Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Nebraska
4. We had to win that game
Coming into Friday night, I didn’t think there was any way Illinois was going to lose to Nebraska. In fact, I thought the Illini should win this game by double-digits and go deep in the bench to get guys playing time.
That didn’t happen at all. In fact, a 4-11 Nebraska program took the Illini to the brink of collapse before Ayo Dosunmu put on his cape and saved the day. This game went from a sure-win to a must-win in a matter of about an hour.
Just sit there and think about what your Saturday morning would have started out like if Illinois had lost. It would have been Code Red, everything is collapsing with the Illinois basketball program. We would have lost to one of the worst teams in the nation. But a loss would have been bigger than that.
If Illinois would have fallen to Nebraska, we would have dropped out of the top 10 and wouldn’t have been invited back in. I would venture to say, the Illini would have been outside the top 20 if this ended up being a loss.
When it comes to the NCAA tournament, Illinois wouldn’t be any better than a four or five seed if they fell to Nebraska. It would have put the Illini directly in the path of a No. 12 seed come tournament time, and no one wants to see that happen.
Next. Interview with Illini target Wesley Cardet Jr.. dark
Honestly, if this was a loss, everything would have been in question. But, thankfully, Ayo led us to victory. This wasn’t a loss. We had to win this game to prevent mass chaos amongst Illinois fans.