The past month or so has been quite the ride for the Illinois basketball program.
Back on January 8, the Illini were sitting pretty after a 39-point win over Penn State. This win moved the program to 12-3 overall and 4-1 in the Big Ten. Since that point, the season has been a roller coaster.
With so much turmoil caused by injury and illness, Illinois has been struggling on the court. We had only won back-to-back games just once in the following 13 contests. That is a tough stretch, and it was capped off with three straight losses to top 12 programs by double-digit points.
Heading into the Iowa game this past Tuesday, Illinois was 17-11 overall and 9-8 in the conference. Most of the talk was about Brad Underwood and his coaching ability. While that chatter was put to bed, the main question I had was whether or not Illinois was going to make the NCAA tournament.
Now that I look back at the Iowa game and what Illinois has ahead of them, I realize that the Illini are already in NCAA tournament mode.
A loss against the Hawkeyes would have been a knockout shot. To me, that was a lose and go home type of contest. If Illinois drops that game, the season was going to be over. Much like the NCAA tournament, Illinois survived and advanced.
That mentality shouldn’t drift away either. Illinois heads to No. 15 Michigan on Sunday. No. 20 Purdue then comes to Champaign on March 7. While these two games aren’t knockout games, Illinois will likely still have the NCAA tournament mentality, as they are proving ground contests.
Illinois is on a game-by-game basis right now. At one time, we were clearly one of the top teams in the country. That clout is now gone. We now have to show the country that we are a good team and not reeling from a tough 2025.
So, the next two games against top 20 programs will be like NCAA tournament contests. These games should be about building confidence and proving that we belong.
After the tough finish to the schedule, Illinois will be in full survival and advance mode. The Big Ten Tournament and the NCAA tournament will be here.
Illinois basketball needs to keep getting quality games out of key players
With NCAA tournament mode activated, Illinois needs its key players to step up and play well on a nightly basis. Every game is massively important, and this is when you make your money, literally and figuratively.
The Iowa game was a good first contest in NCAA tournament mode. Let’s get that type of production every game on the way out.
Illinois’ most important players right now are Kasparas Jakucionis, Tomislav Ivisic, and Will Riley. In the 81-61 win over the Hawkeyes, these three combined for 46 points, 18 rebounds, 10 assists, two steals, and two blocks.
Those numbers are exactly what Illinois needs to survive and advance. In addition to that, the trio was efficient, shooting 19-of-37, 51.4%, from the field.
If this trio is playing A- basketball or better, Illinois is nearly unbeatable. Iowa only got B+ basketball out of them, and we were able to win by 20 points. Now that all three are back and healthy, my hope is that this is the start of a special little run to end the 2024-25 campaign.