B1G Game 17: Gophers Host Illinois (2-24-22)

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Ignatius L Hoops

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HOW LONG IS THIS RUNWAY?

Jolette Law, who replaced Theresa Grentz in 2007, suffered through five years as Illini head coach compiling a 27-59 Big Ten record before being replaced by Matt Bollant. Bollant stumbled through five years producing a 22-61 conference record before being replaced by current head coach, Nancy Fahey. In Fahey’s first season she was a perfect 0-16. Now completing her fifth season, Fahey’s record is 7-75. It could be worse; but this season’s Covid cancellations are limiting the Illini to 13 B1G games. History and common sense say that even though Fahey’s contract runs through the 2024-25 season, March will be the last month she’s required to spend in Champaigne.


NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND: Illinois Athletics Director Josh Whitman, who hired Fahey, said, last August, that he planned on giving Fahey, “a lot of runway to get this done”. Still, It’s difficult to believe that even a continental length strip of tarmac would be enough to provide lift for this square tired box of rocks program. It seems more likely that Bret Bielema would walk into the Memorial Stadium locker room and find the “Galloping Ghost” suiting up for a game.

It’s not that the Illini aren’t trying:

“I love this team and I love how hard these kids play,” Fahey said. “I come into the postgame locker room after every game, and they have a list of what they want to get better on before I even get into the room. I like that kind of leadership.”

Maybe coaching is just getting in the way.

However, when the Gophers play the Illini, Minnesota must drop any air of superiority. A year ago, Nancy Fahey’s team defeated Minnesota in Champaigne 72-64. The good news is that perhaps the two best players off that Illini team bailed. Janae Terry (11 points, 10 rebound and 9 assists) transferred to Purdue and Kennedi Myles (8 points and 11 rebounds) fled to Marquette. Nevertheless, some of the returning Illini caused Minnesota difficulty. 6’5” senior center, Eva Rubin scored 16 and 5’10” junior guard, Jada Peeples scored 15. Minnesota had four players in double figures: Sara Scalia with 12, Gadiva Hubbard 11, Alexia Smith 11 and Grace Cumming 10. Yes, the games only interesting bit was that Cumming scored in double figures.

Nancy Fahey tried to improve the Illini by adding some transfers: 6’2” sophomore forward Kendall Bostic arrived from Michigan State. Bostic leads the B1G in rebounding with 11.7 per game. And 5’11” guard Sara Anastasieka arrived from everywhere (she played at UTSA, Cal and Duke). The Aussie has started a few games this season; but has had a generally unremarkable season.

Fahey also recruited 2020-21 Miss Minnesota Basketball, Adalia McKenzie . McKenzie has started the last four games and is Illinois’ second leading scorer averaging 8.9 points in conference play. The other freshman guard of note is Jayla Oden who had started five straight games before coming off the bench in yesterday’s loss to Northwestern. Oden is averaging 6 points and 2 rebounds in conference play.

The simple Big Ten stats: Illinois is 12th in offense with 63.2 ppg and the Gophers are 9th with 67.4. Illinois is 14th in defense allowing 79.7 and the Gophers are 12th with 75.4. As with the Rutgers team that visited Williams Arena last week, there’s reason to believe that the Illini roster and coaching staff will have an entirely different look when next season rolls around. The end of the runway is fast approaching.


Illinois Big Ten Record (1-11):

Wins: Wisconsin 68-47

Losses: @ Michigan State 60-75, @ OSU 69-90, @ Penn State 71-90, Purdue 67-89, @ Iowa 56-82, @ Wisconsin 62-70, Indiana 61-93, Nebraska 63-82, Ohio State 67-86, @ Purdue 54-70 and Northwestern 59-82



Aaliyah Nye Last Six Big Ten Games:

TeamPtsRebAsstMinFoul
Wisconsin211252
Indiana931281
Nebraska2332332
Ohio State2501302
Purdue410222
Northwestern1520362


Adalia McKenzie Last Six Big Ten Games:

TeamPtsRebAsstMinFoul
Wisconsin682231
Indiana1440273
Nebraska624263
Ohio State1152282
Purdue1250300
Northwestern622231


Probable Starters With Big Ten Stats:

HGTPOSYRPLAYERMINAVGREB
5’11”GSoAaliyah Nye29.412.03.0
5’10”GFrAdalia McKenzie22.78.94.3
6’2”FSoKendall Bostic29.46.511.7
5’9”GFrJayla Oden19.03.21.7
6’5”CRJrEva Rubin11.23.21.7


Others With Big Ten Stats:

HGTPOSYRPLAYERMINAVGREB
5’7”GJrDe’Myla Brown22.18.62.0
5’10”GJrJada Peeples26.77.01.5
5’11”GGSSara Anastasieska16.45.51.8
6’3”FSrGeovana Lopes13.13.83.3
6’3”FSoErika Porter10.33.52.1
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So that seems to indicate Mershon wont use her covid year.
 





Love to see and hear the power of their experiences and support of loved ones.
 

Does anybody know if the senior presentation is before or after the game?
 







Thank you to the seniors! I really want to SAY a big THANK YOU to Diva who has been here for 6 years.. and has seen A LOT over those 6 years..

one of the funniest senior nights in awhile.. everyone played well.. fun to see Kadi play this well again.. hopefully she can carry this into sunday and next week!

a fun night.. seniors all played well and played with so much effort.
 



gophersports.com

Gophers Send Seniors Out with a 33-Point Win over Illinois - University of Minnesota Athletics

MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota (13-16, 6-11 B1G) sent its seniors out with a huge 33-point win at Williams Arena on Thursday night, dismantling...
gophersports.com gophersports.com

MINNEAPOLIS -- The University of Minnesota (13-16, 6-11 B1G) sent its seniors out with a huge 33-point win at Williams Arena on Thursday night, dismantling Illinois (6-18, 1-12 B1G) with five different players scoring in double figures. Led by sixth-year senior Gadiva Hubbard's 22 points in her final game at the Barn, seniors Deja Winters (12) and Laura Bagwell Katalinich (11) also scored in double figures while Kadi Sissoko added 13 off the bench.

