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Thank the lord that Steve Pikiell has come back down to earth. After Rutgers' underperforming season last year, Rutgers is truly in the toilet this year. They are 183 in the NET. They are 8-7 overall, but 0-6 in Q1 and Q2 games. They are 1-3 in the Big Ten with a lone win at home (by 3) over lowly Oregon.

This is a Q4 game for Illinois. This is the lowest Q4 game that Illinois will play from here on out (if NET numbers hold).

Illinois should beat this team. We are favored by 21.5. Students aren't back from break yet, so Krush won't be there, but that shouldn't matter. For the Southern game, the Hall was pretty full up with fans, but never got loud because there was never really a reason. Tomorrow night should be the same. And if not, I hope the fans get up and get loud. I'll be there to help.

Notes from Brad's PC today:
-Felt good with Penn State and the good start there
-Impressed with Wagler and Mirk staying in the game mentally and hanging in despite foul trouble
-Didn't shoot the ball well, but found a way to win
-Rutgers..."typical gritty Rutgers team"...good at offensive rebounding
-Rutgers will press, play zone, man, throw a lot at you, and rebound a ton if you let them
-Happy with Big Z and the work he's done with Fletch to get his leg stronger, added 25 lbs and is now physically stronger and doesn't get fatigued as easily, confidence for Big Z has gone up due to this
-Feels Cam C is doing a good job communicating defensive needs to players now
-Importance against Rutgers is to withstand their "body blows"...keep doing your job ever possession, match their effort (especially on the boards)
-Jake Davis is doing "everything right" at this point...plays hard, confident, tough, smart, does everything the coaches ask
-Scoring balance is really good right now (and hard to do)...we're making teams defend us differently right now due to our balance
-Mirk has gotten way better defensively since November, mental toughness growing as he gets more experience
-Difference from Europe to US is in Europe they get to do a ton of handchecking and they can't get away with that here
-Ty is coming off the flu, doing some light participation in practice (but not full on), making positive gains and regaining strength in his leg, working hard...still taking it day by day
-Coaching international players is fun (smashing guitars, talking Formula 1 racing, learning new swear words, listening to new music)...loves their passion and competitiveness
-Tomi...people scheme him now and that's part of his "struggles" this year...he's at the top of other teams' scouting reports now