3. The tough games now will prepare us for the Big Ten
There is no doubt that Illinois has gone through some tough times early on in the season. They are only 2-5 with the road ahead not looking that much easier. But, these losses aren’t all doom and gloom if you think about it.
While losing is not fun, these tough games are preparing the Illini team for the Big Ten. In years past, Illinois has played a cupcake non-conference and then flamed out during Big Ten games. That won’t happen this year. Illinois is playing tougher competition and preparing themselves for tough matchups in conference play.
Illinois has five losses this season and in four of those losses, the opposing team is inside the top 62 in the RPI. The other team is Xavier who has started to play well as of late. So, the losses aren’t terrible, but the road ahead isn’t much easier.
Looking forward, the Illini schedule will feature No. 16 Ohio State twice. They take on No. 7 Michigan once, No. 14 Iowa once, No. 22 Wisconsin twice, No. 24 Maryland once, No. 9 Michigan State once and No. 19 Purdue once. That is a tough road ahead.
Despite the struggles early, these tough games will prepare the Illini to take on ranked opponents moving forward. Illinois has nine ranked conference games still to play. Hopefully, we can win some of these and get back on track to make the postseason.