Big Ten Basketball

[Magnetic Curses]

I can't believe how much some of you are overrating Randle. What has he done?

 

well, for one, he's probably the big ten's best defensive player.

 

Yes, but that doesn't make him any harder for the hawkeyes to match up defensively. That is the point of this discussion. Iowa can match up with him defensively with either Haluska or probably Brunner for that matter. It's not like he is some offensive juggernaut that is super-difficult to stop on offense.

 

no, but you ask what he's done, and i've said that he's a defensive specialist and probably the best defender in the BT, fair enough?

[bmkhawk]

I can't believe how much some of you are overrating Randle. What has he done?

 

well, for one, he's probably the big ten's best defensive player.

 

Yes, but that doesn't make him any harder for the hawkeyes to match up defensively. That is the point of this discussion. Iowa can match up with him defensively with either Haluska or probably Brunner for that matter. It's not like he is some offensive juggernaut that is super-difficult to stop on offense.

 

no, but you ask what he's done, and i've said that he's a defensive specialist and probably the best defender in the BT, fair enough?

 

I'll grant you that he is one of the top defenders in the big 10, but of course I am going to be a little partial toward Mike Henderson. Regardless, that was hawkeyecub who had asked what Randle had done, not me.

[Magnetic Curses]

Hawk is just looking for you guys to give Haluska some props and all you guys do is try to keep comparing him to Randall.

 

haluska's a more skilled basketball player than randle

 

on the contrary, i'm trying to give haluska his due, but people just aren't reading my posts completely.

 

what i see are people saying that haluska's better in every facet of the game than randle, which is just not true. NOT ONCE HAVE I SAID THAT RANDLE COMPARES WITH HALUSKA OFFENSIVELY, NOT FREAKING ONCE!

 

i'm projecting that randle will shut haluska down or play him to a draw, as he did with tucker, who's bigger, faster, a better athlete, and stronger than haluska.

[Magnetic Curses]

I can't believe how much some of you are overrating Randle. What has he done?

 

well, for one, he's probably the big ten's best defensive player.

 

Yes, but that doesn't make him any harder for the hawkeyes to match up defensively. That is the point of this discussion. Iowa can match up with him defensively with either Haluska or probably Brunner for that matter. It's not like he is some offensive juggernaut that is super-difficult to stop on offense.

 

no, but you ask what he's done, and i've said that he's a defensive specialist and probably the best defender in the BT, fair enough?

 

I'll grant you that he is one of the top defenders in the big 10, but of course I am going to be a little partial toward Mike Henderson. Regardless, that was hawkeyecub who had asked what Randle had done, not me.

 

i know, every hawkeye starter is the best SOMETHING in the BT, despiet the fact that illinois is the 2 time defending outright BT champ.

 

for being the champs, the illini get absolutely no repsect. if the hawkeyes were in the same position, no one would be able to shut their fans up.

[bmkhawk]

I'm so glad that we can have civil basketball discussions without your repeatedly playing this "disrespect" card. It's tiresome. I've been very respectful of the Illinois team...yet, because I don't gravel at their feet the way that you think I should, I am disrespecting them. Deal with it...because I am most certainly being respectful of them. Stop looking for the slightest possibility of "disrespect" in everything a fan of another team has to say. THAT is what can be considered as "paranoia".

 

Big deal if I think that Henderson is the best defender in the big 10. That's what fans do...they are a little partial toward their own players. It's not like it is some sort of outlandish statement or something...he clearly is one of the best in the big 10. Who else have I said on Iowa's team is the best at something in the big 10?

 

Why all the whining?

[Magnetic Curses]

I'm so glad that we can have civil basketball discussions without your repeatedly playing this "disrespect" card. It's tiresome. I've been very respectful of the Illinois team...yet, because I don't gravel at their feet the way that you think I should, I am disrespecting them. Deal with it...because I am most certainly being respectful of them. Stop looking for the slightest possibility of "disrespect" in everything a fan of another team has to say. THAT is what can be considered as "paranoia".

 

Big deal if I think that Henderson is the best defender in the big 10. That's what fans do...they are a little partial toward their own players. It's not like it is some sort of outlandish statement or something...he clearly is one of the best in the big 10. Who else have I said on Iowa's team is the best at something in the big 10?

 

Why all the whining?

 

not asking for any groveling, just respect. when that happens, i'll stop "whining".

[jaydee]

with iowa's tendency to choke as the big ten schedule winds down, i doubt the game @ Illinois will mean anything anyway. but if it does, i cannot see iowa winning. Illinois played horribly @ Iowa and still kept it close msot of the game. If they show up at home they should win easily.

[hawkeyecub]

with iowa's tendency to choke as the big ten schedule winds down, i doubt the game @ Illinois will mean anything anyway. but if it does, i cannot see iowa winning. Illinois played horribly @ Iowa and still kept it close msot of the game. If they show up at home they should win easily.

 

Typical Illinois fan.

