ILLINOIS VS BUCKY

Illini are 14-6, 5-4 in the Big Ten. Bucky is 12-7, 4-5 in the Big Ten. Klesmit is back.

  a nice big sold - out crowd      f ' um Bucky

Klesmit hits the deck, hard on an Illini drive.

Wahl has two fouls, as does Shannon.

Both teams as cold as the weather.

You think maybe one of these games we can get to 10 points before the under 12 timeout?

Can’t they EVER lead once??  Ugh......

Nice to see Bucky driving to the hoop.

First team to 40 wins.

IMO, Gilmore should take some of those shots under the hoop, instead of passing the ball.

20-16 Illini lead at halftime.

Waited to get last bad miss before the half ended

O/U is 130.5. If you bet the under you can go take a nap before you head to the sportsbook.

Gilmore always seems to turn to his left when his back is to  the hoop. On some of those possessions, if he turns right, he has an open lane to the basket. Crowl did the same thing, earlier in the season.

Bucky shooting 6 of 33, from the floor. 18% won't cut it. Hepburn has to get hot, as does Wahl.

An 8 point lead in a game like this is like 20 in the NBA.

Bucky sloppy coming out of the half.

Time to take off the ankle weights.

Illini lead is 12.

Ugly to start.  Looks like fouls are going to be a major factor down the stretch.

Wahl gets his 4th foul with over 15 minutes left in the game.

Crowl with a 3! Illini lead is 1!!! Hepburn drives to the hoop! 15-2 run for Bucky!!!

Snow is stopping and the Badgers start hitting baskets. 

Klesmit making a difference on defense.  Good to see him back.

Come on Bucky..........

Terribly incosistent officiating.

Essegian cold today. No rebounds on his 3s don't help, either.

Essegian steps on the sideline and turns it over. 2nd time today.

Illini running away with it. Lead is 15.

Bucky looks lost out there.

FireGard.com

@mrtundra posted:

Crowl with a 3! Illini lead is 1!!! Hepburn drives to the hoop! 15-2 run for Bucky!!!

    That little rally was sure fun while it lasted.

Gard has weathered some tough stretches in his coaching career, but this one might be shaping up to be his toughest one yet.

He's got a decent recruiting class coming in next year. THis is not Paul Chryst yet,  but Gard will be on the hot seat next year.

Bucky loses 6 of their last 7 games. 61-51,  lIllini win it, today

.

I'm not convinced the next recruiting class is that strong. It's ranked 39th but I look at what other schools offered. Yalden had a lot of bigtime offers but the other two not so much.

Extend Gard another 10 years!  So much winning.  

#Badgers +/- after 20 games

Jordan Davis + 70
Tyler Wahl +69
Chucky Hepburn +62
Max Klesmit +50
Steven Crowl +44

— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) January 28, 2023

I would not have guessed #1 if you had given me 7 guesses

@Tschmack posted:

Extend Gard another 10 years!  So much winning.  

I'm going to call Chris McIntosh and tell him that is what you want him to do.

Bucky's starters are usually pretty good. When they go cold, it means trouble for Bucky. Bucky's bench is not deep. No real threats coming off the bench, unless it is Essegian, and he has been starting, of late. Ilvers, McGee, Hodges, Lindsey and even Gilmore, need to step it up.