Rewatched the Illinois game ....

[Hawk_4shur]

.... and I'm even more impressed.

Illinois controls the boards (by 14!), shoots almost 50% from the field, 78% from the line. They make a ton of really difficult shots, and when they don't make them they get the rebound. Illinois is loaded with talent.

Hawks counter with Perk - amazing game! Make 87% from the line on 30 FT's! Kris is Kris, but below his average for points. Sandfort with some huge buckets and 6 boards! Only 6 turnovers. I don't think any Hawk had a bad game - contributions from many.

Hawks now 5-0 against the teams above them in the standings. Beat Michigan and NW that are just behind them.

This team plays hard. Fran HAS to get a lot of credit for this team's performance. It's not the most talented in the B1G by a long shot.

Go Hawks!

 

[SoonerBeAHawk]

Yep, as Fran said, "That's a good Illinois team."

 

[Mohawkeye]

If we’re honest, that Illinois team is better than us. But sometimes lesser teams just find a way to win. Perkins was our answer. Hope we don’t play them in the Big tournament unless it’s the finals.

 

[TheTruthTheWholeTruth]

It’s nice to have options. On any given night it could be Kris, Sandfort, Perkins, etc leading the way in scoring or hitting the clutch shot. This is a completely different and dangerous team when Perkins and/or Sandfort are hitting shots.

 

[boxahawks]

What I admired about Perkins’ play was that after his first couple of buckets, he didn’t start firing from all over, thinking he was unstoppable. Instead, he recognized what worked and got himself into position to take the same shot over and over.
This will be a game people remember for years and fans will talk about how we won mostly because of Perkins.

 

[RocknRollface]

If we’re honest, that Illinois team is better than us. But sometimes lesser teams just find a way to win. Perkins was our answer. Hope we don’t play them in the Big tournament unless it’s the finals.

They have more individual talent but in college ball experience matters almost as much.

 

[IllQChawk]

I'm still worried that by the end of the regular season, our starting 5, especially Kris and Rebraca will be completely worn out and have nothing left for the post season if Iowa makes it at all. Shades of last year...

 

[goodbyebobby]

They have more individual talent but in college ball experience matters almost as much.

Yes. Guys who have experience playing together get it around to get Sandfort's three.

 

[RocknRollface]

I'm still worried that by the end of the regular season, our starting 5, especially Kris and Rebraca will be completely worn out and have nothing left for the post season if Iowa makes it at all. Shades of last year...

I don't think being tired had anything to do with last year but I agree only having 2 front line players is not ideal for many reasons.

 

[paladinhawk]

This is a completely different and dangerous team when Perkins and/or Sandfort are hitting shots.

Don't forget about Filip. But I agree this teams needs Perkins or Sandfort to be hot in order to reduce the double teams on Kris. improve ball movement and spacing.

 

[GunnerHawk]

It’s nice to have options. On any given night it could be Kris, Sandfort, Perkins, etc leading the way in scoring or hitting the clutch shot. This is a completely different and dangerous team when Perkins and/or Sandfort are hitting shots.

Ulis had three solid games before zillions. Epps was a tough match-up for him. Rebracca had 20 the game before. Gets a double-double most nights. A very gritty team

 

[kceasthawk]

I'm still worried that by the end of the regular season, our starting 5, especially Kris and Rebraca will be completely worn out and have nothing left for the post season if Iowa makes it at all. Shades of last year...

Really? "By the end of the regular season" last year? What happened then in the B1G tourney with 4 games in 4 days? As for the NCAA tourney it wasn't tired either. It was Keegan playing hurt, and us not hitting shots playing with a super ball.....

 

[N8dogg99]

I'm still worried that by the end of the regular season, our starting 5, especially Kris and Rebraca will be completely worn out and have nothing left for the post season if Iowa makes it at all. Shades of last year...

Double your visits to your therapist. This bummed me out just reading it.

 

[Rifler]

I'm still worried that by the end of the regular season, our starting 5, especially Kris and Rebraca will be completely worn out and have nothing left for the post season if Iowa makes it at all. Shades of last year...

Funny, I don't worry about that at all...

 

[Ismellarat]

I'm still worried that by the end of the regular season, our starting 5, especially Kris and Rebraca will be completely worn out and have nothing left for the post season if Iowa makes it at all. Shades of last year...

I hope Josh Dix will earn more minutes, which would help (recognizing that his minutes are limited by his injury history). Our most significant problem is that we have only one functional "Big." Rebraca has made a lot of progress and plays very well, but most of the teams in the conference have a couple of legitimate bigs. I'm enjoying the season and hope that we will land two good bigs next season.

 

[cdier]

What I admired about Perkins’ play was that after his first couple of buckets, he didn’t start firing from all over, thinking he was unstoppable. Instead, he recognized what worked and got himself into position to take the same shot over and over.
This will be a game people remember for years and fans will talk about how we won mostly because of Perkins.

While there is not doubt without Perkins' career day we would have fallen short, but I think diminish the rest team by saying it was most because of Perkins. Those guys played hard for 40 minutes, a lot of them.

 

[Ismellarat]

While there is not doubt without Perkins' career day we would have fallen short, but I think diminish the rest team by saying it was most because of Perkins. Those guys played hard for 40 minutes, a lot of them.

Isn't "playing hard" a prerequisite for every player who gets minutes? It's a team game but it's good to acknowledge exceptional achievetment, and at the same time to acknowledge the contributions of the whole team.

 

[sober_teacher]

Don't forget about Filip. But I agree this teams needs Perkins or Sandfort to be hot in order to reduce the double teams on Kris. improve ball movement and spacing.

This team looks so much better when Perkins, Ulis, Sandfort and Dix attack the basket. When we’ve played poorly or the offense gets stagnant, it seems to be because guys aren’t attacking the basket.

 

[the24fan]

Yep, as Fran said, "That's a good Illinois team."

They have a bad habit of playing down to their competition.
That’s not a good thing .

 

[cdier]

Isn't "playing hard" a prerequisite for every player who gets minutes? It's a team game but it's good to acknowledge exceptional achievetment, and at the same time to acknowledge the contributions of the whole team.

No debate that exceptional achievement deserves recognition, but the point is that it was a great "team" victory and that point can be lost if we only talk about one player's exceptional performance.

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

This was the Perkins that led us to the BTT title last season. This was the Perkins that we were wondering " where is he " earlier in the season. Maybe he was hurt early but this is the Perkins we need down the stretch...

 

[HoustonREDHawk]

Good positive thread with lots of good points. Iowa's lack of depth at 4/5 is our obvious weakness. I wish we didn't need rely so much on one or two players going off on the offensive end, but we have firepower that very few teams can match, when we are playing free and loose. The Hawks have had a lot of big wins, and are an incredibly exciting team to watch.