Late game Thursday night. Ugh.... was hoping for a slightly earlier tip. Illini will have their hands full and this is the type of team that can ratchet up the defense and turnovers will be a big key to victory. If the Illini can take care of the ball I'd say they have a decent chance.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Iowa St. will be a good test. Was glad to see the Duquesne game such a laugher, but things are going to get tough now. Between I-State and potentially Connecticut, it is really hard to see a Final Four as a possibility but the Illini have played pretty well the last couple weeks, you never know. One thing Illinois has is a LOT of scoring options, they are tough to hold down. They really have to stiffen up the defense though. I don't know much about Iowa State offensively but I have seen Connecticut enough to know that they are more than athletic enough to run with Illinois.

The only negative I saw about Iowa State by the talking heads is that sometimes they do struggle offensively at times so that might be a chance for the Illini to make some runs and stay in the game. I just feel like if they can keep the turnovers under 12 for the game they should have a reasonable chance. Illinois played some very serious "D" the first half of that Duquesne game so it appears they are capable.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Here's my 30 second amateur ISU review.

- There will be a 5 min. stretch where the offense doesn't score. Happens every game. Saturday, it was the beginning.
- Big wildcard is freshman #22, Momcilovic. When he is making shots, he looks like NBA level talent. His fadeaway is unguardable. Just about every good offensive game ISU has had, he's making shots.
- PG Lipsey has worked hard to become a decent shooter. Made 5 threes all season last year (5 for 25), and teams wouldn't even guard him. Has 44 this season, shooting 39%.

-Defensively, they are very aggressive. They trap a lot. Teams that are able to move the ball around out of the traps, can have success hitting 3's. (Why BYU was a bad matchup during the season). The best comment I heard all season by the announcers was one of the ESPN guys saying "Iowa State makes teams hate playing basketball". If game has refs like the Houston game yesterday, where 6 players fouled out, I don't like ISU's chances. It's not that the defense is dirty, but they want to be in the offenses face the entire 40 minutes.
-Turnovers are a big part of how they win games. Illinois protects the ball, they likely win.

why do they have the womens college basketball on at the same time? people felt really gross in the bar when they accidentally had a womens game on. nobody noticed until they did.

_________________
the world will always the world. your entire existence is defined by your response.

Interesting..... good info.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Hang in there Illini fans. Should be a roller coaster game. Illini should get some back cuts from over playing a few lanes and if they can limit the turnovers to 12 or less I like their chances. They will need to ratchet up their own D as well. Difference will be hustle and big offensive rebounds.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

First time I’m seeing UConn this year. Impressive

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

No matter who wins tonight the run probably ends against UConn.

_________________

Yeah, UConn is a handful, though SDS rebounding is pretty sad. They are getting crushed with 2nd chance points

Illini with a good start . Moving the ball really well

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I’m not convinced Iowa state can score enough points to keep up, even if Illinois turns it over 20 times.

Live betting $1,000 now on State. IL has to blow this.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

Too nervous to post

_________________

Bet it at 12 down. Hedged at four down. Locked in $375 profit. Thanks guys.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

Their missed free throws are going to be the difference.

_________________

Illini up by 6 with 4 minutes remaining.

I don't think Iowa St. can score 6 points in four minutes.

_________________

The announcers with a serious fellate of the ginger Goode.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

How does Shannon get every call? Those are not even close to being fouls.

Dainja was a total oaf tonight.

_________________
Wattabout Kodak Black?

_________________
Don't take it personally.

Illinois showed some guts tonight. Free throws obviously a big problem but they overcame it. That was a brawl. Dain stopped Iowa state from the layup line they started the half with and did a good job shutting that shit down.

UCONN is 7.5 favorites over Illinois. O/U is 156.5.

I'm gonna bet the over. I see both teams scoring in the 80s.

Congratulations to Illini fans on the win against Iowa State!

Prepare for your team to be sent home in a body bag after they are annihilated by UConn.

That is all.

_________________

Heck of a game. Dainja filled up the middle.

_________________

Illinois should match up with UConn relatively well. They’ll have to play great but I don’t see them getting run out of the gym. Just glad they are the early game Saturday. I lost a lot of steam during halftime last night and fell asleep early in the 2nd.

_________________
Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

I really didn't like Dainja's game last night. The way that game was being played didn't suit his style. I screamed at the TV and called him a fat Caller Bob when he made that steal and decided he was going to dribble down court himself like he was Allen Iverson.

_________________
Don't take it personally.

It was gritty. Pretty poor shooting by both teams though. Glad I covered my live bet.

_________________
Hawaii (fuck) You

Matchup considerations aside, they drew the best team in the Tournament in UCONN. It's too bad they couldn't be playing Bama or Clemson.

Stylistically the UConn matchup should allow Illinois to do more of what they are good at than Iowa state but the problem as I see it is that UConn can do everything Illinois does, only a little bit better. I don’t think it can be understated how exhausted Illinois has to be after that game, while UConn was able to easily skate past SDS. Regarding Dain - obviously he had a rough game offensively - a couple bad turnovers, some missed shots, bad free throw shooting - but two minutes into the second half Iowa state was just cruising down the lane time and time again and he had to come in. Once he did, just his presence completely changed everything Iowa state was trying to do. I agree it was an ugly effort offensively but he had to be out there and he made a difference on the boards and keeping the lane clear.