The women’s Illinois basketball team just finished up the second round of the Big Ten Tournament.
The Illini went into the game against a hot Nebraska squad that boat raced Rutgers the night before. Illinois looked like the better team for much of the night, but the Cornhuskers hit a different gear in the fourth quarter.
A combination of a scoring drought mixed in with a tremendous lack of depth killed Illinois down the stretch. Nebraska finished on a 13-5 run to clinch the second round tilt, 74-70.
Entering the game, there were multiple projections on where Illinois could land in the NCAA tournament. The projections were in the No. 8 vs. No. 9 matchup. This would be the highest the Illini have been seeded in the NCAA tournament in over 20 years.
With the loss to Nebraska in their first game of the Big Ten Tournament, there is a solid chance Illinois could drop in the NCAA tournament seeding. But is this a bad thing?
Illinois basketball could have a better road to the Sweet 16 with the loss to Nebraska
A loss is never a good thing. I wanted Illinois to win, and I was disappointed with how we finished the game. There were some bad plays made, we couldn’t rebound the basketball, and the shots that were forced up at the end were unnecessary.
At the end of the day, this loss could end up helping Illinois. Let me explain.
Illinois was likely on the No. 8 vs. No. 9 line entering Thursday. Honestly, there isn’t much of a gap, if any, between the No. 7 through No. 10 seeds in the NCAA tournament. To me, they are all interchangeable.
So, would you want to be on the No. 8 vs. No. 9 line and the second round matchup be the No. 1 seed? The other option is that Illinois might drop down to the No. 10 seed and play in the No. 10 vs. No. 7 seed matchup.
The loss to Nebraska could push the Illini down a bit to that No. 10 seed. That would work for me because now Illinois gets to play a No. 7 seed, which is essentially the same as the No. 8 or 9 seed. Instead of playing the No. 1 seed in the second round, we would get a slightly weaker team in a No. 2 seed.
Any of the No. 1 or No. 2 seeds will be tough, but I think Illinois’ chances go up at knocking off a No. 2 seed. At the end of the day, winning in the first round would be an accomplishment. Check that off the list, and let’s go shock the world.