[badgercub]

I'll give Illinois there respect, as far as I am concerned they will most likely win the Big 10. They are the best defensive team in the league and with the emergence of Randall et al... I think they are better than Mich. St., Ohio St., Iowa, and Indiana. I am not even going to include my Badgers because I think with the loss of depth on their bench they may have a tough time even making the tourney (plus they have been beaten at home the last two years by the Illini).

[Magnetic Curses]

with iowa's tendency to choke as the big ten schedule winds down, i doubt the game @ Illinois will mean anything anyway. but if it does, i cannot see iowa winning. Illinois played horribly @ Iowa and still kept it close msot of the game. If they show up at home they should win easily.

 

Typical Illinois fan.

 

oh jeez, if iowa had won back-to-back outright titles, you guys would be saying the same thing. plus iowa has always been our chief rival, imo (having grown up on the border), and the blood will always be bad between fans of the two teams.

[hawkeyecub]

with iowa's tendency to choke as the big ten schedule winds down, i doubt the game @ Illinois will mean anything anyway. but if it does, i cannot see iowa winning. Illinois played horribly @ Iowa and still kept it close msot of the game. If they show up at home they should win easily.

 

Typical Illinois fan.

 

oh jeez, if iowa had won back-to-back outright titles, you guys would be saying the same thing. plus iowa has always been our chief rival, imo (having grown up on the border), and the blood will always be bad between fans of the two teams.

 

Well I should have clarified what I meant. I don't blame you guys for expecting to win, I think you'll probably win also.

I was talking about the fact that he said Illinois played horribly at Iowa and still kept it close. Illinois fans refuse to give credit and whenever Iowa wins or keeps it close it's only because "Illinois played a terrible game." Respect goes both ways.

Last year when we took you guys to overtime in Aseembly Hall it was only because you shot horribly and we heard that it would be a blowout in Carver because you would shoot better. Well you guys shot 48% in Carver and it was still a 3-point game with a little over a minute left.

 

It's very possible that our coaching staff has devised solid gameplans and prepared the team well for Illinois. Some of your poor shooting could be due to us having one of the top defenses in the country. We only shot 35% against you guys also and I acknowleged that much of it was due to Illinois playing much better defense this year. Teams tend to miss more open shots when they have to work harder to get them. That's what Illinois and Iowa have done.

In fact, Iowa and Illinois rank 2nd and 3rd in the country in defensive efficiency this year. Pretty impressive.

[illiniguy]

with iowa's tendency to choke as the big ten schedule winds down, i doubt the game @ Illinois will mean anything anyway. but if it does, i cannot see iowa winning. Illinois played horribly @ Iowa and still kept it close msot of the game. If they show up at home they should win easily.

 

Typical Illinois fan.

 

oh jeez, if iowa had won back-to-back outright titles, you guys would be saying the same thing. plus iowa has always been our chief rival, imo (having grown up on the border), and the blood will always be bad between fans of the two teams.

 

Well I should have clarified what I meant. I don't blame you guys for expecting to win, I think you'll probably win also.

I was talking about the fact that he said Illinois played horribly at Iowa and still kept it close. Illinois fans refuse to give credit and whenever Iowa wins or keeps it close it's only because "Illinois played a terrible game." Respect goes both ways.

Last year when we took you guys to overtime in Aseembly Hall it was only because you shot horribly and we heard that it would be a blowout in Carver because you would shoot better. Well you guys shot 48% in Carver and it was still a 3-point game with a little over a minute left.

 

It's very possible that our coaching staff has devised solid gameplans and prepared the team well for Illinois. Some of your poor shooting could be due to us having one of the top defenses in the country. We only shot 35% against you guys also and I acknowleged that much of it was due to Illinois playing much better defense this year. Teams tend to miss more open shots when they have to work harder to get them. That's what Illinois and Iowa have done.

In fact, Iowa and Illinois rank 2nd and 3rd in the country in defensive efficiency this year. Pretty impressive.

It's called matchups. If you want to pretend it is because your team was close to ours last year go ahead and do so. It is just like the fans in Iowa City who told me last summer Iowa was the only team in the nation that could match up with USC in football. Its good for a laugh. Basically I think that you guys are a very good team this year, like us you over value your own players. I just don't get why you guys get all angry when we do with Randle. He is a young player who is getting a lot better, why shouldn't we be excited? I would rather have him than Haluska or our team. We have enough guys who can shoot, we need the defense. Conversley, you guys would rather have Haluska because he can shoot and you guys need that more than another defender. They are both good players.

[hawkeyecub]

How did my last post have anything to do with the Haluska/Randle discussion? It didn't.

 

You are just paranoid with some of this Iowa stuff and just read things that aren't there. If you think that I ever hinted at saying we were as good as you last year, I have no idea what you're reading.

And if anyone told you last summer that Iowa was the only team that could match up with USC, it was some idiot frat boy who had no idea what he was talking about, but was eating up all of the pre-season rankings and hype.

[illiniguy]

How did my last post have anything to do with the Haluska/Randle discussion? It didn't.

