Hail to the Orange: An SB Nation Community

Navigation: Jump to content areas:


Pro Quality. Fan Perspective.
Login-facebook
New Blog: Voodoo Five for South Florida Bulls Fans!

Let the Internet Overreactions Begin, Illini Beaten By Preseason Favorite Purdue 84-78

MINE!. (AP Photo/Robin Scholz)

More photos » Robin Scholz - AP

MINE!. (AP Photo/Robin Scholz)

You know the deal, its the immediate aftermath of an important game against a conference opponent on national television. It was a close game and that just means the opinions about its ramifications are going to be blown well out of proportion.

  • To say the game came down to who could make free throws is both true and misleading. The Illini shot 17-29 and Purdue 27-34. People are going to lay this at the feet of Demetri McCamey for missing 6 of the 19 he attempted. To blame Demetri when he had 28 pts, 9 and 2 steals. Is pretty off the deep end if you ask me. 
  • The real problem in this game was how little support there was for Demetri. Mike Davis had the second best point total with 17 points and 15 rebounds, after that its DJ with 12, who had 6 of those in the final minute. For the most part these were the only Illini who were a factor in scoring.
  • Speaking of Mike Davis he seemed to have come back from his slump with the aforementioned 17 and 15. If the Illini want to be able to win these Big Ten games they are going to have to have both of their big men playing a lot of minutes and scoring a lot of points because as we have seen there is little viable depth on this team at forward and center. Richard Semrau has vanished, Dominique Keller and Bill Cole are only playing at guard right now.Stan Simpson is not threatening to get any minutes. The best scoring option off the bench as a true forward is Tyler Griffey, and Bruce has only apparently discovered that lately.
  • Speaking of offense, the second half of tonight's game demonstrated an entirely new approach to the offense for the Illini. With Bill Cole and Jeff Jordan on the floor the Boilermakers simply collapsed on the perimeter on Demetri allowing opening shots to players that are not real scoring threats. As a result the Illini started driving to the basket as often as they could. Occasionally drawing the foul and going to the line, but for every one but Demetri it seemed to end in a block or bad shot.
  • Speaking of the guards, the Boilermakers came back against the Illini with their best defensive guards on the floor, and the Illini could not get early points. When the defensive players cannot defend, what value is there to have them on the court?
  • It is very soon going to start to be about the math. But not quite yet. There are still a lot of wins left out there for the Illini to grab before the Big Ten tournament.  The Illini are going to eventually have to get a win against the top half of this league though.

0 recs  |  Comment 5 comments |

Story-email Email Printer Print

Comments

Display:

FIRE WEBER!!!!!

Uhhhh, no, I’m wrong.

In a couple years people will forget how young this team was. With that said, we’re making the tournament. And you can only get that prediction . . . right fucking here.

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." -- Don Marquis
The Blue Note Zone - BY Blues fans, FOR Blues fans!

by Donut King on Jan 19, 2010 11:34 PM CST reply actions   0 recs

maybe the NIT tournament

we have almost zero chance of beating purdue, ohio state, wisconsin, mich state, hell even michigan. gonna need a couple miracle wins to make it to the dance this year.

by Jack M on Jan 20, 2010 8:00 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

Pessimist.

"Procrastination is the art of keeping up with yesterday." -- Don Marquis
The Blue Note Zone - BY Blues fans, FOR Blues fans!

by Donut King on Jan 20, 2010 11:07 AM CST up reply actions   0 recs

I think the real problem for the Illini in this game

was the defense in the second half. At times the Purdue guards were able to drive to the basket unhindered and the only way the Illini could stop them was a foul. Of course, having Tisdale out hurts their interior D, but they should not have been able to get to the basket that easily.

Todd Kalas wants to murder that furry green shit
by Albertrayon on Jul 23, 2009 1:17 PM PDT reply actions 0 recs

by Cruiser on Jan 20, 2010 11:55 AM CST reply actions   0 recs

Comments For This Post Are Closed


User Tools

I am the Lando Calrissian of Fighting Illini Sports Blogging
Start posting about the Fighting Illini »

Join SB Nation and dive into communities focused on all your favorite teams.

Connect_with_facebook

FanPosts

Community blog posts and discussion.

Recent FanPosts

Small
Don't Worry About the Seawolves
Dee_brown_small
I want this so bad
Monsters_inc_pic_02_small
Illini at Michigan Openthread!!!
Small
Hello
Athf-carl_small
ESPN College Gameday in Champaign Feb. 6
Monk_in_a_wagon_small
What to Know About the U:
Larry_bird_small
Illini beat Northwestern, regain fans... for now...
Small
Ron Zook, The Man!

+ New FanPost All FanPosts >

SBNation.com Recent Stories

South Florida guard Dominique Jones reacts after an NCAA basketball game with Georgetown in Washington Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2010. South Florida defeated No. 7 Georgetown 72-64. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

South Florida's Dominique Jones Likely To Declare For NBA Draft

Oregon's LeKendric Longmire, left and California's Omondi Amoke go after a rebound during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at the Pac-10 Conference tournament, Thursday, March 11, 2010, in Los Angeles. California won 90-74. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill) link

What Does Omondi Amoke's Suspension Mean For Cal?

via www2.tbo.com +8 updates

Full 2010 NCAA Tournament Predictions, From The SB Nation Editors ('Cause We Know Stuff!)

More from SBNation.com >


Managers

Metoo_small Joe Kutsunis

Official Partner of CBS Sports