Nick

@itsAntWright Okay but now we’re back in the conference…

@srrichey Turns out it’s not an issue if the refs just stop calling them

VCU is going to get into foul trouble rather quickly if they foul at the rate they're at now, which is one foul for every one defensive possession. #Illini #MarchMadness

@LawMurrayTheNU @Will_Gottlieb I haven’t seen his league numbers but Ayo made an absolute killing off the midrange in college

I’m Team Billy on this lol players love to talk about how much they miss taking shots they’re not good at 😭😭😭 Get in the gym and *earn* your midrange 🤣

@DrHoodieMaddog McCasland

My top 10 coaches I would like to replace Brad Underwood at Illinois: 1. Fred Hoiberg 2. T.J. Otzelberger 3. Jay Wright (Make him say no) 4. Jamie Dixon 5. Travis Steele 6. Brian Wardle 7. Chris Beard 8. Bruce Weber 9. Bruce Pearl (Why not) 10. Bobby Hurley

@SpartanHoops_DK Supposedly it’s Jake Davis but no matter how much I like him, it really shouldn’t be your shooter/glue who takes that role.

This Illinois team just doesn’t have enough killer instinct on it. Lot to like on paper but in practicality who is the guy that’s screaming in the huddle to the other guys that we aren’t losing this one. They’ve lost basically every single close game they’ve played in this yr.

@MikeMartinez2 @PodcastIllini They already have one of each actually. The problem is we’ve prioritized offense over everything so there’s not much for the defensive coach to work with.

@PodcastIllini Do you believe Illinois basketball could use, A) a general manager, which seems to be a newer trend in college sports, B) an assistant who is a defensive specialist, C) both or D)neither?

Rest up for that second round exit!!

@WhityRemarks We blew a 15 point lead twice in this one. To the same team that we blew a double digit lead against at home already. This team just has no idea how to close out a game against a decent opponent

I don't care about this dumb tournament and if we just lose a wire to wire gsme that'd be fine But blowing another lead and sucking in another OT is going to have some pretty legit questions anout if these guys are actually capable of achieving something this year

@LaTulip_Mike @JohnGroce TnT

Truly one of the coolest days of my basketball life yesterday. A decade after playing for @JohnGroce , being able to call a game for the team he’s coaching was special. He’s built a monster at Akron. 40 wins in their last 42 MAC games. Full-circle stuff!

Back-to-back bad offensive halves for Illinois, going back to UCLA.

@ChuckNaso In the history of this program under Brad underwood when has it ever worked out well for us talking shit and hurling hate at an opponent?

Pathetic effort. Talking shit and then getting bodied in your own arena. Classic Illini.

@dsmillini @IlliniGirlie @illinihead21 Yea think we allowed the run of 12 in a row against largely meh competition to over inflate our idea of this team. Mostly just sucks that it’s 2026 and not 2016, so there’s no looking ahead to growth going into next year

@pickynee @IlliniGirlie @illinihead21 This team was only ever S16, the expectations from an insane fanbase ruined them. And Brad who talks the same way. Good team, not great. Good coach, not great.

This shit is over. Feels like another disappointing season unless they make a deep run in March

@IlliniGirlie @illinihead21 This one in a vacuum is definitely not a bad loss if it’s not a blowout. But it’s not happening in a vacuum and is part of a larger downward trend. Still think we’re a good team but the final four talk might’ve been a bit premature

@illinihead21 Let’s see how the second half goes. If we lose, it’s not a bad loss. Win the next two, have a decent showing in big ten tourney and I’m hopeful for a 2 seed.

@CollegeHoopsTIk As a fan there are worse things than having a number of sweet 16s and few elite 8s over a ~25 year tenure. My only hope is that at some point the dudes we recruit based on offensive talent happen to be Houston level athletes on defense

My criticism of the Underwoods has remained static. They are going to get their points. Generational offense. They do not adjust to hold leads, which is why they blow so many 10+ leads. I’ve tried walking Illinois fans through this and they interpret as “rage bait”/BU hater

@deion_ali2 @TheHoopHerald And continues to come back to be around the program any chance he gets

@TheHoopHerald Kid went on to become an All American and score the most points ever scored in a season for the program and was a first round draft pick

Coaching is a crazy profession Imagine seeing a boss do this in literally any other line of work 😳

@CollegeHoopsTIk In the year of our lord 164 how have we not devised a way to measure the quality of a win based on the teams’ form at the time of the game?

That is an absolutely brutal end to Texas Tech’s season. Get well soon JT Toppin. On a less important note, this loss is going to compromise the resumes of both Illinois and Purdue

@712winners @RaphealDavis3 Yea I don’t get why Raph keeps harping on Boswell like he’s a non-shooter. Admittedly he’s not been as good here as he was at AZ, but he’s shooting 31% on 4 triples a game this year. It’s not like teams are gonna dork him

@RaphealDavis3 Boswell had been doing better converting his C&S looks prior to the injury. Think you start him with his defense and try to play him off ball rather and reap the benefits of his defense, secondary creation; Stoj is a non-shooter; bring him off the bench

Really curious to how Boswell fits back into the line up. Obviously helps them defensively but you lose a lot of space on the floor offensively, especially in ball screen actions. Jake/Ben provide a lot of space. Andrej & Boswell out there together shrinks the floor for Wagler.

@RaphealDavis3 @Craig_Vonk With the full squad healthy big Z is the first guy whose minutes get cut. Don’t believe he’s one of our 2 best shooters

@Craig_Vonk 2 best perimeter defenders would also take the 2 best shooters off the floor. It’s a give take with Illinois.

Nick Boyd and John Blackwell make up a nasty back court.

@TheFieldOf68 If he already was there for 4 years why doesn’t he have his degree?

Nate Oats says he'll keep Charles Bediako on scholarship if he can't keep playing: "This isn't a random European 23 year old that we're bringing over as a mercenary halfway through the season. Charles is our guy. That's why the whole thing made sense"

@CollegeHoopsTIk Iittle disingenuous to mention this in the same breath as FDU over Purdue. There’s another 16 over 1, multiple 15 over 2, and a slew of other bigger upsets to mention first. Certainly a very disappointing upset, but far from the worst given the actual quality of Loyola

Another insane upset that dropped my jaw, even if not to the extent of Purdue/FDU Who remembers when Cameron Krutwig and the Loyola-Illinois Ramblers dominated Kofi Cockburn, Ayo Dosunmu and the No. 1 Illinois Fighting Illini?