Southern Illinois - 01/29/2023 - 2:00 PM - ESPN+

[Baltimore Bird]

LOVE IT!!! That was really fun to watch. It was very similar to the Bradley game other than all of the offensive fouls called on ISU in Peoria. There were a few calls today I thought were going to go against us and they didn't. We won at the FT line, the 3 Point Line and actually out rebounded them by 1. We kept the turnovers close, but still need to do better. In both games, we used a much shorter rotation and the results showed.
GO BIRDS!

 

[SgtHulka]

Great effort by all today. Everyone contributed

Poindexter handled their pressure far better than he did at SIU

Knight was nails

Lewis coming back to life is a big boost for us.

Kotov grabbed 6 boards and had a 4\1 assist to turnover ratio today. Plus a steal. Should consider sliding him to point guard

Sissoko was big when the ugly dogs tied it up and got our edge back

Kazooski hit some big shots. So did Sandage

Mayor McCheese needs to take the VandeGarde route and not start

We are stating to come together. Only 2 dumb turnovers today. Won both halves by 3. We won the boards by 1.

Aboobie and The Amazing Moolah have to be two of the worst free this shooters I've seen in a long time.

 

[CB2K]

Great game atmosphere especially towards the end. Coaches were imploring the fans to stand up and cheer. Crowd was into it to help the team down the home stretch.

A loud and highly excitable SIU fan sat right next to me in 117. I thoroughly enjoyed the win down the stretch as he became more quiet and subdued as the Redbirds put the shut off on the entire SIU fan base.

K-Lew played superbly with the double-double and very engaged defensively. How about the blocks/shot altering he did! Those extra effort plays are the reason we win or lose close games.

Mal was absolutely incredible handling the tough defense all night. SIU bodied him hard with multiple guys, pushed and grabbed him and many times outright fouled him where surprisingly the whistle happy refs sat on their hands. That was his job tonight — handle the in your face SIU pressure and he did that tremendously with I believe only two turnovers. SIU is the best defensive team in the league and the Redbirds dropped 72 on them.

Kotov does so many good little things. Just his length alone when he was positioned right caused shot alterations and hurries several times. He was able to keep the ball active and secure a couple of rebounds as well. Thought he played a great game.

Liam got called for 2 fouls I thought were not fouls. One was when the ball handler ran into his arm and barely scraped it and it was Liam who got called for a foul. That was a bogus call.

This has been a tough season but this win was a sight for sore eyes.

They don’t have time to relish this win too long because they need to be prepared to pay back UIC thIs Wednesday with no letdowns.

 

[Buffett1]

UIC has not won a game since beating Isu.

 

[Bdub777]

I loved want Coach Pedon said on the radio postgame show about Kotov. Paraphrasing, he said he was really happy for him, and that what he showed today is what he often shows in practice. Also that Alex has earned his trust by how he has reacted when he hasn’t played, when he hasn’t played well, and what kind of teammate he has become. He also said he has seen huge growth in him since they got here in all aspects on and off the court. He said similar things can be said about Harouna, and noted that clutch shot he took and made was huge, and what they want their players to do when they are given that opportunity.

 

[Loyl2u]

Probably prematurely, but I’m going to declare an end to the lineup questions after the last two games. Luke, even when struggling offensively, gives the Birds length and consistent effort in the 2 at defensive end & on boards, you need Mal & knight for offense, you need to have Lewis and another big on the court for defense, rebounding and otherwise you put Lewis in bad matchup positions so they need to use the 10 fouls from Sissoko and Kotov. This gives the Birds a balance of scorers/role players. Mal doesn’t take bad shoots unless the shot clock is gone & those are sometimes his fault, sometimes others. Turnovers have been a problem all year, but Mal has improved as the season has gone on and keeping him largely out front has been most successful. Darius, when he returns, should replace Mal when he needs a blow, Liam for Seneca, Colton for Luke. The only question left I have is who you sub for Lewis, probably Liam, then a Kotov If Sissoko is on the floor. Anybody can beat anybody in the Valley this year-time to get on a role heading into March. PS, Coach Judson has to be one of the best FT coaches in the country!

