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

1. 2003 vs No. 13 Western Kentucky (W) – Dee Brown 16 points, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals

The 2000s were a crazy time to be an Illinois basketball fan. Dee Brown joined an already surging program and one that was starved for tremendous success.

As a true freshman, it is hard to come into a program that is winning and make an impact immediately. I mean, Illinois was coming off a Sweet 16 appearance the year before, so the sky was the limit for this program.

Brown stepped into a starting guard spot from the jump and never looked back. Illinois improved their winning percentage the first year Brown was on campus. He made such an impact, and that is one of the reasons why Illinois would go on to win the Big Ten Tournament.

Illinois would then enter the 2003 NCAA tournament as the No. 4 seed. The first round matchup would be against No. 13 Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are never an easy first round game, and they proved that against the Illini.

Western Kentucky was only down three points at halftime and kept the game close throughout. Illinois would only win by five points, 65-60. A big reason why the Illini won was due to the freshman putting up big numbers. Brown would finish the game with a near triple-double of 16 points, eight assists, seven rebounds, and two steals. He was incredible in that game, and amazing for the Illinois basketball program.