POSTGAME: Shannon breaks Big Ten Tournament scoring record in win over Huskers

[Music] sh good evening welcome to the Anana inquire podcast where Derek Piper Joey Wagner and I are staying for another day in Minneapolis as Illinois overcomes a 15 Point second half deficit second straight come from behind win uh as they beat Nebraska 9887 to advance the Big 10 tournament championship for a second time in four years just an epic performance by teren Shannon Jr 40 points just the seventh of line to score 40 points set a big 10 tournament record beating Michael juice Williams uh or juice Thompson sorry juice Thompson from Northwestern had 35 I forgot he had had that performance Derek but uh I don't know the second half team looks like one of the best teams in the country the first half team looks like one that could bow out in the first round of the NCAA tournament but here we go Illinois a fourth quad one victory in the last two weeks Derek potentially showed up a number three seed uh tonight but uh one of the best second halfes I've ever seen a team play and we've seen some comebacks from Illinois here in recent years but 58 to 36 advantage in the second half I we're ready to go home we're going to drive to Wisconsin and get home for selection Sunday Oho had in that second half yeah I was talking to Joey Wagner about the Paul bun and all you can eat breakfast that apparently is there in Wisconsin Dells and thought that that was our destiny um on a Sunday morning which wouldn't have been too bummed out about that but obviously the contrast to being able to stay another night in Minneapolis of course this is selfishly speaking but uh to be out on this court right before the selection show and it's a great opportunity for Illinois and you don't take that for granted like getting back to the Big 10 tournament championship game this will be Illinois's eighth trip there during this tournament that's second most now sole possession second most of any other program in the Big 10 only trailing Ohio State of course uh this will be the fourth time that they've met Wisconsin there in that final game so give me Terence Shannon Jr against AJ store I cannot watch I cannot wait to watch that show that's gonna play out but speaking of shows yeah I mean for a 40 Burger that's that's special stuff that's one of the very very best players in all college basketball H there's no doubt that we've had conversations about allamerican list and whatnot he's in terms of ability in terms of statistics he didn't take out the the two three weeks he missed he's he's a first team All-American like the only thing that separates that is is the offc cour stuff and how people want to vote which you know everybody's entitled to their own opinion or or how they want to allocate that but he is one of the five best players in all college basketball gives Illinois a very high ceiling and allows them to withstand stretches where other guys don't really have a going we saw that uh for Illinois in both first halfs the last two games Ohio State and this one so uh he kept Illinois in it that allowed a guy like Damas to finally come on and then goody provide a spark and then things got rolling when illo actually decided they want to play defense in the second half so it is kind of that interesting how do you which which side of it do you give more weight to you do you give the the second half where Shannon plays like that and they don't actually defend and like that team can go on a really deep run or the first 22 minutes of that game where they could lose in the first round like that that that was oddly lifeless and not playing hard and tough and some guys questioning you know see confidence and hesitant hesitation so um it's hard to kind of balance both those things but if that second half team shows up that can be just about anybody yeah here's here's how I look at it Derek um this is an alii team that that we know can go far and the fact though that you had to like the first two games here be woken up by a second half early timeout by Brad Underwood with two different approaches I always find that interesting to see how coaches approaches yesterday Mount Underwood erupted right today he just didn't say anything the players stepped up and said things and that's great that they they got that leadership and they locked in after allowing 51 first half points they locked in defensively Nebraska started regressing to the meme with some of their shooting as well but Illinois just locked in defensively you could just see there was more bite there was more effort you shouldn't have to coach this team to to give more effort and energy like I know Nebraska playing for their first Big 10 Banner might mean a little bit more for them Ohio State playing for a CCA tournament life but you're competitors man like and Illinois just hasn't come out with the right mindset except Ty Rogers in that starting lineup and your best player like has been no question Teran Shannon has come out with the right mindset and well I don't know if he's the most vocal guy um him setting that tone of I'm going to do everything we can not to lose today you other guys got to come with me he kept them in the game in that first half what he that 18 points in in the first half 18 the first 30 something for Illinois uh he was the reason they were in that game and they just took over at points in that game 14 