3. Illinois isn’t out of the Big Ten regular season race
Before the game against Michigan State, there was a decent chance Illinois could finish the season with the Big Ten regular season crown. After falling to the Spartans, that goal was made more challenging.
With that being said, the possibilities of Illinois winning are not as great now as they were 24 hours ago, but the race for the Big Ten regular season title is not sealed up by any means.
Illinois now sits at 12-4 in the Big Ten with Michigan at 11-1. That means Illinois has a half-game lead in the win column and Michigan has a one and a half-game lead in the loss column. So, the Illini are down one game to the Wolverines as I type this article.
I think it is fair to say, Illinois has to win their final four games, three of which are against top 25 programs and two of those teams are No. 3 Michigan and No. 4 Ohio State. But Illinois would need to win their final four games of the season.
If Illinois can accomplish this goal, they would also need some help. The Wolverines would have to fall in two of their final five games. One is already a loss because they play Illinois. The other loss would then either need to come from No. 9 Iowa, at Indiana, Michigan State or at Michigan State. My eye is on the Hawkeyes.
So, if Michigan would lose to Iowa or in one of the other three games, that would put their Big Ten record at 14-3. Illinois, winning their final four games, would finish with a Big Ten record of 16-4. That means the Illini would have a one-game lead in the win column and Michigan would have a half-game lead in the loss column. This would give Illinois a half-game lead overall.
With this scenario, Illinois wins the Big Ten regular season. Could it happen? Sure, but we are going to need some help, and the Illini need to play a better brand of basketball than we saw on Tuesday night.