Washington DC Regional

[aboz56]

They didn't carry the game here until the final two minutes so I can't comment on the refs.

 

Just want to say that it was a pleasure to watch Illinois the past few yrs with Brown and Augustine. Hate for them to go out like that but those are both class guys all the way.

 

And to all of the ILL fans, don't worry, you guys will be back once again next year.

 

Know its hard to handle a loss, but you can't win every game.

 

GO BIG 10 the rest of the way.

[Rowand44]

They didn't carry the game here until the final two minutes so I can't comment on the refs.

 

They were horrendous. I'm about as unbiased as it comes with the Illini too cause I just don't care either way about them. Anytime Illinois would get into a defensive stance it seemed like a foul was called.

[AssHatSoxFan]

All in all the referees were quite poor overall but that does not excuse the Illini for their poor play down the stretch. The last 8 minutes or so they had very few post touches if any for James who was just owning them down low. Also running the shot clock down works if you take decent shots not just force up crap like we did.

[IlliniKrush]

"You saw what happened out there. Write it down. Why try to get me in trouble? You were there. Just write it."

[Soxfest]

For a team in 2nd round of NCAA tourney to get it first free throw of 2nd half at 2:00 minute mark left in game and other team team to in the double bonus at 10:00 mark is unbelievable. I have watched NCAA tourney for 30 years and never saw that before in any round.

Edited March 19, 2006 by Soxfest

[Rowand44]

For a team in 2nd round of NCAA tourney to get it first free throw at 2:00 minute mark left in game and other team team to in the double bonus at 10:00 mark is unbelievable. I have watched NCAA tourney for 30 years and never saw that before in any round.

Well you could have turned on the next game to see something very similar.

[whitesoxfan99]

I know I'm late to the party but I'm still pissed about the hose job Illinois got from the refs today. We were handchecking on the perimeter and the refs decided to call that incredibly close today. I wouldn't have a problem with that, except for the fact that Washington was doing the same damn thing on D without getting called at all. Jones did nothing but hold and push Dee all night and never got called. Also, Dee and Randle drove several times with contact and there was no calls. Two other things that absolutely kill me were Roy's major walk on his drive when he tied the game not being called and the 10 seconds Washington was given to inbounds the ball on the play WHarris mentioned. Absolutely pathetic officiating. I hope those guys are never allowed to work another college basketball game ever again. Also, have to love that the team with 38 points in the paint goes to the line 11 times and the team with 20 points in the paint goes to the line 39 times.

Edited March 19, 2006 by whitesoxfan99

[ZoomSlowik]

I watched most of the game and while they were calling a lot of BS fouls in the first half, it wasn't that bad in the second. Illinois was constantly throwing the ball around the perimeter and shooting jumpers, while rarely driving into the lane or throwing the ball down low. Washington on the other hand was driving into the paint at every opportunity. It's kind of hard to draw a lot of fouls when you're not driving and initiating contact. This has happened to the Illini a lot IIRC, and I'd bet if you went back and looked at the stats from previous games it happened in most of their close games.

 

You can keep blaming the refs, but Illinois wasn't getting easy shots in the second half and went a long time without scoring. Augustine was a complete non-factor after the 15 minute mark of the second half, which is unexcusable considering what he was doing earlier. I know some of that was foul trouble, but he stilled played for most of that stretch.

Edited March 19, 2006 by ZoomSlowik

[whitesoxfan101]

We wouldn't have beat UConn anyways, but losing to the refs isn't a very good feeling in the dance, and it's happened now twice in 5 years (see my thread).

[whitesoxfan99]

I watched most of the game and while they were calling a lot of BS fouls in the first half, it wasn't that bad in the second. Illinois was constantly throwing the ball around the perimeter and shooting jumpers, while rarely driving into the lane or throwing the ball down low. Washington on the other hand was driving into the paint at every opportunity. It's kind of hard to draw a lot of fouls when you're not driving and initiating contact. This has happened to the Illini a lot IIRC, and I'd bet if you went back and looked at the stats from previous games it happened in most of their close games.

 

You can keep blaming the refs, but Illinois wasn't getting easy shots in the second half and went a long time without scoring. Augustine was a complete non-factor after the 15 minute mark of the second half, which is unexcusable considering what he was doing earlier. I know some of that was foul trouble, but he stilled played for most of that stretch.