 

[crazzymark]

Won..to little to late. Just take the gift and move on.

 

[dpdoughbird06]

PS, Coach Judson has to be one of the best FT coaches in the country!

95% FT today! A legit competitive advantage in a tournament environment. Now to figure out how not to have SIU repeatedly steal the ball right out of our hands.

If Tony Wills had a hand (pun intended) in that it’s time to make him a full-fledged assistant if he’s not already.

 

[Redbird Alum 2004]

Kotov did have a really good game. He is strong with the ball in his hands which is huge. When he grabs a board with both hands that thing is sticking in there. His quickness had either improved or he is just in better defensive positions.

 

[jwa123]

Agreed. Depth will be the issue come STL. I do believe they can take one on Thursday, but going against fresh legs and likely the 1 seed after Mal, Sen, Luke and Klew likely play 95% of Thursday game, tough ask.

I haven’t seen anyone say it yet but Kotov had his best game as a Redbird. Sure, he made some mistakes but he had some clutch rebounds and hustle plays that they really needed off the bench.

Someone said that Liam should start the game with 3 fouls, I’d say Sissoko should.

Absolutely correct on Kotov. Played decent defense, did some rebounding and Iliked his play on the offensive end. On offense he was always setting screens for the others. He knew his role and did it well. I gave him a game ball .

 

[dpdoughbird06]

Agreed. Depth will be the issue come STL. I do believe they can take one on Thursday, but going against fresh legs and likely the 1 seed after Mal, Sen, Luke and Klew likely play 95% of Thursday game, tough ask.

I haven’t seen anyone say it yet but Kotov had his best game as a Redbird. Sure, he made some mistakes but he had some clutch rebounds and hustle plays that they really needed off the bench.

Someone said that Liam should start the game with 3 fouls, I’d say Sissoko should.

Depth and true bigs. We don’t have an answer for Krikke/King tandems, and they keep us out of doing anything productive in the paint on offense.

Sissoko is strong enough to bang with them, so maybe it’s worth a shot in the Valpo rematch to just turn him loose inside next to a rejuvenated Lewis.

But in STL all we need is a small lead in the final minute and enough handles to get fouled and ice it at the line.

 

[Bdub777]

Absolutely correct on Kotov. Played decent defense, did some rebounding and Iliked his play on the offensive end. On offense he was always setting screens for the others. He knew his role and did it well. I gave him a game ball .

The best thing Kotov may have done was pass the ball when he was wide open to shoot. Did it at least three times I saw, passing it up to guys who are more proven. He was tied for the lead in assists today I believe. Game ball

 

[RedbirdSoxFan]

100 passionate SIU fans in the DawgPound making more noise then our entire fanbase today.

They were pretty quiet as they were exiting CEFCU Arena.

 

[Redbird222]

 

[Redbird222]

 

[Redbird222]

 

[Redbird222]

 

[Redbird222]

Love the way they talk about their teammates

 

[Reggie Redbird]

We all should’ve actually seen this coming sooner or later. Believe it or not I believe they can make run in Arch Madness. I don’t think it’s as unlikely as it seem. They’re beginning to play extremely hard people.

If we have Burford back, I could see us capable of beating anyone and a chance to win 2 games. I have not seen enough, yet, that makes me think we could win 3 in 3 nights with our depth.

It seems there are always senior hero’s in this tournament. We have several seniors that are capable of putting this team on their backs and carrying us to a win or two. That’s not including what MP or a healthy DB could do.

To note: we got more production from Kotov than I expected. If Sissoko can stay out of foul trouble, he can help throw off any team’s star player. We’re going to have to see more guys contribute like this to make a deep run. Playing 7-8 guys may not hurt you night 1 or 2, but it would make it tough to win 3-4 in a row.

 

[Jus]

100 passionate SIU fans in the DawgPound making more noise then our entire fanbase today.

But Redbirds won. That is the only thing that matters!