Illinois Basketball: 5 takeaways from the Illini loss to Iowa

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CHAMPAIGN, IL – JANUARY 31: A young fan watches as teams warm up for the Big Ten conference game between the Wisconsin Badgers and the Illinois Fighting Illini on January 31, 2017, at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1. I am out of NCAA tournament hope

Illinois dropped a pretty bad game last night to the Iowa Hawkeyes. This was a game that should have gotten the Illini back on track and to 11-7, but they failed to close out yet another contest in which they had complete control.

I understood losing the first two games of the regular Big Ten Conference slate. Going on the road against Minnesota and Michigan is tough. But, Iowa came to the State Farm Center and they had the worst record in the conference.

The Illini needed to win this game to keep my hope for the NCAA tournament alive. I had them winning against the Hawkeyes and then splitting the next two games on the road against Nebraska and Wisconsin. That was the path that would set their sails towards the postseason.

With an ugly next three games, Illinois is now potentially looking at a 10-11 record overall and 0-8 in the Big Ten. That is really bad and I am kind of disappointed. I know every game has been close but I expected better out of this team that has talent. I don’t care what anyone says, Illinois has the talent to win these games but they just aren’t.

Now that the Illini postseason hopes are out of reach, it is time to just play the players who will help this team moving forward.

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