 

Our offense attacked the basket quite a bit tonight. Jamar, Rich, Randle, and Dee all drove on several occasions. We also went inside to our bigs a lot more than usual. Usually Illinois does sit on the perimeter so we don't get to the foul line but that wasn't the case tonight until our entire starting lineup was out of the game with foul trouble. What kills me is that Randle and Rich got all their fouls on handchecks away from the basket. Yet, Jones was allowed to hold and grab Dee the entire game, which pushed Dee far away from the basket yet they didn't call him for it once.

 

And I will continue to blame the refs thank you very much. If it wasn't for the refs UW wouldn't have even been in the game. We were getting great looks at the basket until 3 of our starters had to go to the bench with foul trouble. Augie needed more touches but Brockman was allowed to push him off the blocks and they were really making sure Augie wouldn't get the ball. Rich exploited this when we went on our run but unfortunately he got called for a couple of extremely weak fouls when he was actually moving his feet.

[ZoomSlowik]

Our offense attacked the basket quite a bit tonight.  Jamar, Rich, Randle, and Dee all drove on several occasions.  We also went inside to our bigs a lot more than usual.  Usually Illinois does sit on the perimeter so we don't get to the foul line but that wasn't the case tonight until our entire starting lineup was out of the game with foul trouble.  What kills me is that Randle and Rich got all their fouls on handchecks away from the basket.  Yet, Jones was allowed to hold and grab Dee the entire game, which pushed Dee far away from the basket yet they didn't call him for it once.

 

And I will continue to blame the refs thank you very much.  If it wasn't for the refs UW wouldn't have even been in the game.  We were getting great looks at the basket until 3 of our starters had to go to the bench with foul trouble.  Augie needed more touches  but Brockman was allowed to push him off the blocks and they were really making sure Augie wouldn't get the ball.  Rich exploited this when we went on our run but unfortunately he got called for a couple of extremely weak fouls when he was actually moving his feet.

 

We must have been watching a different game then, because I didn't see much of that in the second half. Brown, McBride, and Smith has more shots than the rest of the team combined, so that doesn't really suggest that they were taking it to the hole. When they did get inside, there generally wasn't anyone on Washington on them so they made the basket. They weren't initiating contact on the drives like Washington was. There were some crap calls on the perimeter, but most of the ones I saw were in the first half. Pretty much every foul on Illinois in the second half occurred in the paint.

 

You can't really say that guys sitting on the bench had a major affect. Augustine still played 37 minutes and McBride was in there for 31. That's actually more than they average on the year. Randle played only slightly less than usual. The only major one was Pruitt.

[whitesoxfan99]

We must have been watching a different game then, because I didn't see much of that in the second half. Brown, McBride, and Smith has more shots than the rest of the team combined, so that doesn't really suggest that they were taking it to the hole. When they did get inside, there generally wasn't anyone on Washington on them so they made the basket. They weren't initiating contact on the drives like Washington was. There were some crap calls on the perimeter, but most of the ones I saw were in the first half. Pretty much every foul on Illinois in the second half occurred in the paint.

 

You can't really say that guys sitting on the bench had a major affect. Augustine still played 37 minutes and McBride was in there for 31. That's actually more than they average on the year. Randle played only slightly less than usual. The only major one was Pruitt.

 

Rich's fouls in the second half guarding Roy were on the perimeter. Jamar's fouls in the second half were on the perimeter. And yes I can say the guys sitting on the bench had a major affect. Its not how many minutes but when you play. And when you have 3 starters on the bench with 4 fouls with under 10 minutes left in a tourney game and have to have Warren Carter and Chester Frazier on the floor at the same time as a result that has a major impact on the game. And as for Jamar, Rich, and Dee taking the majority of the shots, that is true. But the majority of Dee's shots were going towards the basket today and Rich drove the ball quite a bit as well. And you are still ignoring the fact that Jones was allowed to make contact with Dee constantly 30 feet away from the basket which makes initiating an offense much harder and the fact that Brockman was getting away with all sorts of contact in the paint.

 

And we had 18 more points in the paint than Washington so we clearly weren't just sitting on the perimeter.