of 18 points in the first half just went on a run in that second half uh and it's just truly special watching what he does I agree with you it's it's a weird thing and and I'm sure some national writers will write about this and it's fair to me that this is one of the faces of college basketball but we can't talk to him because his lawyers basically are telling him that Illinois is not making him available even with an open locker room in the Big 10 tournament because he's got this Cloud hanging over him of this legal case but the fact that he's able to handle that Derek after struggles early on whether it was Rhythm or dealing with all that attention um the way he's playing throughout all that like I'm not saying you have to like like him or commend him for it but like it's pretty amazing he's had eight of 11 games here scored 25 plus points no one is playing better than him over the last month of the Season there Illinois got that guy right now and he did it both ways tonight not only with this scoring but casay tominaga who was a flamethrower last night he had 18 points but he took 18 shots to get there two of nine from three never looked comfortable and you made him shoot a lot of twos rather than threes so uh that was one of the most epic performances I've ever seen from a single player 100% agree I know from the media side it is weird and I I get the maybe those on the the broadcast might talk about it or obviously reporters who have stories to write after this would love to hear from the the guy that just put the most points on on the board in a big 10 Tournament game ever but uh I think for the fans and and probably on the core it doesn't matter it really doesn't for Illinois fans I I think for fans of other teams well yeah I think the the fact that he's available matters to other teams and they'll have opinions about that but I think as far as him being available or not to talk to us I don't think anybody cares as far as fans go would it be would they enjoy you know sound bites from him and and and understanding his process or what he's gone through mentally yes but I I think that as they consume this season it's about what he does on the court and then obviously same thing with the endgame stuff with um you know where 's going to go so uh I think that that is really something that we focus in on on the media side but there's no doubt that even people maybe to to give it at a different angle I think as people are watching it you do understand the weirdness and awkwardness of of just the situation you understand that it's something that was going to be looming over him for the rest of the season I do give him credit uh for having just the the Poise and just to to block it out enough on the outside obviously you got to have talent to be able to do that regardless of the emotional side but he's just an overwhelming Talent overwhelming athlete and um he yeah he he should be in the NBA right now like that that's that's what he is like he's just uh he's an NBA player playing college basketball and he's absolutely dominating and he's he's willing this team to Sunday uh of the Big 10 tournament Derrik he drew 10 fouls tonight like it's got to be exhausting not only for him but the other team and Marcus brought that up like how drawing fouls hurts the other team and getting the free throw and getting those easy buckets it's just what Illinois did not have when he wasn't on the court they's become you know obviously his ridiculous in transition five of nine from three um as you said AJ store and Teran Shannon like store feels like a Shannon Junior like he's three years younger than him from Illinois um I can't wait for that matchup but I think it's a more of a problem for for Wisconsin and than Illinois because this is uh as we've said this is this is a guy that should have his jersey based on how he plays on the court he he should have his jersey in the rafter because this season is up there with one of the alltime grades it really is yeah I know we've written about this here recently but it's highest scoring average for in Elana in the last 50 Seasons you have to go back to uh Nick Weatherspoon uh so it's it's been something that is really really special uh as far as the production for him to match up with store to stores had a roll and like you said he's got some similarities to him really good athlete a guy that can be explosive Above the Rim he shoot the three decently well here of late um is kind of just forecasting who AJ store could become here going forward I talked about this recently have to remind myself he's only a sophomore so like you try to think in your mind you know what did Terrence look like as a sophomore what did I would assume who look like as a sophomore so the the progressions are obviously still possible for him to take a few more steps forward because I mean this is a fifth year Terence Shannon Jr not to take anything away from him but I mean that's just something to to think about but I'm sure Wisconsin while they are going to anytime a opponent scores 40 you're going to be thinking about him but I don't think forgotten what Marcus deas did to him last time either so uh a guy that didn't get going really until later in the first half into the second half I think the stat line as it balanced out I think was like 14 points eight rebounds seven assists or something like that um he he was productive