Illinois Basketball: 4 ways the Illini beating Duke will impact the future
4. NCAA tournament seeding
What is the end goal of all Division I basketball programs? Get to the NCAA tournament and win a national title. That is pretty simple. So, how do you get there?
Winning during the regular season.
Going into the game on Tuesday against No. 10 Duke, Illinois had a 3-1 record. The three wins came against low-level DI programs, though. They failed to hold on against No. 2 Baylor, which would have been a signature win as well.
Losing to Duke would have put Illinois at 3-2 without a signature win. Their best win would have been against a tough, yet unranked, Ohio program. Even that win was iffy at best.
With an 83-68 win over Duke, Illinois notched a top 10 victory. This is a win that will bear fruit down the road when the NCAA tournament seeds teams. Having a couple of ranked wins against Big Ten teams is fine. That will get you into the NCAA tournament. But beating non-conference ranked teams is what elevates a program.
With a win over Duke, and a solid finish to the season, I have no doubt in my mind Illinois can lock in a top-three seed in the postseason. This shouldn’t be in question. When it comes down to it, the committee is going to look at the quad wins and who you beat. When they see the Illini beat No. 10 Duke, they will then elevate the program into a better seeding.
dark. Next. Observations about the upcoming Illini week 3
Beating Duke is great now and everyone is feeling good, but this win also affects the future greatly. This victory will look great when it comes time for seeding the NCAA tournament.