hope the early parity in the league doesn't hurt it's national perception come selection Sunday.
The good news is that once you get into conference play the national narratives are mostly set.
This is why in football every year if a bottom SEC team upsets a top one, it's "wow the SEC is so strong top to bottom!" but if a Big Ten team does it then it's "that conference is just filled with mediocrity." The narrative of a strong SEC is practically ingrained in the sport.
In basketball it's less set in stone and more year to year. The Big Ten won their conference challenges with the ACC and the Big East so the narrative of a strong Big Ten is already set up. This is similar to last year and it's why Ohio State got in at 8-12 in the conference.
Case in point: Last night, Rutgers beat Penn State and Boston College beat Virginia. Each improved to 3-1 in their league. But since Rutgers had a convincing win over Seton Hall and Penn State had beaten Georgetown, Syracuse, Wake Forest, and Alabama, it means something.
Boston College's best non-conference win is South Florida, and they've lost to Belmont, DePaul, Saint Louis, Richmond, and Northwestern. When Virginia gets beat by a team with THAT resume, it's obviously not because Boston College is good.
They do not shoot better than us, especially from 2 point range. Our team has to continue our good to great mid range game and driving to the hoop and lobs for dunks to Myles. Hit an occasional 3 on an inside out kick out but take only10-15 threes at most per game. Granted 2-10 like last night will usually come back to hurt you but we play defense better than any team in the Big 10 , so combined with our 2 point game and better foul shooting , winning will happen. Last night we shot 55% from 2 point range in the second half to go along with the lock down defense. That will win most games. Plus our foul shooting was a lot better especially Ron .
If you watched their neutral site game against Missouri right before Christmas, you would have thought they are one of the worst shooting teams in the conference. Very inconsistent shooting this year. We have to just play our normal lock down defense.
Kofi Cockburn is a beast. 7 ft 290 lb mountain. And he's only a freshman! Good God I hope this kid is a one and done.
We need to have similar game plan to getting Watkins in foul trouble. Attack the rim. Go hard to the hoop from the paint and get the kid into foul trouble early. Myles and Shaq will have their work cut out for them. For those that are hoops fans, Illinois plays Wiscy tonight at 9pm
We need to have similar game plan to getting Watkins in foul trouble. Attack the rim. Go hard to the hoop from the paint and get the kid into foul trouble early. Myles and Shaq will have their work cut out for them. For those that are hoops fans, Illinois plays Wiscy tonight at 9pm
Watched both their Michigan State loss and their Purdue win. Michigan State double teamed Kofi when he was outside the paint with Bingham and Kithier and when he was in the low post, they jumped the passing lanes when Giorgi was feeding him the ball. Caused a bunch of turnovers and transition points for Michigan State.
Illinois win against Purdue was their best game of the season. Frazier and Griffin were lights out from the perimeter, Ayo was his usual self running up and down the court creating mayhem and Kofi was a beast inside.
This would be a tough game even if played at home. However, Watkins was the warrm-up and good preparation for Kofi and Giorgi and hopefully our guards will play stingy defense on Frazier/Griffin/Ayo.
Illinois win against Purdue was their best game of the season. Frazier and Griffin were lights out from the perimeter, Ayo was his usual self running up and down the court creating mayhem and Kofi was a beast inside.
This would be a tough game even if played at home. However, Watkins was the warrm-up and good preparation for Kofi and Giorgi and hopefully our guards will play stingy defense on Frazier/Griffin/Ayo.
As of 1/8/19 , Sagarin has #34 Rutgers (84.62) the slightest favorite on a neutral floor over #38 Illinois (84.05). A 3 or 4 point loser at Illinois.
Kofi Cockburn will be a big challenge for Myles Johnson. If he does well against him, Myles can stake his claim as one of the top five best big mean in the league.
The way some Illinois fans are starting to talk smack, that's a sign of being scared that you could lose the game. Usually, good teams look forward to challenges without the need to talk sh*t. When you cross that line, it means you have severe doubts about your team.
Just means Ilinois will be -2 to -3 pt favorite, but could change with the Wisc. result.
I think Myles gained confidence last night. It was ugly early. He looked lost covering an experienced B1G big man. I was worried. He looked rushed on the offensive end. Like he was going to get his shot blocked. But love how he rebounded and had a much better 2nd half. I believe he is a top 5 B1G big man. As a sophomore.
Illinois is a nightmare to play; very talented. Dosanmu is one of the most talented guards I've seen in the league. He can blow by you and any minute or pop the jumper. Cockburn is a beast and gets position very easily and can be a total force. If you double him, you have to contend with Bezhanishvili. Frazier, Feliz and Griffin can also heat up from outside and Feliz can slash.
They can score a lot of points and play pressure defense. I would put Montez on Dosanmu and hope we force bad outside shots. Myles has to stay out of foul trouble again and Shaq has to play well. Cockburn will get his points. This is going to be tough for us.
They can score a lot of points and play pressure defense. I would put Montez on Dosanmu and hope we force bad outside shots. Myles has to stay out of foul trouble again and Shaq has to play well. Cockburn will get his points. This is going to be tough for us.
Illinois scares me. The combination of Cockburn and Georgi could be a matchup nightmare for us, as Myles has to guard Cockburn, leaving us with 6-6 Harper or Yeboah to guard Georgi. For this reason, I suspect we might see Shaq or Doucoure play together with Myles for stretches.
Their guards are also very talented. Dosunmu, Frazier, Griffin, and Feliz can all drive, shoot, and dish, and they're all pretty quick.
Our defense needs to travel to Champaign.
Their guards are also very talented. Dosunmu, Frazier, Griffin, and Feliz can all drive, shoot, and dish, and they're all pretty quick.
Our defense needs to travel to Champaign.
Doucore will certainly see some minutes but Myles is not exactly a small guy in the paint... Carter just looks bigger than listed ... Yeboah on Giorgi... Harper will again be needed to be an inside presence and scorer... McConnell, Mulcahy , Mathis and Young need 35-40 points between them.Can we put 75-80 points up? Refs are the real key as we all know.
Yeboah and Harper have proven they're both capable defenders and able to guard bigger players. It's not just about height. Credit to Shaq though. He was solid defensively last night.
I think we've seen enough to know Doucoure isn't getting any meaningful minutes.
For the most part, Illinois' guard haven't had consistent pressure (half-court) on them from opposing teams. Michigan State might have been one of the few. One other thing to consider is the team's chemistry is a lot better this year for Rutgers. Rutgers has been more consistent than Illinois in more phases of the game.
Harper and Yeboah can pull Georgi out of his zone by starting out near the 3 pt line to open up the lane.
Cockburn is a beast, but the key is slow everyone else down. Open the floor up to ball movement and play solid defense.
I remember watching the OT game last year. Giorgi had the best game of his freshman season against us. He torched us for 35 points last year.
Thanks for posting this red sail. Everyone's talking about Cockburn, but I remember us having absolutely no answer for Giorgi last year.
Good assessment. IIRC, RU's OT loss at IL last year was McConnell's coming out party where he dropped 25 points. He will need to show up big on Saturday too especially with Geo out if RU to give RU a chance.
We have to play sick defense like we have been doing and can't get into foul trouble. Easier said than done against a very quick team. They simply play fast basketball and you have to be beyond prepared. Sometimes they play too fast and tire out in the second half and I think that's what happened last year when we almost won in overtime.
