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Illinois Basketball: Top 5 Illini 1st round performances of the last 20 seasons

By Rees Woodcock

CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 02: Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini brings the ball up court during the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at State Farm Center on January 2, 2021 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL - JANUARY 02: Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini brings the ball up court during the game against the Purdue Boilermakers at State Farm Center on January 2, 2021 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /
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CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 13: Mike Davis #24 of the Illinois Fighting Illini tries to fire up the crowd against the Purdue Boilermakers at Assembly Hall on February 13, 2011 in Champaign, Illinois. Purdue defeated Illinois 81-70. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, IL – FEBRUARY 13: Mike Davis #24 of the Illinois Fighting Illini tries to fire up the crowd against the Purdue Boilermakers at Assembly Hall on February 13, 2011 in Champaign, Illinois. Purdue defeated Illinois 81-70. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /

4. 2011 vs No. 8 UNLV (W) – Mike Davis 22 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists

Illinois basketball doesn’t have a lot of recent postseason success, but checking in at the No. 4 spot is Mike Davis from the 2011 NCAA tournament.

The Illini were living on the bubble of the NCAA tournament for about 15 years. The 2010-11 campaign was one of the bubble marches, but Illinois was able to squeak in as the No. 9 seed that season.

Illinois’ first round matchup was against a tough team in No. 8 UNLV. The Illini came out of the gates playing some good basketball in that first game of the tournament. We took a 22-point halftime lead into the locker room. UNLV would narrow the margin a bit in the second half, but the Illini would still win the game 73-62.

After that win, Illinois would then test No. 1 Kansas but fell just short. We couldn’t have even gotten to that point without Davis manning the paint. He was sensational against the Running Rebels that day.

Davis would finish the game with 22 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. He hit 7-of-13 from the field as well. There weren’t a ton of bright spots for the Orange and Blue during this time, but Davis was extremely underrated. He kept the program afloat and performed well against UNLV.

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