obviously still not his usual self and I think aggressiveness needs to be more consistent turnovers need to be less uh got burned a few times defensively too but uh he'll be important too as they they push forward in tomorrow yeah fly Al fly best game for an Ali since Kofi had a 38 pointer but it wasn't in was against that Wisconsin or Minnesota one of those teams I mean Iowa's triple doubles were massive um he had some singular performance but this one's up there uh I can't think of it off the top of my head there but this one is is certainly certainly up there um you know one of seven players get 40 points and just in the moment in in the meaning of this team I think it was absolutely huge let's shout out a couple more ali um Marcus damass 16 points as Derrik said eight assists seven rebounds they' have those three turnovers started the game poorly again but found a way uh to be effective offensively later on in that game and just gave great effort and creative for other people Quincy Gary a bad first half but uh pretty dang good in the second half with 11 points finally got two boards in the second half took him a while to get there dere but Ty Rogers deserves a shout out eight points 13 rebounds for Ty Rogers in this one including seven offensive rebounds Illinois had 17 Second Chance points and along those lines Luke goody had four offensive rebounds so those guys combined for 11 of the 17 for the Eli just huge in this one 12 points hit a couple threes including the go-ahead three and then man Illinois just dominated after that so let let's talk about dererk what changed in this game uh obviously there was a little bit more effort and energy but what did they do to defensively to go from allowing 57% for Nebraska in the first half to 36% in the second half that actually showed some urgency like they wanted to win the game defensively I think that's kind of where it starts I thought that some of their contests early on weren't weren't that like I thought that rink Mass got some some shots that you Coleman maybe had a hand down or wasn't close enough out on him and do credit him that being masked uh for coming out and just having that aggressiveness making those those buckets but Nebraska was doing whatever they wanted in the first half for them to they went nuclear on Indiana in the first half yesterday 12 threes and somehow they still scored more points in this first half than they did yesterday that says something about Illinois defensively so I thought there were just off the dribble penetration Illinois was giv up that as well and U I think we talked about it at halftime like Tom managa wasn't really killing you in that first 20 minutes it was a lot of the other guys too so uh I think looking at it they did switch there in the second half they were trying to take away some driving angles and Nebraska does a good job of running off screens and trying to get pin downs and Ang just angles to go to the to open up a three or or to get into the lane and by switching which of course Illinois has had some communication breakdowns here in recent weeks when they have switched that's why Brad's wanted to go away from it um they executed that pretty well I I think it was just they it was kind of like Brad kind of said right 20 minutes ago when we talked to him is we either Gonna Be by 20 points or we're going to decide to play and make this game fortunately for Illinois and the fans that they they decided to bring it and there was a noticeable difference when they just had that extra extra juice to him extra grit to him and um combined that I think with the switching which was effective it got the results that were desirable they kept the turnovers to mostly a minimum nine there was a bad one with Justin Harman they kind of let Nebraska get a little bit of Life there late but uh boy Nebraska two of 11 from three in that second half while Illinois was six of 11 from three they they just went nuclear uh in that second half any other moments from this game Derek that that you really want to single out before we kind of start to look ahead to a huge Championship Sunday for Illinois Luke goody I think that there was a run number one late in the first half where it looked like Nebraska was just going to completely blow the game open then good had a couple of Threes just to to still keep you within nine or something like that it was it was a situation where you couldn't get stops and Illinois didn't really have a whole lot else working and I think also can I mention something sorry to interrupt you dere but just to add to this Brad finally said like Luke has been dealing with tendonitis in his knee so he has not been fully healthy and I think we've kind of been able to see that he has not shot that well here recently uh so for him to come up and hit those shots when you're dealing with that stuff is is really important he's a mostly healthy team right now I think Shannon's dealing with something with his hand left hand shooting hand which is pretty amazing given how he's playing but besides those little bruises but you're still dealing with that stuff this time of year and he's able to fight through it so go ahead yeah and you gotta get it out I know that he's wanted to impact more and play more minutes and that is kind of just the dynamic though of this bench is that a game like yesterday it was danne's time and some other guys