Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini win over Northwestern

4. Avoided the letdown game

In the four big questions against Northwestern article, I brought up the possibilities of Illinois having a letdown game. I wanted to avoid that dreaded letdown game at all costs.

Well, on Saturday, Illinois about had that letdown game against a below-average Northwestern program. The Wildcats are not a very good program. They are now 9-10 overall and 2-8 in the Big Ten. Illinois has No. 11 Wisconsin next on the schedule as well. This was a recipe for a letdown game.

I can also point out that this was a road contest. No Big Ten game is easy on the road. So, if Illinois wasn’t taking this game seriously enough, it could have easily been a disaster.

Speaking of disaster, if Illinois falls to Northwestern, it would have been a disaster for the ranking and future postseason seeding. We couldn’t lose to a team like Northwestern. Even though the Wildcats are No. 76 in the NET Rankings, it would still have been a stain on the resume for the Orange and Blue.

Illinois avoided the letdown game that could have bit them in the butt. Thanks to the great play down the stretch, the Illini pulled this game out and remains atop the Big Ten. Let’s throw away this game film and focus on Wisconsin.