It has been a tough couple of weeks for the Illinois basketball team, as we were once the darlings of the college basketball world.
The Illini have climbed as high as No. 13 in the AP Top 25. We took out a top-10 Oregon program by 32 points. Everyone was drooling over our talent, as we had some of the best young players in the country.
Fast forward a couple of weeks later, and now Illinois is about to drop out of the AP Top 25. We have dropped three out of four games, and Illinois’ entire roster can’t get on the court at the same time.
No one is really talking about the Illini anymore. We went from a top-three seed in the NCAA tournament to now being on the verge of a sub-six seed. That is the harsh reality of what is going on with the Illinois basketball program.
Here is the thing. There is a storm that lies ahead. Illinois is going through the easiest part of the Big Ten schedule right now, and we are struggling. That is terrifying.
Illinois is 13-6 overall and 5-4 in the Big Ten. Only one out of the last three losses were to ranked opponents, so we aren’t taking advantage of non-ranked programs. That is a killer for the record.
The Northwestern game on Sunday marks a pivotal point in the 2024-25 season. Illinois has 12 games left on the schedule, and the next six games are against unranked opponents.
Following those six games, Illinois’ final six games include five ranked opponents. We have a three-game stretch of No. 8 Michigan State, at No. 18 Wisconsin, and No. 2 Duke. Illinois then finishes the season at No. 21 Michigan and against No. 11 Purdue. Iowa is pancaked in the middle, and they are never an easy team to beat.
What the final 12 games mean to me is that the next six contests are crucial. This is Illinois’ chance to take advantage of some unranked opponents and fluff up our record a little bit before we enter the storm of the final six games of the season.
Illinois needs to turn a corner in the next six games. Illinois has Northwestern, Ohio State, and UCLA in Champaign. Those are all must-win contests. The three road games are Nebraska, Rutgers, and Minnesota. Honestly, all three of those games are very winnable, but it is the Big Ten, so I will allow a loss in those three road games.
So, Illinois finishing the next six games at 5-1 is my goal. That would put our record at 18-7 overall and 10-6 in the Big Ten. That puts us in a great position come March for both the Big Ten Tournament and NCAA tournament.
A healthy Illinois basketball team is on the horizon, and that should be scary for college basketball
It has been a painful couple of weeks, but I keep reminding myself that things are going to get better. Illinois is about to get a fully healthy roster in the coming weeks.
When someone looks at the Illinois schedule, you will see three losses in the last four games without context. But you have to add some context to why Illinois is losing.
The USC loss didn’t have our best player in Kasparas Jakucionis. He missed that game. Illinois was finally healthy against Indiana, and we beat them by 25 points and had their student section chanting to fire Mike Woodson.
Illinois then went to Michigan State and lost by two points. Tomislav Ivisic had Mono in that game and was diagnosed afterward. Ivisic then sat out in the Maryland game, and we got smoked by 21 points due to the Terrapins dominating the paint.
Underwood needs to get Illinois to stem the tides and beat Northwestern without Ivisic. Health is on the horizon, and if we can just get past the Wildcats, I think Illinois can go on a run.