I don’t think there has ever been this big of a roller coaster for an Illinois basketball season in my lifetime.
The Illini were once one of the top dogs in the nation. That came to an end once illness and injury plagued the program. Just in the past week or so, Illinois started to get healthy again, and the results showed.
Illinois finished the regular season on a three-game winning streak, which included two wins over ranked opponents. We even managed to sneak into the AP Top 25, sitting at No. 24 in the country, despite having 11 losses.
A big part of Illinois’ success this season is due to freshmen. Kasparas Jakcuionis and Will Riley will get all of the shine, but I would argue Morez Johnson Jr. has been just as big a part of this team as anyone.
Johnson leads Illinois in blocks and is second on the team in rebounds despite only averaging 17.8 minutes per game this season. His game was really starting to come together in mid-February, but then he went down with a broken wrist. Illinois proceeded to lose the next two games by a total of 64 points.
With Illinois playing well again, and the Big Ten Tournament starting up, we needed a boost. This program needed something that could put us over the edge and help propel us to a Big Ten Tournament title. That something is Johnson.
On Monday night, the Illinois men’s basketball social media account posted a video. The simple caption of the post was, “Reloading for postseason. @morezjohnsonJr is back!”
Illinois basketball has a chance to do something special in the Big Ten Tournament with Morez Johnson Jr. back in the fold
If watching that video doesn’t get you excited for Thursday, then I am not sure what will. Illinois has the band back together, and we are ready to rock Indianapolis.
I went over what I think the scenarios could be for the Illini Big Ten Tournament, but Johnson coming back makes me even more intrigued for the possible rematch with Maryland.
The lone game Illinois played against Maryland this season was ugly. Illinois was only down three points at halftime, but the Terrapins took full control in the second half, beating us 91-70.
Julian Reese and Derik Queen went crazy on the Illini. They combined for 52 points, 23 rebounds, five assists, three steals, and three blocks. They also shot 22-of-36, 61.1%, from the field.
Illinois did have Johnson in that game, but we didn’t have Tomislav Ivisic. This was one of the games he missed with illness. So, Johnson was Illinois’ lone big man, and he got into foul trouble trying to stop the two Maryland big men.
If Illinois can win in the second round, the Terrapins will be waiting in the third round. We would finally get a chance at Maryland with our frontcourt at full-ish strength. I honestly believe Illinois could make a serious run at winning the Big Ten Tournament. Buckle up, folks.