With every senior contributing in their final night at the Barn, Bailey Helgren notched a career-high five assists while starting in her final appearance in Minneapolis. Kayla Mershon also enjoyed a season-high eight rebounds, including four offensive, in the win.
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23 assists, I think this was the best team ball I’ve seen them play all year. Seniors really stepped up. Good to see Sissoko rounding back into form, I hope she sticks with it and with the Gophers. Also good to see Gadiva find her shooting touch, so many games it was MIA. This team played loose confident and looked like they were having fun. Hope we see this team at PSU and at the BIG Tournament.
 


I would agree this was a complete game, it looked like Scalia was trying to get those seniors looks... Hubbard is a set shooter and Illinois left her open on their soft press numerous times for open looks. It was nice to see all 5 seniors have very good nights..
So question for some of the folks who have studied this before - I see our net ranking improved to 92. What are our odds of making the NIT? Is there a magic number that says if your in the top 85 ranking you will at least make the NIT field of 32? This year it is 68 NCAA and 32 NIT, so 100, which dosent take into consideration conference automatic upset bids given.
 

MNGirlsHoops said:
I would agree this was a complete game, it looked like Scalia was trying to get those seniors looks... Hubbard is a set shooter and Illinois left her open on their soft press numerous times for open looks. It was nice to see all 5 seniors have very good nights..
So question for some of the folks who have studied this before - I see our net ranking improved to 92. What are our odds of making the NIT? Is there a magic number that says if your in the top 85 ranking you will at least make the NIT field of 32? This year it is 68 NCAA and 32 NIT, so 100, which dosent take into consideration conference automatic upset bids given.
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For the WNIT Minnesota needs to finish with a .500 record. That appears unlikely.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
For the WNIT Minnesota needs to finish with a .500 record. That appears unlikely.
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I would have loved to see the team play in the NIT for some experience. That loss to Rutgers at home basically sealed our fate of no postseason. And the loss to Michigan State. They needed to bring the energy more consistently, not just on senior night.
 

Ignatius L Hoops said:
For the WNIT Minnesota needs to finish with a .500 record. That appears unlikely.
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.500 record isnt needed for the NIT anymore. Its probably unlikely but 3 more wins could maybe get them in. Theres always some teams that pass on going to it as well so who knows.
 

whalenfan said:
.500 record isnt needed for the NIT anymore. Its probably unlikely but 3 more wins could maybe get them in. Theres always some teams that pass on going to it as well so who knows.
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agreed, the .500 record isn't needed, so in theory 100 teams make post season.
I have to think we are right there, but have to beat Penn St. and a first round win gets us in, in my opinion, but we need to beat Penn St first.
 

MNGirlsHoops said:
agreed, the .500 record isn't needed, so in theory 100 teams make post season.
I have to think we are right there, but have to beat Penn St. and a first round win gets us in, in my opinion, but we need to beat Penn St first.
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I believe teams that finish 1st in their conference regular season but dont win their conference tourney get an auto bid to the nit so there will be some spots filled up that way as well. Last year was obviously different because of covid but looking at some comparible records and net rankings in the wnit. Creighton was 10-12 93 net, florida 12-14 76 net, clemson 12-14 71 net
 

Event Info - WNIT Pre and Post Tournament

EVENT INFO 2024 Dates The field will be announced late Sunday evening, March 17, 2024, after the NCAA Tournament is released. The full bracket will be announced
womensnit.com womensnit.com

Ah, yes. I forgot about the .500 requirement being abandoned.

EVENT INFO
2022 Dates
The 64-team field will be announced late Sunday evening, March 13, 2022, after the NCAA Tournament is released. The first round will tip off Wednesday, March 16.
  • Selection - Sunday, March 13, 2022
  • Round 1 - March 16-18, 2022
  • Round 2 - March 19-22, 2022
  • Round 3 - March 23-26, 2022
  • Quarterfinals - March 26-28, 2022
  • Semifinals - March 30-31, 2022
  • Championship - Saturday, April 2, 2022
The Field
The 64-team field includes 32 teams that receive automatic berths - one berth from each of the nation's conferences - and 32 at-large selections. All teams at the Division I level will be considered for at-large berths, including those who are independent and/or are in the transition process of reaching full NCAA Division I status.

Automatic Berths
A team that is offered an automatic berth by the WNIT shall be the team that is a.) the highest-finishing team in its conference's regular-season standings, and b.) is not selected for the NCAA Tournament. A team that fulfills this quality will earn the WNIT automatic berth, regardless of overall or conference record.

At-large Berths
The remaining team slots in the Postseason WNIT will be filled by the top teams available. Any team from Division I will be considered..
  1. In selecting at-large teams, the WNIT committee will consider factors such as (not in any particular order) the NET, strength of schedule, win-loss record, strength of opponents, strength of opponents’ schedule, record against Top 100 teams, margin of victory, how well a team is currently playing, common opponents, late-season win/loss runs, games against other potential invitees, and key injuries or COVID-related factors.
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fanfromthevalley said:
And, isn't that about the saddest commentary on the "use and power" of social media. Some folks seems to look for the negatives and post away. And, then choose to ignore anything good that happens.
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Sadly it doesn’t seem like many care win or lose….
 

Lots of good info & opinions in this thread.
Birdbrain wants to know why this community does not put clever images in the colored circles.
 

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