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Illinois Basketball: History of Illini upsets in the NCAA tournament

By Rees Woodcock

ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 26: A detail of a net hanging from the rim with an official NBA 2012 Orlando NBA All-Star logo during the 2012 NBA All-Star Game at the Amway Center on February 26, 2012 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
ORLANDO, FL - FEBRUARY 26: A detail of a net hanging from the rim with an official NBA 2012 Orlando NBA All-Star logo during the 2012 NBA All-Star Game at the Amway Center on February 26, 2012 in Orlando, Florida. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. (Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /
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DETROIT, MI – MARCH 15: A detail view of the March Madness logo that is embossed into the official tournament basketballs is seen during an open public practice during the practice day before the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament on March 15, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
DETROIT, MI – MARCH 15: A detail view of the March Madness logo that is embossed into the official tournament basketballs is seen during an open public practice during the practice day before the first round of the 2018 NCAA Tournament on March 15, 2018 at Little Caesars Arena, in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

1988 – No. 3 Illinois v No. 6 Villanova

The following season, Illinois had a few new guys on the team and they started to gel. They once again played well in the regular season and earned their right to go to the NCAA tournament. While it wasn’t in the same fashion, this Illini team still fell too early.

In the 1988 NCAA tournament, the No. 1 seeds were Temple led by Tim Perry, Purdue who had Troy Lewis leading the way, Oklahoma with a star-studded lineup featuring Stacey King, Harvey Grant and Mookie Blaylock and Arizona with future NBA defensive stud Sean Elliott.

Once again, upsets were plentiful. No. 6 Kansas managed to storm through the NCAA tournament and beat Oklahoma in the national title. That team was led by Danny Manning. No. 13 Richmond, No. 11 Rhode Island, No. 14 Murray State and No. 10 Loyola Marymount all advanced past the first round. Illinois also advanced past the first round as well.

The Illini made the NCAA tournament as a No. 3 seed again. This time they actually beat the No. 14 seed, though. No. 14 UTSA didn’t have enough to take down the Illini. The next team up was No. 6 Villanova. The Wildcats didn’t have a great team but they were solid. Illinois had studs. They had four players drop 10 or more points in this game. Kenny Battle led the way with 15 points and 6 rebounds.

Illinois ended up taking a 10-point lead into halftime. That seemed like a big enough margin to be able to put Villanova away. But, that wasn’t the case. The Wildcats came out in the second half and played well. They had Mark Plansky and Tom Greis each drop 16 points as Villanova outscored Illinois by 13 points in the second half. No. 3 Illinois fell to No. 6 Villanova 66-63. Villanova would go on to make the Elite 8 that year.

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