The Illinois basketball team fell to the Minnesota Golden Gophers last night.
This was a game for a little while but Illinois managed to flounder in the second half and lost the game 68-59.
Not only did the Illini lose this game to Minnesota, but they lost it at home in a must-win situation. So, once again, Illinois fans will be watching the NCAA Tournament without their beloved team in it.
Illinois has now lost three games in a row and six out of their last seven to get their record down to 13-11.
I entertained the possibility of the Illini going on a winning streak and possibly getting to 19 wins over the last few weeks, but it is painfully clear that this team doesn’t have a chance at the NCAA Tournament and possibly even the NIT now.
Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball
There is one thing that is clear, though. This one thing has been clear for the last three seasons but many fans have just justified it with injuries, etc.
The one main thing that is clear to me is that John Groce shouldn’t be the head coach of this basketball team next season.
I could go through a long list of why Groce shouldn’t be the coach but some of them I can’t prove. Most of them I don’t have stats on paper to show you this is a reason to let him go.
But, the one proof I do have is his record.
No one has to look any further than Groce’s record on the basketball court. You can throw all the other reasons out the window if you want, but you can’t dispute his declining record.
Former Illinois athletic director Mike Thomas found this gem out of Ohio University.
At Ohio, Groce took the Bobcats to two NCAA Tournament appearances in four seasons with the program. If you really look at his four-year run with Ohio you will see he inherited a pretty good team.
The previous Ohio head coach had four straight 19-plus win seasons before Groce took over. So, Groce took over a solid program and got hot his last year. Did that deserve a job with Illinois, no?
Every Illinois fan had to give him a chance, though. He did make it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament in year one with the Illini.
I thought this could work out for the best, but even in that first season Groce had the Illini 14-2 and then lost six out of seven and if it wasn’t for the big win against No. 1 Indiana I am not so sure they would have made it in.
After that one solid season, Groce’s record started to decline.
The following season Illinois only finished 18-13. This included an eight-game losing streak. The season after that the Illini finished 19-12 and flamed out in the first round of the Big Ten Tournament and then got pummelled by Alabama in the first round of the NIT.
Last season everything came to a head when Illinois finished 13-18 in the regular season. This was one of the worst seasons in the history of the program.
With a new athletic director coming in and a solid class of 2017 on the horizon, Groce was given one more make or break year.
The Illini are now 13-11 and I think we are all pretty sure this is a break year. This is it. Groce is done as the Illini head coach.
Next: The King of Mediocrity Under John Groce
It is time to move on from this nice guy who is a mid-major coach. I am coming out with my top head coaching candidates list in the next 24-hours. It is time, We Will Win.