maybe didn't get as many minutes as they would have liked today uh Dane's not a good matchup for Nebraska because they double the post every time and then rank Mass can stretch you out and shoot it so Luke today though needing some offensive spark and then while it's easy and obvious that you look at four main threes one that was a bank in that was it was fortunate but you'll take him any way you can get it it tied his career high four three-pointers made but I I thought also just his his offensive rebounds his hustle to loose balls uh just he he was active and extending possessions or just making some of those plays that they don't only needed they they lack that that extra ums that extra feeling that they you know had a lot on the line in this game and and they need that to be more from the outset if you know when they go into the game against Wisconsin or as they go into next week and it as they hope Beyond in the in tournament there's got to be some more of that from the jump I've always thought Luke was an effort player and a guy that uh pretty much always lays it out on the line and he did that today in a in a big way he's a leader too he's a vocal leader it's it's hard to be the the top guy on a team when you're not the top player on the team right like those are usually the leaders and Marcus is isn't that kind of guy Terren can be it at times Coleman with his emotions up and down he had an up and down game but made an impact I thought especially defensively in that second half but uh Luke did provide that spark just like Dane danger yesterday and you mentioned it wasn't danne's game today uh because of the matchup against rink Mast and I thought rink took advantage of that when D danne did come into the game is spreading them out and that's what's nice about Illinois though Derek you can match up multiple ways if you gotta go big you got danne who can be that guy if you gotta go small guy guy like Luke goody can really help you and to get those kind of performances Off the Bench and a supporting roles is is really important and Justin Harmon is struggled man last four games he has two points uh he's not taking care of the ball he's he's not scoring at The Rim he's defensively hasn't been as great um they're gonna need him in one of these games uh in the postseason so maybe it's tomorrow maybe it's the second round game whatever it is but uh they're going to need those guys so to get that bench to step up is really important it was a second straight game Derek where Brad was kind of searching put Nico mored in there that's not going well defensively uh trying to get yeah put Dre Gibbs aorn in there again for a second straight game he was trying to find uh guys and with goody ended up being that guy right yeah I think that it is good when you have options that you can kind of hold some people accountable by putting them on the bench uh one thing I do like About Dre we've talked about it always plays hard and he only needed just some some play hard to him just some some extra just laid out laid out there um let's not play lack of days looked like they're sleepwalking for a lot of the the first 22 minutes uh especially defensively so I understand some of that Nico he's still just a red shirt freshman but you know defensively it makes me question I mean Sam hyberg took it right at him and that that wasn't one that I I necessarily loved I think Brad was trying to to search and also maybe buy a little bit of a 30 second to a minute going into a media timeout but you hope you're not in the same situation tomorrow against the Wisconsin team is playing with a lot of confidence has finally clicked back into place after a month or so where they were just off the rails but uh we know what this the high points look like for this team uh in terms of when they got to go offensively when they are actually getting some stops and now it's just seeing if they can do it consistent enough or over the course of a full 40 minutes to where you're like okay they're they're for sure playing their best basketball at the right time of year they got one more opportunity to really just show that going into the tournament and then uh obviously it's it's all on the line from that point forward all right let's preview Big 10 championship game in the tournament here we will preview did Illinois lock up a number three seed we'll talk about that we'll get to your questions as well if you want to send in Super Chat appreciate all you guys live on the YouTube channel almost 500 of you hit that like button subscribe to us hit that notifications Bell as well while you're here first first let's hear from one of our great sponsors this episode of the Alana inquire podcast is brought to you by better help what's the first thing you do if you had an extra hour in your day man that sounds like a gift doesn't uh I go for a walk maybe maybe read like an actual book not tweets and sports articles that's stuff I maybe I would do a lot of us spend our lives wishing we had more time the question is time for what if time was unlimited how would you use it the best way to squeeze that special thing in your schedule is know what's important to you and to make it a priority therapy can help you find what matters to you so you can do more of it if you're thinking of starting therapy give better help a try it's entirely online designed to be convenient flexible and