Agreed. The winner of this game wins the championship. All other games are meaningless.

No. It’s just another Regional Final game.

Lol

lol nah

@@jimmyjames5175 right!? 😂😂 Is anyone gonna give them a tough game? Their Bench 5 could probably start on any team in the country, scary AF what Hurley has built there

Lol Fr

He knew

Thanks!

Lol, but they lost those games...

@@shawna7813by 5 and by 6. Hardly blow outs. Going to be a great game. Likely a single possession. Give both teams the respect they've earned.

@@shawna7813 they didn't have TSJ in Game one, remember?

​@@user-gc1lt2ie7i lol

@@user-gc1lt2ie7i They gave UConn a tough half, I like their squad and I love Shannon's game. Outside of Purdue, I thought they were the only team that could be a potential threat in my eyes. When UConn woke up and turned up the heat they didn't have a response...

I hope we play you guys. Lol

Nah. Figured UConn would win. So decided I’d make one in case Illinois won and if Iowa State won then I probably would’ve let it be

​@@FeedthePost - smart man. But then again, we already knew that

Illini’s hate for UConn? Nobody sees themselves as second fiddle to anyone

All I can say is…stay tuned

You okay?

He was ready. I think he suspected this matchup would come to the fore!

he seems MUCH better off the bench..

Who starts a game doesn’t matter. Idk why people get so obsessed with that.

I agree. As one person said, it doesn't really matter who starts, but the idea is thatDD is quite possibly IL 2nd most valuable player and UW has his head up his ass a lot of the time. DD been ready to go since he transfered to IL from Baylor. He didn't see the court much at Baylor, though he won the ncaa tournament with them, and now he is still underutilized. The most underrated player I've ever seen. I don't get it. He should play til he's fatigued each and every game. He can probably give 30 min a game. Look at his mpg, I bet it's incredibly low, like under 10. Fd up. I don't get it. If IL loses and DD is underutilized in that game, I'm going to hate Brad Underwood.

Yep. Only need to look at Purdue game to figure that one. Edey didn’t guard Rodgers. Just paroled lane. Expect the same here with Cling

Fly 🛩 right into the DAINJA ZONE 🏀🏀

Cream puffs? Sure. UConn has played 8 games against Sweet 16 teams this year. Illinois 5. Did I mention UConn was 7-1 in those games and Illinois was 1-4?

@@jeffreypalfini6706 5 games were against Marquette, and Creighton. They went 4-1. Then 2-1 against The remainder . And Gonzaga was awful when they played UConn. UConn basically just beat its conference, let’s be real

@@jeffreypalfini6706 and yes their 69 ranked schedule hasn’t changed just because it upset you. UConn plays cream puffs by and large.

They're not as good as Uconn dude. They can be dangerous offensively but they'll be lucky not to get routed. You couldn't even beat Marquette at home, the same Marquette Uconn beat 3 times. Couldn't even beat Purdue at home or away yet NW did, the same NW they just routed. If you're not ready for Purdue, youre definitely not ready for Uconn...

@@shawna7813 Illinois is playing right at the right time, and on both ends of the floor. Iowa State is a tough out for anyone. But both coaches Hurley and Underwood teach the game right. So there’s really no villain in this game. Illinois did win the big ten championship, not Purdue. And Purdue is as good as anyone UConn included

What a game that would be

In no reality UConn allows that many points. UConn 79 Illinois 62

@@The_AOJ LOL @ ILLINOIS SCORING 62 POINTS. MAYBE BY HALF.

👀👀

​@@pdxtim97209Life ain't fair UConn is so good

Very few players set legal screens anymore because the refs don't call the foul and players are abusing the refs' leniency. Most of the off ball fouls called on the defense anymore is contact created by the screener setting an illegal screen. Iowa St was really abusing it against Illinois and it's a big reason Illinois was in foul trouble much of the second half. It's been getting worse and worse each year since at least covid, and it feels like this year has been extra bad with "screeners" occasionally just running into defenders to draw a foul or offensive players pumping and knocking defenders into screens for the foul. It 100% needs to be emphasized by the officials next year

Uconn only allowed over 70 7 times this season and only twice in their last 16 games.

@@dblshotz75the fact Illinois played the number 1 defense that’s quite impressive imagine what there about to do to u conn

@@mr.banger8336 Nah bro that wasn't the best defense . Stop believing spread sheets. You about to see a real good defense and an equally relentless offense. You going to learn.

@mr.banger8336 what were you saying? I couldn't hear you over that 30-0 run. Something about defense? Yeah Uconn just held the best player in the tournament to 8 points and the #2 offense to 52 points. 😆

Comfortably, Illinois looked awful tonight

​​@@ryankadri3130 They ain't stopping Shannon lol... Dropping 40 on them. If it wasn't for the missed free throws it's a route vs iowa state the number 1 D.

​@@ryankadri3130 That's one way to look at it. On the other hand however, Illinois played awful but still beat the number 1 rated defense wire-to-wire without giving up the lead. What's happens if they play well? They have a puncher's chance of beating UCONN. Not likely but very possible.

@letshaveit11 very true, first team with a legit shot to win the game, however, UCONN hasn't come close to putting together a complete game, they have consistently been shooting pretty poorly from outside all conference and ncaa tourney and turned the ball over a lot and shot selection hasn't been great and are beating everyone by 30. If Illinois has a great game and CT doesn't play great, Illinois can beat them, if CT plays to full potential, no one can hang

@Fullcollapse1 I fully recognize Shannon is the best player in the tourney and as a Wisconsin alumni and fan I know the Illinois team well, have bet them every game in tourney and really like them. That being said they were awful last night, I didn't realize they had that kind of performance in them. Stephen Castle is among best 1-1 defenders in the country, true freshman. 6"6, 215, guaranteed lottery pic and sadly 1 and done, he will give Shannon problems, if nothing else, he'll make Shannon work super hard for everything. Bottom line, if Spencer and karaban are hitting from outside, no one in the country can stay within 20, seriously, but that hasn't been the case lately. UCONN is too talented, deep and well coached, I don't think they'll lose but this is the best contender in the field, don't know how Illinois was a 3 seed.