Writing Illini
Fansided

Illinois Basketball: Top 5 Illini wins in the Brad Underwood era

By Rees Woodcock

ANN ARBOR, MI - JANUARY 25: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood smiles as he talks to his team in a huddle during a timeout during a regular season Big Ten Conference game between the Illinois Fighting Illini (21) and the Michigan Wolverines on January 25, 2020, at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Illinois defeated Michigan 64-62. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
ANN ARBOR, MI - JANUARY 25: Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood smiles as he talks to his team in a huddle during a timeout during a regular season Big Ten Conference game between the Illinois Fighting Illini (21) and the Michigan Wolverines on January 25, 2020, at Crisler Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Illinois defeated Michigan 64-62. (Photo by Scott W. Grau/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 6
Next
Illinois basketball
EVANSTON, ILLINOIS – FEBRUARY 27: head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini reacts in the second half against the Northwestern Wildcats at Welsh-Ryan Arena on February 27, 2020 in Evanston, Illinois. (Photo by Quinn Harris/Getty Images) /

4. Illinois @ Wisconsin – January 8, 2020

Another head-scratcher to some on my top five wins in the Brad Underwood era is the No. 4 spot. Not every big win comes in the form of a ranked opponent. There are some victories that have more meaning than a number.

Illinois headed to Wisconsin on January 8, 2020, to take on a Badgers program that was slightly down for the year. But playing at the Kohl Center in Madison is never an easy task. Winning there is something that has eluded the Illinois program for the last few decades.

In general, road wins were not coming easily to the Illini as they entered the game against the Badgers. We have had a few big wins over the years but most have come at home or neutral site games. The road woes were for real, which makes you think Illinois was likely to drop this game on the road in Wisconsin.

Heading into the game against the Badgers, the Illini were having an okay season. Coming off a win against Purdue at home, Illinois was sitting with a 10-5 record overall and were 2-1 in the Big Ten. This put them squarely on the bubble in most people’s eyes.

Things were not looking good for Illinois at halftime against Wisconsin. The Illini were down 34-28 on the road in an extremely tough environment. Led by Ayo Dosunmu’s 18 points, 6 assists and 5 rebounds, the Illini stormed back and won the game 71-70.

This was a massive victory for Illinois because it proved that we could win on the road in a big game. The team went up to Wisconsin and was able to build on the momentum. The Illini would be able to rattle off five more wins after the victory over the Badgers to bring their record to 16-5. I would argue the win over Wisconsin helped fast-track the Illini to the NCAA tournament.

Home/Illinois Basketball