suited to your schedule just fill out a brief questionnaire to get match with a licensed therapist and switch therapists at any time for no additional charge learn to make time for what makes you happy with betterhelp visit betterhelp.com aliit toay to get 10% off your first month that's betterhelp hp.com all right Dereck let's look ahead to a big 10 tournament championship game the last two years we've been one and done uh in our stays at the Big 10 tournament but uh two a couple years ago obviously we covered that special special run by I dumu Andre carbello Damonte Williams were all fantastic Georgie had moment felt like everybody had moments during that run uh and this these are fun weekends man for the fans I love the Big 10 tournament and Illinois playing into Sunday as you said I think for for the eighth time uh in oi history so what do you think of this matchup Illinois against Wisconsin is Illinois won the only matchup uh between these two this season admittedly I was holding out hope for round three of Illinois Purdue but uh I think what a phenomenal game there I mean really both of them uh both of them were really really good games I know that very different in terms of Purdue and Wisconsin was just locked head-to-head really throughout and just punch for punch and this one was different of of just some crazy runs and one team not having it then all of a sudden dominating but uh credit to Wisconsin a team that at one point you looked at probably late January on the like two seed line as far as Bracketology and how they were shaping up and I know that as Purdue took an early loss or two in the Big 10 schedule like oh this gonna be another year that Wisconsin for whatever reason surprisingly wins the Big 10 but um as they've gotten back to kind of who they were earlier playing up to their their standards it's it's AJ store going uh it's Chucky heper who had a heck of a game today we know that really has a two-way impact he's an all defensive team type of guy for a reason the way he hounded Braden Smith there and overtime to get that get that offensive foul and then allow them to open it up for kman to make that big basket so uh they have a number of options offensively Tyler walls a guy that hurt Illinois and Madison in terms of a matchup you're going to need Quincy Gary a to to play well and be ready for that and um I think it's it's going to be a battle but they don't necessarily have a a great answer for for Shannon although stores a a good athlete and and can do his thing that's just going to be a a spotlight one-on-one battle all day long and uh we'll see if Wisconsin tries to do anything differently with Marcus damask and and what the Booty ball matchup is because I think this is going to be the best chance for Marcus it's obvious to say but Ohio state is good positional side across the board Nebraska traps post UPS I think that's where you didn't really play into it a lot with Marcus and maybe he found something in terms of some momentum back and he could do it again to his home state school and and maybe be up on a ladder afterwards yeah I think uh you know Tyler wall is not playing very well here uh but Stephen Crow is uh but I think Coleman matches up pretty well with him Stephen can take him one-on-one at times but I do think that's a that's a good even match up for the most part for Illinois uh and then you know Chucky's playing really well here but he's going to deal with size tomorrow you know with Terren with Marcus with Tai like he's going to deal with a lot more size than he has the last couple games so I do like this match up I think Illinois is a more talented team but Wisconsin's playing their best ball man uh I know they played well in November December but after a terrible February they're playing really well uh this weekend so should be should be a fun match up but I just do like you know Marcus is going to be a handful for them man we saw it up at Wisconsin we know he's going to be motivated again against his home State team but uh I think for this Illinois team you know the first half of the last two games made me question a little bit of how much does this matter to them but the second half showed me there's there is a fire there and I think now that they can taste a banner a title something tangible no matter what happens the next couple weeks like the goal is to go on a an NCA tournament run but I still think these matter man like Flags fly forever banners hang forever in the State Farm Center and I think Brad really wants this team to have one because he loves this team like he he loves what this team is made of I think he's proud of the team he's put together and how they all fit uh so I think it'd be great man if if this team could do it and just another three titles in four years for Brad Underwood this Illinois program I think it just further establish what they have built here and what they are doing here not only for themselves but for the rest of the outside world whether it's the fan base Big 10 fans or or everybody for sure yeah it's something to be remembered by uh in terms of the banner and trophy that's going to go into the trophy case if you are able to secure that and um then you know it's just a momentum part of it too just the fact that you win those three games in three days and it only close the regular season fairly strong too just to to have that riding into um