Illinois Basketball: Pivotal games ahead for the Illini this week

Illinois basketball finished this past week strong, and the upcoming stretch of games looks to be pivotal.

The Illini women’s team started last week off with a tough loss to the Purdue Boilermakers. That loss isn’t looking too bad now, as the Boilermakers have won three straight and just knocked off No. 2 Ohio State on the road.

On Sunday, Illinois was able to get back on the winning wagon with a victory over Michigan State. This moved our record to 17-5 overall and 7-4 in Big Ten action.

The men’s Illinois basketball team went undefeated this past week with wins over Ohio State and on the road against Wisconsin. Illinois needed these two victories after a rough loss to Indiana. We have now won six out of the past seven games, and our record sits at 15-6 overall and 6-4 in the Big Ten.

Here are some upcoming games for the Illinois basketball programs that will be pivotal for Big Ten positioning.

Illinois Basketball – Women’s

This is another measuring stick week for the women’s Illinois basketball team. We took down a ranked Iowa program this year, and now No. 13 Michigan is the next game on the schedule.

The Wolverines are tied with Illinois at 17-5 overall and 7-4 in the Big Ten. A win over the Wolverines would nearly seal an NCAA tournament appearance for the Orange and Blue. It would also put us in serious contention for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

Regardless of the result of the Michigan game, Illinois then needs to come back home and take care of business against a bad Minnesota program. The Golden Gophers are 9-12 overall and 2-8 in the Big Ten. At worst, Illinois should come out of this week 18-6 overall and 8-5 in the Big Ten.

• Thursday, February 2 – @ #13 Michigan
• Sunday, February 5 – vs Minnesota

Illinois Basketball – Men’s

The Illini men’s team is really starting to hit their stride. Winning six out of seven is an impressive feat, and the only loss was to Indiana when Matthew Mayer was sick.

First up for the men’s team is Nebraska on Tuesday. The Cornhuskers are a bottom of the Big Ten program, so this shouldn’t be too much of a problem. This is a must-win game.

On the road against Iowa on Saturday is going to be the big game for Illinois this week. Iowa is nipping at the heels of the Illini, as they sit at 13-8 overall and 5-5 in Big Ten play. They are going to be giving their best shot to Illinois. I also want to note, the Hawkeyes just beat Rutgers on Sunday, so they can play with some of the better teams in the conference.

Illinois should win both of these games. I fully expect the Illini to come out of this week with a 17-6 record overall and 8-4 in the Big Ten. This should put us in the driver’s seat for a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament.

• Tuesday, January 31 – vs Nebraska
• Saturday, February 4 – @ Iowa