4. Illini make Big Ten Tournament title game
The description Illini make Big Ten Tournament title game is pretty generic. Some people might be confused about this one because we have made multiple title games and won a few over the last couple of decades.
I am not talking about any of the title games we were supposed to get to or win. Let me take you back to the 1998-99 campaign. Some of you reading this might have not been born yet. But this was a crazy campaign filled with disappointment and tremendous shock.
Illinois struggled during the regular season. The team finished with a record of 11-17. A big reason the record was so bad was the fact the Illini went up against 11 ranked teams in the 16 Big Ten games they played that year. It was a brutal schedule.
Entering the Big Ten Tournament, there wasn’t much hope for the Illini. They were the No. 11 seed, which was the worst possible seed you could be in the Big Ten tournament at the time. After a 3-13 regular-season conference record, no one thought this team could make a run.
Illinois took down No. 23 ranked Minnesota in the first round. This was an upset but nothing that shocked the world. The Illini then went up against No. 17 Indiana in the second round. Illinois not only beat the Hoosiers, but they came away with a 16-point win. This was a big shocker.
The Illini advanced to the final four of the Big Ten Tournament. Most fans would have been happy with that, but this team wasn’t done yet. Illinois then took down No. 11 Ohio State. An 11-17 team that finished last in the conference advanced to the championship game of the Big Ten Tournament.
I remember it all going down. The cable went out just hours before the championship game started. My family had to truck over to my uncle’s house to watch the final game. Illinois would go on to lose to Michigan State in the title game, but this run was special and will always be remembered.