in tournament play I know that it will terrify people because they're gonna be like oh no we know that the old curse is winning the Big 10 CH uh tournament because the last three have bowed out in the in the first week and not that we aren't going to have enough of that angst there anyway just because Illinois fans haven't experienced one of those that being a sweet 16 in almost 20 years so uh Why Not Another Log of of angster or whatever you want to call it on the fire but but Derek you wrote about it like the real history the long-term history is teams that make a run in the Big 10 tournament and win it they usually make runs in the NCAA tournament they usually at least gets to the Sweet 16 I think nine of the last 13 Big 10 tournament title winners have at least got to the second weekend there have been a handful that have gone on to the final four and and even played the national championship game Michigan did that Wisconsin did that um so yeah I think that the history still says if if you zoom out beyond the last three years that most at least will go to that that sweet 16 which obviously all my fans will be able to finally breathe the side relief if they if they get there get there you'll be wanting more and this team's CA capable of of more than that but it's a good Benchmark it's a good sweet 16er bust expectation which I think that that's very very fair and even if they win tomorrow and and cut down the Nets and and Hoist the trophy I don't think that takes away it definitely doesn't take away the The Thirst or the importance of of getting to that second weekend but it would be another another Milestone another part of resume that Brad's put together and then just again like you said something to remember with this team and you know along with the fact that you know teren is having one of the best individual seasons in own history and that Brad did a really really good job of piecing this resume together and whatnot so um I think a lot of fans have have loved the ride this year they should and uh tomorrow's if they are able to win would just be another another thing to remember yeah so let's look at this did Illinois get the number three seed did they take care of business when we're thinking longer picture here Derek uh right now our guy Brad Evans at the gaming juice has Illinois as the third number three seed he kept them there he said if they beat Nebraska they would they would sew it up and he says that now they sew it up a number three seed but it's not just our guy Brad because we know he is an Illinois fan but he's he usually takes that out of his analysis here but Jerry Palm has Illinois as a number three seed Joel lardy has Illinois as a number three seed and not the last number three seed so it does look like Illinois uh has has done what it needs to do I mean four quad one wins over the last two weeks there really help them solidify their resume and I don't know if tomorrow will have an impact uh but I think it should if you get another quad one Victory should only further solidify you there especially with Duke losing um in their resume isn't is good as Illinois at this point they're five- four against quad one teams Illinois is seven- six the ACC is worse than the Big 10 uh in my opinion so um I think they got it Derek and that's huge as we said not only for draw of getting a six seed potentially in the second round getting a 14 compared to a 13 that line looks way different this year you get to avoid the MCN States and and teams like that um you're getting really low major probably at the 14 seed but also where you're going to play so now I'm seeing Illinois more in like Omaha rather than Spokan and uh that travel would have been pretty rough for Illinois and and it's fan based so uh I think they'll probably be a little bit closer to home whether that's the South or the East for the on three seeds looking like a Sharpie I don't know if I could say that is that trademark by Seth Davis am I gonna gonna bill for that but uh yeah it seems that way when in comparison to a team mik Duke who you mentioned there just the now the two game difference in Quad one wins and chance for another one obviously tomorrow but uh I I felt like if they got to Sunday which look it's it's a little bit surprising to me that we got to this point because I thought after losing at home to to Purdue that that was going to be maybe unlikely an outside chance to get a three although you got the help you got the help you needed Kansas going down faltering late in the season like they have and and Duke not getting the the regular season finale against North Carolina on their home floor which would have been a big resume building boosting win and then the ACC tournament early exit so you need some dominoes to fall your way they did and then you need to stay alive in this in this tournament and make it to the championship game which you're were able to make it happen so uh the path is really really important um Brad spoke today also location's a big deal you're talking about uh how that could maybe play out based on the pecking order as it as it stands so a three is if you would have told anybody anybody uh who's an Al fan that you're going to get a 3C going into this season you'd be absolutely thrilled and I think that they they should be they should yeah I just want to look at a few of the scenarios some people have out there so