can we play our way back to a #2 seed?

[Rickster]

hard to argue with anything I saw last night against USC...other than maybe 9 turnovers and 19 fouls (although nobody really got into foul trouble)

this team is getting healthy and in sync at the right time...hopefully it's enough to get a W over Mich and get back on a solid 2 seed. Uconn lost again last night, so that helps. Even if Mich loses to Duke, that probably doesn't help because they still have a 2-game lead in the league standings.

I loved seeing Lee get a little time with the regulars but would've loved to see more from both him and Petro. I guess we're going with an 8-man rotation and hopefully they all stay healthy. We got a shot.

Shoutout to BU for working in new defensive sets. I'm really liking that matchup zone to slow down a good dribble penetrator and the half-court trap to get some key stops.

Big Z was 3-5 from trey against Northwestern, but the four games since he's 1-12 ...hi shot looks wonky. Hope he gets that going again.

[ChiefSTL]

Even after our OT losses, most bracketology I saw still had us as a #2 seed. They factor in injuries to some extent, so losing in OT to Q1 teams with 2 starters out didn't hurt us terribly. Some other teams in contention have some big games coming up that could move them up or down so still time for things to change. I would say absolute worse case at this point is a 4 seed, but that would probably mean losing at least 2 of 3 to teams like Oregon, UCLA or Maryland. So I would lean towards a #3 at worst at this point. Our Kenpom and NET rankings are still top 4 I believe.

[Rickster]

yeah, I'm not disparaging our resume at all. I see some commentors downplaying the Illini because of the 5 Ls. None of them are "bad" Ls although I'd like to have the AL game played again.

I think we're easily one of the best 8 teams in the nation, so I would be disappointed in anything less than a #2 seed. If we get beat by Mich, and don't win the BT Tourney, then we'll end up with 7 total Ls and I have a sneaky suspicion they'll find 8 teams with a better record for the 1 and 2 seed lines. Doesn't matter a whit in the bigger scheme of things, and maybe it would even "help" if we get "snubbed" for a 3 or 4.

On a side note, that one-handed put-back slamma jamma by Boswell? ....
first, I didn't know he could sky like that
second, please don't do that again with the hand that still has a cast/support

I was totally afraid he re-injured his hand.

[12xu]

Great game vs USC. So great to see Stojakovic healthy and perform so well. Jake Davis early 3's were key to getting off to the hot start, and the Illini never looked back. He ended up with 4 for 4 on treys. I agree with the match up zone being very effective and I hope Underwood continues to use it often.

If the Illini can win their 4 remaining regular season games, they definitely should get a #2 seed in the Big Dance, regardless of their Big Ten tourney result.

[ChiefSTL]

yeah, I'm not disparaging our resume at all. I see some commentors downplaying the Illini because of the 5 Ls. None of them are "bad" Ls although I'd like to have the AL game played again.

I think we're easily one of the best 8 teams in the nation, so I would be disappointed in anything less than a #2 seed. If we get beat by Mich, and don't win the BT Tourney, then we'll end up with 7 total Ls and I have a sneaky suspicion they'll find 8 teams with a better record for the 1 and 2 seed lines. Doesn't matter a whit in the bigger scheme of things, and maybe it would even "help" if we get "snubbed" for a 3 or 4.

On a side note, that one-handed put-back slamma jamma by Boswell? ....
first, I didn't know he could sky like that
second, please don't do that again with the hand that still has a cast/support

I was totally afraid he re-injured his hand.

That dunk was out of nowhere. It was like he was levitating the way he kept going up. Pretty awesome. Yeah I agree about the hand. The most important thing down the stretch is probably health even moreso than wins/losses right now.