Illinois or Xavier

[ftp000]

Jinx harder y'all! Sheesh

 

[Mash 2.4]

I liked the potential matchup when bracket was announced. But Williams has to be ready to defend and be much better than today. Butler and Oweh should be able to give their PG trouble.

 

[FitchandMurray29]

Yes, but Xavier isn’t exactly the best team to judge Illinois by. Besides Xavier had to play the first four in game.

Agreed. In my opinion it all started with Xavier really struggling with Ivisic on the pick and pop. Amari/Carr have to be much more alert and it starts with the on ball defense. Can’t get abused off the dribble and have to help.

 

[bluefaithful]

I want to play Illinois
Bring it on

 

[Wildskatfan]

If we get Illinois, you can go ahead and write that as a win. We will blow the doors off Illinois. Their conference is very weak this year.

Yeah ok.....I don't know why some of you are acting so tough all of a sudden. Just a couple hours after having a hard time pulling away from Troy.
We would have much rather played Xavier.
Illinois has played some really great games this year, too. It's going to be a war when we play them Sunday, believe that!

 

[Wildskatfan]

I want to play Illinois
Bring it on

Ha....easy to say when they are assuredly who we will have to play.

 

[JimboBBN]

Illinois has lost by 21 to Wisconsin, 43 to Duke (yes 43 points), and Maryland by 23 all in basically the last month. It’s going to be a hard game, but I’m also feeling good because they’re hitting literally everything tonight. Won’t happen two nights in a row.

 

[Tampa_cat54]

Illinois has lost by 21 to Wisconsin, 43 to Duke (yes 43 points), and Maryland by 23 all in basically the last month. It’s going to be a hard game, but I’m also feeling good because they’re hitting literally everything tonight. Won’t happen two nights in a row.

It's a good point.

Illinois probably played like the absolute BEST version of themselves tonight, and only beat a bubble team by 13.

Maybe they can replicate it, maybe they can't. Who knows. I KNOW we can play better than we did tonight.

 

[Fighter of the Nightman]

I live up here in the Chicagoland area. Illinois will not have a massive crowd advantage. They might have a slight crowd advantage, at most.

Milwaukee is still about three and a half hours from the Illinois campus. There are plenty of Kentucky fans in the Chicagoland area. There's just not a lot of fan interest for illinois.

Plus, Milwaukee is only a seven hour drive from Lexington.

I want to start by saying that I obviously have a ton of respect for Kentucky Basketball (objectively the best program of all time) and Big Blue Nation (easily the most passionate and possibly the largest fan base in the country). I also think you very well could beat us easily on Sunday. However, as an Illini fan in Chicago, I hear this sentiment all the time from non-Illini fans here, and it’s absurd.

1) Did you watch any of Illinois/Xavier tonight? It was effectively an Illini home game. There were already more Illini fans than UK fans in the building by the time your game tipped off, and we like to drink so plenty were still at the bars!! That isn’t some knock on BBN … we have a big and passionate fan base, too, and we’re much closer.

2) What exactly do you expect out of Chicago for Illini support? We are never going to have this “home town team” support like Indiana/Purdue do in Indianapolis or Michigan/MSU do in Detroit. Chicago is too big and has too many transplants for that ever to happen. But Illinois has over 225,000 alumni in the Chicagoland area and many more non-alum fans like me. Last year, the Tribune had a poll of college fan loyalties that had Illinois at 25%. Most non-Illini fans in Chicago focus only on the fact that 75% of fans they see out and about aren’t Illini fans, but they fail to realize that our 25% absolutely dwarfs the next most popular team. Additionally, I’ve lived here long enough to know that Illinois is the ONLY college team capable of building a truly large bandwagon here, including Notre Dame.

Here’s to no injuries on Sunday.

 

[Smashcat]

Won’t happen two nights in a row.
It better not.

 

[Fox2monk]

I want to start by saying that I obviously have a ton of respect for Kentucky Basketball (objectively the best program of all time) and Big Blue Nation (easily the most passionate and possibly the largest fan base in the country). I also think you very well could beat us easily on Sunday. However, as an Illini fan in Chicago, I hear this sentiment all the time from non-Illini fans here, and it’s absurd.

1) Did you watch any of Illinois/Xavier tonight? It was effectively an Illini home game. There were already more Illini fans than UK fans in the building by the time your game tipped off, and we like to drink so plenty were still at the bars!! That isn’t some knock on BBN … we have a big and passionate fan base, too, and we’re much closer.

2) What exactly do you expect out of Chicago for Illini support? We are never going to have this “home town team” support like Indiana/Purdue do in Indianapolis or Michigan/MSU do in Detroit. Chicago is too big and has too many transplants for that ever to happen. But Illinois has over 225,000 alumni in the Chicagoland area and many more non-alum fans like me. Last year, the Tribune had a poll of college fan loyalties that had Illinois at 25%. Most non-Illini fans in Chicago focus only on the fact that 75% of fans they see out and about aren’t Illini fans, but they fail to realize that our 25% absolutely dwarfs the next most popular team. Additionally, I’ve lived here long enough to know that Illinois is the ONLY college team capable of building a truly large bandwagon here, including Notre Dame.

Here’s to no injuries on Sunday.

I didn’t want an Illinois in a pseudo home game. I think you guys are terrific when you are on. Hopefully we have enough health to squeak out another win and you all have an off game but I think you are far superior to Xavier.

 

[AJG-15]

Illinois is a very good team when healthy. With location of the game , we are going to be outnumbered big time.

Against Duke they had problems because of aDuke size and plus they were not fully healthy.

I am afraid Illinois might be favorite since we are not a full strength.

 

[MathUK]

Illinois.Because that’s who we got.