far I mean I don't know how much we should go into it but it's fun uh this time of year but I do want on that point uh look this up and obviously the the pandemic years had had an impact on this with the 2021 season but 25 wins in a single season is the most during Brad Underwood's ten year it's the most for an Aina team since D and James Augustine were on the team back in 2006 when 26 and S got a four seed that year um so getting back to that like 25 wins that's a huge Benchmark uh and you're kind of setting yourself up here where this is the kind of team that can get 30 wins which doesn't happen very often for Illinois so uh just another feather in the cap for this team Derek but I just wanted to bring up Palm his scenario right now in the NCAA tournament he has Illinois as a three seed in the East so you'd have to play Yukon at some point if you want to get to a final four most likely but Austin let's go would be all about that why iire all about getting to Boston uh but Omaha would be your your pod Nevada would be the six seed akan in that first round Derek John gross's team so that that's a great storyline but Iowa state is a two seed I'd be all about that because they don't score very much they are really good defensively uh and it's a obviously a battle tested program you'd have Gonzaga and Michigan State down there but what do you think of that scenario I think it's decent a decent look for Illinois um I don't think this is John gross's best team now it is g to be a situation where obviously it's it's a storyline game it's one where it could be you'd fear it's the gross Revenge game but U program man yeah you never you shouldn't lose that game you shouldn't obviously um playing a team like a Nevada I do we talked about this in recent pods there is kind of a a difference in the the quality of playing maybe a a five versus you get dip into that six and you never know about you know 610 is or 611 I should say is kind of in that upset range too so I do want to say this Al I brick girl getting my attention here4 yeah 54 to 28 right now Iowa State over Houston in that big 12 title that's impressive I mean they're good I'm I'm not trying to good not good but they're awesome defensively what what that program has become under oelberg has been really cool to see but um I I just do think offensively you you can pose some problems for them it'd be a phenomenal two3 matchup it would be uh I still would rather play them than some of those teams in the one line um yes but yeah I think that as far as Illinois weak spot being defense and knowing a team that's not all that exceptionable exceptional at that end I i' take my chance chances as far as that goes instead of like if we're talking about the East being 45 and then you get the sweet 16 oh here's Yukon and now you would have to face them probably if you get to the elite a but just the the path to to set up more of a favorable run to go deeper as deep as possible and U three is three is pretty uh highly coveted when you look at different spots that you can make it run from lonardi has the Illinois akan match up in the 314 as well uh Florida and either St John's and New Mexico St John's that that could be a upset Alert in that second round if they got through the playing game but that being Pittsburgh i' I'd be all about going back to Pittsburgh Derek and then you have Marquette uh as that two SE Tyler kak's been bad on that injury oh at least knows they can play with that team so that'd be that'd be a fun one as well but uh you're just seeing that path is a lot different than say you're at the top of this Derek uh in this bracket and you're you're playing Houston potentially in the in the sweet 16 or you got to play you know it won't be Wisconsin obviously but a five seed is some of these five seeds are way better thank God Auburn if you were a four seed like if they were a five seed at one point that team don't want to play them because that's a top five kmom team right now yeah and there was a stretch too that you know Kentucky was on the five line and obviously they moved up and if ill was a four Kaki was a five we spent a lot of weeks talking about you know that that first 102 uh or whatever that was going to be if those two teams met up but yeah you look there and and I think when you are a higher seed like a three you probably do get the benefit of of a location boost and you know Palm had him in Omaha right and then lonardi in Pittsburgh so that that certainly helps but uh you're not guaranteeing yourself anything but you are setting up a more favorable matchups to go on that that run and they deserve it you know 14 wins in the Big 10 getting a couple more quad ones here in Minneapolis chance to get another one tomorrow I don't know that it'll matter all that much in terms of the seating if not if at all but um yeah I think that you know that you can play really especially off the one seed line I think you can play with ones Purdue obviously being one of those and I don't think anybody is questioning if brings their best game can they beat anybody in the country but yeah team like a Marquette like a Tennessee there are reference points of ill being in the mix there they're not going to be outclassed by that and I think that just speaks to this team's high high ceiling but you want to see it on a consistent basis and and definitely want to see more of a 40-minute