Illinois basketball is nearing the third straight season of making the NCAA tournament.
Let that sink in for a moment. Three straight years of successful basketball. For those of you questioning the three straight year thing, I am counting the COVID year as making the postseason. The Illini finished ranked No. 21 in the AP Top 25, so we would have gone dancing.
Making the NCAA tournament for three straight years might not seem like a big accomplishment to some teams. Teams like Duke, Kentucky, and even Wisconsin have taken up residency at the pinnacle of the college basketball mountain.
If I was writing this piece back in 2007, I would include Illinois in the mix of permanent residence on that mountain top. But this is 2022. We are, or should I say were, a long way away from that status level in the college game.
From the 1980-81 season all the way through the 2006-07 campaign, Illinois’ longest drought from the NCAA tournament was two years. Even that two-year drought has an asterisk next to it considering the Illini would have made the 1991 NCAA tournament if it wasn’t for a postseason ban.
Illinois saw a successful run of 27 years that may never be duplicated ever again by this great program. But that successful run put the Orange and Blue on the map and made us one of the elite teams in the country.
That reputation would wear off, though. A seismic shift in the coaching landscape turned Illinois basketball upside down. The great run by the Illini didn’t just slowly start dwindling. It spiraled out of control.
NCAA tournament appearances went from a yearly occurrence to an every other year thing. But the every other year appearances would dry up as well. Soon, the once-great Illinois basketball program turned into a borderline laughingstock of the Big Ten.
Illinois basketball would eventually find the next great coach of the program.
In the previously mentioned 27-year run, the Illinois basketball program only missed the NCAA tournament five times and one of those was due to a postseason ban. After that 27-year run, things went off the rails for the Orange and Blue.
The following 10 seasons for the Illini were rough. Illinois would miss the NCAA tournament in seven out of those following 10 seasons. So, Illinois would miss the postseason more in 10 years than they did in the prior 27 years.
Missteps in the hiring process were key to the Illini failures. This led to Illinois missing four straight postseason trips. It also led to a coaching change, which would give the Illini, Brad Underwood.
Yes, the first couple of seasons were rocky for Underwood, but you could see something being built. The foundation was strong and it was a matter of when and not if the program got back to prominence.
Underwood’s big breakthrough just happened to be when a worldwide pandemic struck. Illinois finished in the top 25 at the end of the 2019-20 campaign, which was the first time the program had finished a season ranked since the 2005-06 season.
That was the first of many “first time since” for Underwood. COVID kept Illinois from the postseason that year, but Illinois would be back the following season. This time, the Illini finished the year ranked and they won the Big Ten Tournament. This was the first time since 2005 that Illinois had won the Big Ten Tournament.
Illinois would enter the postseason and play a game in the NCAA tournament. This was the first time since the 2013 NCAA tournament where Illinois actually played a postseason game. Underwood got the Illini to a
No. 1 seed in that NCAA tournament
as well. This was the first time since 2005 that Illinois entered the postseason as a No. 1 seed.
And now we get to the current 2021-22 campaign. Illinois has two games remaining and is currently ranked No. 20 in the country. Underwood is going to add to his “first time since” resume.
Here are some examples of the “first time since” statements that could be made. If Illinois finishes in the AP Top 25, it would be the first time since 2004-06 that Illinois had three straight seasons finishing in the top 25.
When Illinois makes the NCAA tournament, it would be the first time since 2005-07 that Illinois made three straight NCAA tournaments. The Illini just beat Michigan on Sunday, which gave the Orange and Blue 20 wins this season. Illinois has now had three straight seasons of 20 or more wins, which is the first time since 2008-09 through 2010-11 seasons.
Let’s not forget about the Big Ten dominance since Underwood took over Illinois. He has now had three straight seasons of 13 or more wins in the Big Ten. That has happened for the first time since, well, that has actually never happened. Illinois has never had three straight seasons of 13 wins in the Big Ten in the history of the program, granted, more games are played in the conference today.
Illinois making the NCAA tournament during the COVID year was a sign that this program could be turned around. It was proof of concept. It was needed to show the Illini fans and recruits that this program is still a sleeping giant.
Last season was a measuring stick year. It was to test if Illinois was fully back or if we were still figuring out some of the kinks. I think the second round of the NCAA tournament proved that we were still figuring out our way through the college basketball landscape.
I believe this season shows that Illinois basketball is back. I am saying this regardless of how the season ends. The Illini are about to make three straight NCAA tournament appearances. We are recruiting well. We have a good coach. We are sustaining a winning mentality. All of these are signs of an elite program.
Underwood started it all. He was the guy who turned this ship around. Illinois has gone from a floundering former great to one of the premier teams in college basketball. If it wasn’t for Underwood taking the job, Illinois fans like myself are still trying to figure out what to do next. Instead, we are trying to figure out if the Illini can win the national title. What an incredible turnaround.