 

You are just paranoid with some of this Iowa stuff and just read things that aren't there. If you think that I ever hinted at saying we were as good as you last year, I have no idea what you're reading.

And if anyone told you last summer that Iowa was the only team that could match up with USC, it was some idiot frat boy who had no idea what he was talking about, but was eating up all of the pre-season rankings and hype.

Nah he was an idiot, but not a frat boy. So you are half right. I am not paranoid. I am really just trying to enjoy the ride that Illinois has been on and enjoying Dee Brown play out his career. I am hopeful that Derick Rose decides to come with Eric Gordon so we can keep our momentum going. Even when I try to concede that Haluska is a damn good player I still get busted on.

[rawaction]

To change the tone of the thread, and to get myself pumped for the game today. I will go on record now to show why IU has a legit shot to pull the upset today.

 

1. Any good team has a chance to beat anyone on it's home court. IU has shot 50% from the field and 43% from 3 at home. Even with the lackluster play of late, they have still pulled out games with their shooting. 64% 2nd half vs. NW, 46% in 2nd vs. UofI (after about 30% in the 1st), 65% vs. OSU, 60% vs. UM.

 

2. See last year. These 2 teams played in Hartford last year. And while UConn won, IU led by 13 in the 2nd half before they showed their youth and inexperience, and UConn showed the opposite. UConn is probably a better team than last year, but not by as much as IU is better. IU had more big bodies to throw at UConn last year (White, Ewing, Kline, Roberts), but did very little inside, starting frontcourt combined for 3 points. But the Hoosiers guards gave UConn trouble. Bracey got inside the arc and torched UConn for 28 points, despite a poor shooting game from outside. Vaden, Wilmont and Strickland all were able to get into the lane and hit shots or draw fouls. Vaden who was 2-8 from 3 in that game has been the nation's best 3pt shooter over the last month. It was also the 4th game of his college career. This IU team will start 3 seniors and a 4th year Jr, as opposed to 2 Jrs, 4 freshmen and a soph most of the time last year.

 

3. Marquette formula. Marquette played very similar size to what IU will play all day today. Novak at 6'10" was upfront with mixed-and-matched 6'8" players all game, with 3 guards around them. And while Novak was big with 16 boards, he did most of his offensive damage with 6-3's and 11 FTs. UConn also allowed Marquette's lesser wing players to combine for 31 points, though they had bad shooting nights. IU will have to get Novak's production (41 points, 16 boards) from 2 different players (Killingsworth inside, Vaden from outside), but the combo of Wilmont and Strickland are definitely better than Marquette's guards. IU also has Suhr, Ratliff, and Allen who can come up with big shooting games at any time.

 

4. Mike Davis factor. He always gets his teams up for games like this. Took a mediocre team to the final 2. Took #1 UNC and Duke to the last 2 minutes in consecutive seasons. IF anything Davis' teams have overachieved against great competition.

 

GO Hoosiers. What could have been a toe-to-toe drag out fight with 2 great frontcourts now becomes a David vs. Golaith game.

[SouthSideRyan]

I'm pulling for you if that means anything raw.

[Jon]

What would a Northwestern/Michigan State game be without Ager being near-perfect? 21 of 25 beyond the arc against Northwestern and 9 for 9 in Welsh-Ryan Arena.

 

Oh, and Michigan was destroyed by Iowa earlier.

[UMFan83]

As the resident Michigan fan on this forum, my response to today's game is...... no comment.

 

All I gotta say is Iowa is incredible at home. Iowa outshot Michigan 65% - 40% and was 14-20 on 3's.

 

Wow

[Transmogrified Tiger]

What happened that spurred the double + one technical Jon? No TV here.

 

5 of the 8 players to see time for MSU so far with 2 fouls at the half. Zoiks.

[Jon]

What happened that spurred the double + one technical Jon? No TV here.

 

5 of the 8 players to see time for MSU so far with 2 fouls at the half. Zoiks.

Can't watch it, either. I believe Jenkins was fouled after a rebound, got bumped kinda hard, and the benches cleared. Pushing later on, too, so it should be a heated second half.

[Jon]

Cote with a pair of three-pointers and is 2-2 from the free throw line, I believe. Who knew that he could actually do that in a Northwestern uniform?

[Transmogrified Tiger]

Just saw an update with a clip of the skirmish. Didn't look like something deserving of a double tech to me, and I guess the coach coming on the floor to break it up is an automatic T. MSU up 12 at the 16 min. timeout.

[Jon]

Ager 22-26 against Northwestern. Now he's 10-10 in Evanston.

 

And Ager's first missed three-pointer is an airball.

[stitchface]

did IU ever get close?

[CP_414]

did IU ever get close?

 

IU led by 8 in the first half. Down 5 at halftime. Down by 20 early in the 2nd half, and the closest they got after that was 7. The players battled. Calloway was excellent. Davis however got outcoached out of halftime as he has in nearly every game all season long.