effort going into tomorrow all right let's get rapid fire here D for some of the comments C cyble goody having his moment was awesome I agree this kid loves the program uh it's been an up and down year for him but he's uh he's a sharpshooter man there's always value for that and Sharpshooters who play hard and get those offensive rebounds I'm glad he's getting rewarded uh fly line I fly if we go deep in March Madness let's say Elite eight or Beyond I know that's a big if for US based on history but if that happens and he plays good where does tsj rank all time in Illinois history like what is his company there man that's a good question R been a whole pot on this Frank Williams level yeah IO I of course IO didn't have didn't have the Deep Run so that that could be a differentiator yeah I think it'd be like a Frank Williams kind of Legacy you know two years here compared to three for Frank right um I don't think it's I's always be known as kind of that D guy who who helped turn a program around I know D came into a good program but um he's gonna be in that kind of category just because he picked Illinois when no one else was right like that that was just a turning point when we were at the Jordan brand store and he came out with a line ey Polo on um yeah I the guy I kind of think of is Frank just because there's there's performances where he just jaw drops um and he's electric and Frank him to a elite eight close to a final four so uh that's kind of the the comp I think of that's how good he's been for two years man um it's pretty pretty amazing yeah no doubt it's it's harder to make the comps across some some eras especially because we're in the transfer portal era something that so K battle Yeah Yeah transfer yeah true can we have that conversation at some point is the Kenny Battle teren Shannon greatest transfer of all time I guess so we could do that as well but um yeah there's no doubt I mean he's he's among the most talented and people who you know saw the 89 team up close and whatnot would would have a a better read on it than admittedly I was uh all I have his highlights to go on but um definitely one of the most talented line I ever put on the uniform and and single season Wise It's put this this resume up against a lot of a lot of people that have ever done it for illino I mean yeah him him and IO to me are Kendall Gil was up there I remember having this writing the story about who had the best single season in illino history Nick Anderson obviously the flying I um but single season wise You could argue for him is is one of the best of all time despite missing you know six games there uh AP Ty Rogers is Rodman with class just like that he's got a Rodman like tenacity on the class I will give him that so I love having that kind of guy he's get man what he got 13 13 boards he got the last two games 23 boards insane he's got 40 over the last four games all right that that's gonna do it for us any final thoughts Derek before we get to Championship Sunday um before we get you want to go Juicy Lucy tonight H yeah let's do it can't go to Minneapolis without that I guess I guess we could get one tomorrow night but uh we got a lot of work to do with selection Sunday but we got funny coming up at a line I inquire Joey Wagner working on a piece on teren Shannon Derrick Love's takeaways and preview the Big 10 Championship tomorrow have player grades and and more uh about what this means for this team to have a chance of hanging a banner and of course we will be covering it all tomorrow if you're not a VIP member it's good time to to sign up Derek because we got the postseason run we got tomorrow to cover got the transfer portal right after that which people are going to want to be VIP members during that because there's plenty of Buzz going around already uh Minneapolis about what the transfer portal could be uh we'll have more on that here coming up football spring practice football spring recruiting it's all coming up uh so sign up for a VIP membership for just 50% off right now it's more than $60 of savings for your first year all right everybody have a great night happy oh I forgot to bring that up I don't want talk about it uh Coleman didn't want to talk about it Coleman huge Bears fan I walked in the locker room after the press conference here and uh asked him what do you think man he goes heartbroken heart couldn't believe couldn't believe we only got a sixth round yeah broken inside so I'm happy we can all move on we had an animated conversation with some guests of ours at dinner the other night with Derek the the Justin Fields guy but hey salute Justin Fields you were not the problem I like I like him but I also think he just wasn't the solution but can we can we Kumai out this Derrick or you can we get you excited eventually for the Caleb Williams era in Chicago we're gonna have to today's not the day today's not that day I'll let you mourn I'll let you mourn I am getting excited about what we can do with one of the best quarterback prospects that's come out in the last decade so let's let's get together Bears fans okay all right fans have a great night it's St Patrick's Day this weekend so uh could be could be getting nuts here in Minneapolis as well but everybody have a great night take care of each other we'll talk to you next time right after the Big 10 championship game right here on the Alana and choir podcast