[ZoomSlowik]

Rich's fouls in the second half guarding Roy were on the perimeter.  Jamar's fouls in the second half were on the perimeter.  And yes I can say the guys sitting on the bench had a major affect.  Its not how many minutes but when you play.  And when you have 3 starters on the bench with 4 fouls with under 10 minutes left in a tourney game and have to have Warren Carter and Chester Frazier on the floor at the same time as a result that has a major impact on the game.  And as for Jamar, Rich, and Dee taking the majority of the shots, that is true.  But the majority of Dee's shots were going towards the basket today and Rich drove the ball quite a bit as well.  And you are still ignoring the fact that Jones was allowed to make contact with Dee constantly 30 feet away from the basket which makes initiating an offense much harder and the fact that Brockman was getting away with all sorts of contact in the paint. 

 

And we had 18 more points in the paint than Washington so we clearly weren't just sitting on the perimeter.

 

Define perimeter and define driving. Everything I saw in the foul department was out at the top of the key at the most. The 3 guys that were taking most of the free throws were Roy, Jones, and Dentmon. Those guys were driving with regularity. As for the Illini driving, outside of a couple of uncontested layups, when those guys drove they were generally pulling up for jumpers. Half of McBride's shots were still 3's, and 5 of Smith's 7 shots were. Dee had a couple layups, but those were in the first and he was missing them. He took more jumpers inside the arc than he normally does. As for the points in the paint, Washington didn't have as many because they were getting free throws. Those don't count as points in the paint.

 

I didn't see all this ridiculous contact on Brown and Augustine that you supposedly saw. That's not exactly something you could verify, but I didn't see anything that was that out of the ordinary. It's not like in the Duke games where the guys attacking the basket get clobbered and there is no call.

 

As for the fouls, I think you're overestimating the impact that had (outside of the free throws). First off, those guys are going to get some time anyways regardless of the foul situation. The only guy on the Illini that even comes close to playing 40 minutes a game is Dee. One of the times they're generally going to rest them is with around 10 minutes left so they're a little more fresh down the stretch. This is especially true since Illinois had the lead. Second, in the last 5 minutes when the game got close, all the key guys were out there, with the exception of Randle when he fouled out. Randle, McBride, and Brown were still in for most of the game. The only other guy that really matters is Randle, who is pretty foul prone anyways. Illinois generally plays more physical defense anyways. Suddenly Washington is really physical for the first time all season in the second game of the NCAA tourney? I find that unlikely.

Edited March 19, 2006 by ZoomSlowik

[RME JICO]

The refs did play a huge part in the Illini loss. You outshoot a team in FG and FT %, grab more rebounds, and dish out almost double the assists - AND LOSE. This is a horrible way for Dee and James to go out.

 

James shot 7-9 and Dee shot 5-18. They should have put the ball inside to James a lot more. Letting WASH come back from 11 down should never have happened. Jamar Smith going 1-7 didn't help either. Just like in last year's championship game, the Illlini could not hit shots when they needed them.

 

Good year, disappointing finish.

[Jordan4life_2007]

I'm just getting in from nearly 8 hours spent at Real Time Sports. I can see that most everybody has already commented and broken down the horrid officiating today. So there's not a whole lot for me to add. Just wanted to thank Dee and James for 4 outstanding years and to wish them the best of luck in the NBA.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Oh, yeah, nice to see the Vols exposed for the frauds they are. #2 seed my ass.

[WilliamTell]

Oh,  yeah,  nice to see the Vols exposed for the frauds they are.  #2 seed my ass.

 

lol exactly, I have nothing against Tennessee but it was terrible to have them that high anyways.

[WHarris1]

UNC started strong but then after half Mason has just clocked them.

 

GMU up 1.

 

LETS GO TAR HEELS

[whitesoxin']

George Mason! Yessss!

[WilliamTell]

My bracket is dead if North Carolina loses, and it's looking that way more and more every second.

[WilliamTell]

It's over.

[Jordan4life_2007]

Kentucky is hanging around. Down just 5 with about 6:25 to go.

[WHarris1]

Stupid f***ing Carolina, my 1st E8 gone

[Jordan4life_2007]

I think I'm gonna retire from this bracket nonsense.

[whitesoxin']

Mason's win there and Pitt losing knocked out two of the one guy ahead of me's Elite Eight in my $100 pool. West Virginia is looking like a great Elite Eight pick for me, now all I need is an NC State upset to really make my day.

 

Edit: Even though I have UConn in the final game, 80% of the people in my pool have them winning it all, so I won't be too upset if they lose.

Edited March 19, 2006 by whitesoxin'