Illinois Basketball: 4 observations from the Illini loss against Rutgers

4. Currently, Illinois is not an NCAA tournament second-weekend team

Let me preface this slide by saying, I support Illinois basketball and will root them on every single game. I think they have the talent to win the national title as well. But the team I watched on Wednesday night and for the past three games, is not an NCAA tournament second-weekend team.

What does the second-weekend team mean? That means we win the first two games of the NCAA tournament and make it to the Sweet 16. The way this team is playing right now, there is no way we get to the Sweet 16.

If Brad Underwood doesn’t change something with this program, I have a hard time seeing the Illini winning much of anything down the stretch. We travel to No. 19 Michigan State next and then take on No. 18 Ohio State. The final three games are at Michigan, vs Penn State, and vs Iowa. If we play like we are playing now in those five games, we will struggle in each contest.

Is winning the Big Ten regular-season even a question right now? I mean, we are only a half-game out of the lead, but over the past three games, the Illini have given me no indication that they can finish the season strong. Again, we need a dramatic change if we want to win the conference.

I have no idea what Underwood is going to do the rest of the season. He has been known to stay with the status quo. I am afraid, if he sticks with the status quo, that the season is going to end sooner than we want it to end. Change needs to happen and it needs to happen starting this weekend against the Spartans. Don’t fear change, embrace it.