You can point to quite a few things this Illinois basketball team has done that hasn’t happened in a long time.
Honestly, I have never seen a player like Kofi Cockburn come through the program. He has done incredible things in the paint. His name will be cemented in the freshman record book. Illinois hasn’t been this competitive in the Big Ten in a long time either.
The Illini are currently in a tie with Michigan State for the No. 1 spot in the conference. It has been a long time since the Orange and Blue were in the top half of the Big Ten, let alone at the top. And tonight, against Minnesota, Illinois is attempting to do something that hasn’t happened in about a decade and a half.
Illinois is currently on a six-game winning streak in the heart of the schedule. There is a solid chance we can move this winning streak to seven games tonight when we take on the Golden Gophers. Do you know how long it has been since the Illini have won seven games in a row?
The last time this happened was the 2013-2014 campaign. But those seven games were, honestly, a lot less meaningful. It was the first seven games of the season, and the best team we faced was UNLV. The seven-game winning streak the Illini could be hitting tonight would consist of all Big Ten opponents.
Now let’s look at that history. Do you know the last time Illinois won seven-straight Big Ten games? You have to go all the way back to the 2004-2005 national title run to find the last Orange and Blue squad to accomplish this goal. That team was okay.
So, the Illini have a chance to do something special against Minnesota. This wouldn’t just be a win in the record books. This would be a victory for the ages. This would be one of those wins that puts us as one of the elite teams in the history of Illinois basketball.