This has been one of the most unique Illinois basketball seasons in recent memory.
Usually, at this point in the campaign, the Illini need a win, and we are eyeing a top-six seed in the NCAA tournament. A big win would help elevate us to a potentially a No. 4 or No. 5 seed.
That isn’t the case this season. Illinois has played some great basketball in the first 19 games of the season. We have knocked off three ranked teams and taken another three ranked opponents down to the wire.
Honestly, this has been the most comfortable I have been with an Illini team since the 2005 national title run. I feel even more comfortable with this team than the Elite 8 program a couple of years back.
With that being said, Illinois sits at 16-3 overall and 7-1 in the Big Ten. Being No. 11 in the country is a great achievement, but the overall goal is positioning when it comes to the NCAA tournament.
Illinois has done a great job setting the table for the final 12 games of the season. We have put ourselves in a prime position to win the Big Ten regular season. Moreover, something I am keeping an eye on right now, Illinois literally controls our own destiny when it comes to NCAA tournament seeding.
The Illini currently rank No. 11 in the AP Top 25 and No. 9 in the NET Rankings. The NET Rankings are really the thing that matters, though.
On Saturday, Illinois takes on No. 4 Purdue on the road. We also have No. 7 Nebraska and No. 10 Michigan State on the road in the next five games. That stretch alone can take Illinois from a borderline top 10 program to a team that is inside the top five nationally.
And then in late February, Illinois has No. 3 Michigan in Champaign. This is a game we have all been waiting for. The return of the traitor Morez Johnson Jr.
The path to the No. 1 seed is pretty simple for the Illinois basketball program
As it sits right now, Illinois has six games against Quad 1 programs in the final 12 games of the season. The four ranked opponents mentioned above, and then we head to UCLA and USC, which are both just inside the Quad 1 criteria because they are road games.
When it all comes down to the seeding, it is pretty simple what Illinois needs to do. The eight non-ranked games need to victories. That is goal No. 1.
The next goal is to, at worst, split the four ranked games. Three of those are on the road, so it will be tough, but splitting those would then put Illinois at 26-5 overall and 17-3 in the Big Ten.
On top of that great record, the Illini would also be 9-5 against Quad 1 programs, which is a quality record.
If you pair that record up with a solid run in the Big Ten Tournament, then I believe Illinois can notch a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament. It all starts on Saturday against No. 4 Purdue.