Ugly game in first half. Illini definitely can pull this out but they can’t make anything from outside.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Sinking a few threes......but so many clangs

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No way this team should be an 11 loss team. Too much talent but they have terrible shot selection. They shoot too many 3's

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Coaching. They can't adapt and throw up the threes.

The last five minutes have featured nice shot selection, though.

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It's fun to beat Michigan in football and basketball in the same season.

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Gonna be a nice win. They heated up a bit from the outside. The rebounding advantage is incredible. Taking care of the basketball a bit better in the second half. They’d be a scary 7or 8 seed.

Edit — Jakucionis needs to stay in school. If he goes to the NBA he will get buried on the bench. He needs more seasoning.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Shoot a million threes and the long rebounds are there to be had.

Played good D today. Big win. Much needed.

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I don’t care how many times I hear how great a freshman KJ is, Riley is the real star-in-the-making on this team. I hope we get one more year of Riley, Ivisic and Morez together. Nice win today.

Big game tonight. I've heard that Johnson is out of the cast but my guess is that we won't see him any earlier than the Big 10 tournament if not the NCAA.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

In my opinion, if they win tonight, they cant really hurt themselves too badly seeding-wise in the Big 10 tourney regardless of what happens. If they lose tonight, I think a good showing in the Big 10 tourney will be important to secure a decent seeding in the NCAA tourney. I really hope they can pound the shit out of Purdue tonight, that would really put them back on the radar for the committee when they build the brackets. If they can end the regular season with 3 consecutive double-digit victories with two of them being against ranked opponents, they would be sitting pretty regardless of the Big 10 tournament.

I hope they dont rush Morez back too quickly. This kid is fucking good, rest him until the NCAA tourney starts if need be, let him get back to 100%.

They have to rein in KJ just a little bit. He has a solid floor game but he has too much of a green light for someone with his stats. I like his overall game but Underwood allows him the freedom to call his own number just a little but too much for my taste. I think he should start Riley so that he can have 3 playmakers on the floor at the sane time.

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Rafferty and Bennetti calling the game. I’m all in. KJ needs to check his turnovers. Would be nice to get 18 from Riley. I’m watching the big man tonight, we need a double/double.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Alright Underwood, don't blow this.

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This comment has held up pretty well.

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Big time win. It was nice to see a comeback instead of fading away as they tend to do.

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Nice way to close the regular season

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I can’t believe they won that game as poorly as they played defense most of the game. I have been critical of KJ recently but that 3-pointer was clutch as hell. Set up by a great steal by Riley. What a wild ride this season has been. Getting humiliated by Duke seems to have waken them up.

They had a couple nice strips of the big man. He was scoring at will near the end of the game.

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Nice win, they really didn’t look all that great most of the game. Riley looked good and White has been a sparkplug. Very worried about the lack of size and missing Johnson. They got to 20 wins which was not a certainty two weeks ago. Would be nice if they can win a couple in the Big 10 tournament but they just need to get to the big dance at full strength.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Their coach will always be at half strength.

Looked at ESPNs Joe Lunardi bracket picks. He usually is pretty close and has the Illini in the west bracket and currently a 6 seed. Big Ten brackets getting closer to being finalized. Right now looking like Illinois will play the 5:30 game on Thursday and take on the winner of Ohio St and Iowa.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

Factoid from today's Trib: Illinois is one of four teams in the country to have at least 20 regular-season wins in each of the last six years.

The other three: Gonzaga, Houston and San Diego State.

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

How did you find that among all the coverage of USC-UCLA basketball and the ND women's team? Stip that shite, Tribune.

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It really has gotten so bad. The only reason I keep it is because it is so cheap. Through the years every time they raised the price I'd call them up and complain. Have gotten them down to $13 per year, and for some reason they still insist on delivering a print copy on Sundays

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

Game supposed to tip at 6:30 now. I've heard that Johnson is supposed to be suiting up but not sure how much playing time he will be looking at after a long layoff. Not a huge expectation for him to produce but will be nice to get another athletic big out there.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

My phone is telling me 5:30 CDT?

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"I honestly don't see a good bet on the board here."

You are right, I was looking at the Big Ten website and it does state all times Eastern. 5:30 it is.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami

For some reason i have a bad feeling about this one. It really doesn't matter much since they are in the NCAA tourney no matter what and eventually they are going to have to beat good teams regardless, but I have kind of a dark feeling that the threes won't be dropping like they had been the last couple games. I hope i am wrong, Id like to see this team get a couple more tough Big 10 matchups in before the tourney starts.

I missed the game last night. Thought I’d catch part of it before a concert in Chicago but was running late. Box score looked solid. Nice to see Johnson in there grabbing some boards but not many minutes. I’ll be tuning in tonight against a tough Maryland squad. Would be nice to keep this recent momentum going. Don’t remember much about the Maryland squad.

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Flew too close to the sun on wings of pastrami