Illinois Basketball: Illini control their own destiny for No. 1 seed

Illinois basketball found themselves moving up in the latest AP Top 25 poll on Monday.

Coming into this past week, the Illini were on a two-game winning steak but had two top-seven programs on the schedule in No. 7 Ohio State and No. 2 Michigan. This was going to be a tough road, and a split between those two games would have made me happy.

But Illinois didn’t split the games. Shorthanded in the game against the Wolverines, the Illini came out and beat down the No. 2 team in the nation by 23 points.

Ayo Dosunmu would return to the team, face mask and all, for the Ohio State game. Down by two scores late in the contest, the Illini mounted a great comeback to take down the Buckeyes. Two top-seven wins in a week always bodes well in the AP Top 25.

With these two big wins, Illinois moved from No. 4 to No. 3 in the nation. Who did they hop? They hopped the Michigan Wolverines.

Michigan fell to the Illini and then, on Sunday, they dropped a game to Michigan State. For the week, the Wolverines were 1-2, and this made them drop down to No. 4 in the country.

What does this mean for Illinois basketball and what is ahead?

A top-three national ranking is something we haven’t experienced in quite some time. Illinois basketball hasn’t been ranked this high since the 2004-05 national title run where they climbed to No. 1 in the nation.

Illinois is now in the driver’s seat for a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament as well. They control their own destiny as far as NCAA tournament seeding is concerned.

The Big Ten Tournament is will sort some things out, though. That starts on Wednesday but Illinois doesn’t play their first game until Friday. The Illini will either play No. 10 Indiana or No. 7 Rutgers. If they win that game, they get to the Final Four of the conference tournament to play the winner of No. 3 Iowa versus either No. 6 Wisconsin, No. 11 Penn State or No. 14 Nebraska.

I would venture to say, if Illinois can get to the Big Ten Tournament title game, then they are a lock for the No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. If Illinois falls to Iowa in the Final Four and Michigan and Iowa play in the title game, I think Illinois might drop down to the No. 2 seed this postseason.

There is still a lot on the line in the Big Ten Tournament. Do you know what will solve any worries? Just win baby win.