March 6, 1999; Illinois vs. Ohio State (Miracle Run)
This one isn’t just about a specific game; it is more of a run the Illini went on in the late 1990’s.
I remember this run like it was yesterday. Illinois was coming off a rough season and the team went into the Big Ten Tournament has the No. 11 seed, because back then there were only 11 teams.
Illinois Fighting Illini
Illinois had an extremely young team at the time led by freshman Cory Bradford.
The Illini started the great run off by beating No. 23 Minnesota in the first round. They had to take the Gophers to overtime but they managed to pull off the miracle.
Indiana was the next matchup for Illinois. They were ranked No. 17 in the nation and were pretty good that year.
Illinois trounced the Hoosiers in the second round game, 82-66. This left a matchup with the Ohio State Buckeyes.
The Buckeyes were a great team. They were led by Michael Redd and Scoonie Penn. There was no way the Illini could take down this team.
Well, Ohio State would go on to the Final 4 in 1999 but they couldn’t get past a tough Illinois team in the Big Ten Tournament.
The Illini beat the Buckeyes 79-77. This was a huge victory and launched them into the Big Ten Tournament finals.
Illinois would lose to Michigan State in that final game, but what a run they went on.
I would have loved to have an all-tournament pass to this Big Ten Tournament. It was special and I could only watch it on the television.
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