Illini open exhibition season

[tornado]

This is hard to believe so far but the Illini are playing McKendree and getting beat....midway thru the 1st half...
Thankfully it is early but they are giving up a lot of open shots and 3-pointers...

McKendree (transitioning from NAIA to NCAA DII) leads 17-6 - but hey - it's an exhibition game -- no need to worry...

[tornado]

finally a little spark - Tracy Abrams gets an And-1 to make the score 21-15

PM me if you want the link to listen live

[tornado]

Illini getting some foul calls - Kendrick Nunn back to the FT line with Illini in the double bonus - score now 23-16 with about 9 min in 1st half.

[tornado]

Illini 0-6 from 3-pt arc...but Illini getting a lot of foul calls and shooting a lot of FTs
McKendree 5-8 from the arc
Rayvonte Rice kinda quiet so far...

7:50 left - score 25-18

[tornado]

Ed Hightower doing the game in his last season before retiring

now30-20 with McKendree's Clinton Happe playing well

[tornado]

McKendree still eating Illini's interior defense up...refs calling lots of fouls...

Illini gonna need to regroup at half and come out looking a little better..their studs Rice & Ekey have been quiet...

about 5 min left in 1st half score is 32-27 Illini trailing....but just listening - it is a terribly boring game spent largely at the FT line...

[tornado]

35-33 Illini miss their 8th 3-pointer of the half - but get a steal on the next possession to tie it at 35-35

[tornado]

McKendree's head coach, Harry Statham, is in his 35th season - he has more career wins than anyone else at any level...
1068...

still foul after foul after foul...it favors the Illini as they are going to the FT line a bunch more than McKendree

foul count 15 on McKendree giving Illini 22 FT attempts so far, 11 fouls called on the Illini..
Rayvonte Rice & Tracy Abrams are taking most of the shots and most of the FT's (6 from RR) so far... Egwu, Ekey, and the rest are also kinda silent.

[tornado]

Illini on their inevitable run after a couple steals - now it's 41-37 Illini with under 2 min
McKendree plays next at Missouri State on Sunday

[tornado]

down to a minute or so left 1st half and marching to the FT line on almost every possession..

...finally halftime 47-39 Illinois leads

Illini point totals:
Egwu 4
Bertrand 6
Rice 10
Abrams 9
Ekey 4
Nunn 1
Colbert 6
Tate 7

a lot of solo play very few assists - nobody on the Illini has more than one assist...
Illini 0-9 from 3-pt
McKendree is 5-12 from 3-pt

17 fouls called on McKendree leading to 26 FT shots for the Illini
only 11 fouls called on the Illini leading to 11 McKendree FT attempts

I suspect if it keeps up this way Illini will win as 3 of McKendree's players already have 3 fouls

[tornado]

Illini taking over - now up 20 mid-2nd half

now 68-51 with McKendree at the FT line...

Rice still at 10 pts - 3-7 from the floor
Illini now 1-11 from 3-pt, Abrams has 14 pts on 9 shots

[tornado]

Illini have now shot 28 FT - 14 for McKendree...
..current score 73-53

attendance 13006

Illini starters are 18-32, 52 pts, 20 rebs
Subs (six of them) 7-13, 21 pts & 7 rebs

[tornado]

Final 101-66
Four Illini in double figures with Abrams scoring 16
Illini shot 33-47 inside the arc but only 3-18 beyond the arc
Illinois committed only 8 turnovers - very good for early in the season
65 FT's attempted overall


BTW - the only other exhibition game last night had Towson beating Bloomsberg 86-65 but even more incredible foul numbers...
Towson shot 53 FT's - one Towson player was 14-18 and he ended up scoring 14 points total...all from the FT line.
Almost half of Towson's points came from the FT line

Is this the trend this season with all the new rules on hand guarding being called like crazy by the refs??

[Da Coach]

...

Is this the trend this season with all the new rules on hand guarding being called like crazy by the refs??

Here again is a summary of the new NCAA rules-

http://www.elpasotimes.com/sports/ci_24347992/utep-mens-basketball-new-rule-increase-scoring

I think the answer will be yes. Without trying to offend any of our members who are officials, it seems whenever rules are changed or tweaked, officials pay special attention to the new rules, and tend to call that new rule especially tight. I think we will see more defensive fouls early, but then it will diminish a little over time. However, I would not be surprised if the NCAA adjusts these new rules because of how many more fouls they will lead to. IMO, it will also lead to more 1 on 1 style of play because of the advantage it gives offensive players.

If Hersey Hawkins had played under these new rules, he might have scored 4,000 points in his career.

[tornado]

Hawkins got called hundreds of times for a charge whenever he drove the lane - I even recall one game vs. Wichita, I believe, when Hawk fouled out with five offensive charging fouls

..now any touch or contact on a guy driving is being called a foul on the defender, and Illinois benefitted greatly from that last night -
I was listening to the McKendree radio broadcast and repeatedly the play-by-play guys were surprised that what they thought should have been a charge was instead another foul that sent Illinois to the FT line.

the Illini went to the FT line 26 times in the first half alone - almost exclusively on this kind of foul call - and their guards Rice, Abrams, and Tate figured that out early and took advantage

as noted, in the only other D-I exhibition last night, even more ticky fouls were called - almost 60 total in the Towson exhibition.



One DII exhibition of note - Pikeville played Athletes in Actions - not one of whom I recognize as a college player of note...
..Pikeville has SEVEN D-I transfers - one of whom was at one time a 5-star recruit, Keala King (Arizona State) one time TOP 25 player NATIONALLY,
and one is Kenny Manigault (3-Star) from Wichita State who was highly touted,
one is Elisha Justice (3-Star) - from Louisville (consensus Kentucky Mr. Basketball in 2010),
and four more - Morehead State, Tennessee State, Xavier, and South Carolina Upstate transfers

The game was close for a while - with Pikeville playing some of their starters heavy minutes - up to 35 minutes for the guys who didn't have foul trouble.
...it was even within two points into the 2nd half... but Pikeville won by 14
lots of fouls were called (five Pikeville kids had 3 or more fouls, 3 had 4 or 5)

http://upikebears.com/custompages/Stats/2013-14/MBB/MBB%20102413%20Athletes%20In%20Action.htm