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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) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – MARCH 08: Head coach Brad Underwood of the Illinois Fighting Illini celebrates with fans following the game against the Iowa Hawkeyes at State Farm Center on March 8, 2020 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

1. Illinois vs. #5 Michigan – December 11, 2019

I believe the No. 1 win set the tone for the entire 2019-20 campaign. There are some wins throughout time you can point to that made the rest of the season. One that comes to mind was Illinois’ victory over then No. 1 Wake Forest in 2004-05. While the win over No. 5 Michigan this past season isn’t the same as that win over the Demon Deacons, it is definitely in the same ballpark.

Illinois’ season was off to a less than ideal start. Dropping back-to-back games against power-five conference programs hurt. This brought the Illini’s record to 6-3 overall and we started 0-1 in the Big Ten. The next game was against an extremely tough Wolverines bunch.

Everything changed that cold December day in 2019. Illinois took a two-point lead into halftime and extended it to nine points in a 71-62 victory over Michigan. Taking down the No. 5 team in the nation is a big deal, but the ramifications of this win were felt for the entire season.

Instead of losing and being 6-4 on the season and 0-2 in the Big Ten, the Illini won the game and moved to 7-3 overall and 1-1 in conference play. That alone is a huge difference. But this win also helped Illinois win nine out of the following 11 games, moving the overall record to 16-5, squarely in the NCAA tournament.

Beating a top-five team has been a rare feat for the Illini over the past decade or so. This win over Michigan showed the world Illinois had turned a corner. It was a great resume builder as well.

Next. Top 5 Illini wins in the Lovie Smith era. dark

It was a toss-up on which game would be No. 1 on the list of the biggest wins in the Brad Underwood era. I believe the victory over the Wolverines takes the cake. This win was the foundation for what would be one of the best seasons in the last 20 years.

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