Postgame: Illinois 79, #24 Vanderbilt 68

by KingJamesIV on Dec 9, 2009 12:21 AM EST in Basketball Comment 7 comments

More photos » Darrell Hoemann - AP

Firstly, I'd like to congratulate the Fighting Illini. They played hard and with passion. Must be nice.

Feeling a little shellshocked at the moment that Vandy would drop another egg like that after earning their way back into the rankings. It felt like everyone just decided they were going to take the night off tonight.

Steve Tchiengang had the lone block for the Dores. That's a pretty good example of the lack of defensive intensity from the team tonight. On the season, Vandy was averaging close to 6 per game.

Andre Walker was the glue guy again with 9 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 2 steals.

Illinois really shot the ball well. Of course, It sure is easy to do that when the defense is leaving you with a comfortable look at the basket. Even when Vandy would try to go on a run, there'd be a defensive breakdown which would lead to an open look from outside. Illinois had to make them, and they did, with relative ease.

As I said in the preview, Vandy just can't spot teams early points with turnovers and poor shot selection. It's a recipe for disaster, especially while we aren't shooting well from outside. When you couple that with poor defensive intensity, you lose ball games. It just doesn't seem like the team is focused on playing basketball at all.

What Vandy needs right now is a players-only meeting.

Relevant links:

Game Page /// TSN Recap /// Box Score /// Official Vanderbilt Recap

Stallings just now on the post game radio show: "We got less than we needed from Jeff on the road. We got less than we needed from John on the road. We got less than we needed from A.J. Ogilvy on the road. We got less than we needed from Jermaine Beal on the road. I don't think there was a player on our team who played better than just their average. You can't win on the road in a place like Illinois without people playing above themselves."

As I mentioned in the game thread, Jeffery Taylor apparently had been running a fever throughout the day. Also, John Jenkins may have a sprained MCL and was playing with a brace (that conveniently broke during a fast break).

Plus/Minus Updated Through the Illinois game:

Plus/Minus PER 40

In my preview I said that Vanderbilt is the better team statistically and that they should win. This is exactly why games are played. Tonight, Illinois deserved to win.

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9-0 start..

After that horrible three minutes, the teams basically played even the rest of the way. The Illini kept hitting big shots to stop our our mini runs.

Tough loss, but I’m like you, have to congratulate Illinois for knocking down almost everything they threw at the basket.

by doreposts on Dec 9, 2009 10:26 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Another disturbing trend starting to emerge is Vandy’s difficulty playing against teams that establish a slower, half-court tempo. Illinois really choked Vandy to death in the second half – winding down the shot clock before nailing a huge shot. Then, Vandy would rush down a court, make a pass (or two), and hoist up an outside shot. More often than not, the Vandy shot would clang off the rim and into the hands of an Illinois player. This sums up the final 10 minutes of the game. At no point during that time did it feel like Vandy was going to make a run. John Jenkins late game shooting touch was the only thing standing preventing a 20+ point defeat – though that did not negate his inability to hit key shots when it mattered in the first half and early second.

Once again, AJ disappeared against a tough opponent. Tisdale absolutely abused him. AJ had as many turnovers as rebounds and his defense was pathetic. AJ’s performance against Illinois is more troubling than the egg he laid against Cincinnati. Mike Tisdale Jr. is not Yancy Gates. Yet, AJ made him look like a star.

Equally disturbing is Jermaine Beal’s inability to create anything off of the dribble. AJ does more dribbling inside the three point arc than anyone on the team. Beal, Tinsley, and Jenkins seem to think there is a rule against dribble penetration. The Big 10 Network announcers knew that Illinois struggled to stop dribble penetration in recent games, so I have to think that Stallings knew that too. Yet, the guards seemed content to shoot outside shots without first looking inside.

by Vandy Dan on Dec 9, 2009 10:34 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

Slow tempo

DePaul are the absolute masters of slow tempo (342nd of 347 teams) and they really didn’t bother us that much. Sure, they bogged down the traditional offensive stats, but our offensive and defensive intensity in that game were both around our season average.

Illinois just shot the lights out, as home teams often will do, and I’m afraid our defense also had plenty to with it.

by PhilipVU94 on Dec 11, 2009 1:46 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

Sounds like you're overreacting a bit

This team could really be in trouble and lacking leadership as you surmise. Or this team could be having a really good season, and still lose a game like this on the road at a borderline top 25 opponent. Hard to say.

If we go out and play like this in Tuscaloosa, Fayetteville, and Athens then I’ll be truly worried.

by PhilipVU94 on Dec 11, 2009 1:42 AM EST reply actions 0 recs

You're probably right

Illinois was ranked earlier, and I’m not sure how much a tighter defense would have hindered their shooting. Maybe if we had some hands in their face early then they wouldn’t have gotten some easy, confidence-inspiring looks.

Anchor of Gold

by KingJamesIV on Dec 11, 2009 10:57 AM EST up reply actions 0 recs

While I did not watch the game, DePaul was beating us at halftime and hung close until the end. They sure seemed to bother us plenty without their best player. Mississippi St. destroyed that same DePaul team last night.

Yes, Illinois shot the lights out, but the Big 10 Network crew did a damn good job of showing the various missed assignments by the Vandy defense. The tough shots that the Illini hit were ones that took the score from 9 to 12 or 10 to 13, they were not shots that streteched out a one or two possession game. After 49-42, I never felt that Vandy was in a position to win this game.

by Vandy Dan on Dec 11, 2009 3:57 PM EST up reply actions 0 recs