Oh, this is something, alright... The day after Illinois punched its first ticket into the Final Four in two decades, the Fighting Illini may have caught another lucky break, so to speak. To be clear, this is very much out of their control, but if it serves Brad Underwood and his team, then so be it... Because the Tennessee Volunteers lost in the Elite Eight for the third year in a row, Illinois can win a national title.
This is because the team who beat Rick Barnes' Volunteers in the Elite Eight has gone on to lose in the national championship game following cutting down the nets in the Midwest Regional Final. 2023-24 Purdue did not get it done in its national championship. 2024-25 Houston came up a possession short of Florida in its national title bout. This means Michigan will beat Arizona, only to lose in the final.
Right now, Illinois sits comfortably on the other side of the bracket from the ensuing Midwest madness fallout. Being the South champion is a good thing! So in the event that Illinois wins its national semifinal over whoever comes out of the East Region, that bodes quite well for their chances of knocking off Michigan in the national championship. We are living in a simulation, so it is what it is...
For now, the Illini should be playing with a boulder-sized chip on its shoulder the rest of the way here.
Illinois has to get past UConn for Tennessee blessing to work in its favor
Underwood talked about this in the lead-up to the date with Houston in the Sweet 16. Illinois had one of those practices for the ages. He compared it favorably to the one leading up into the Big Ten Tournament before the world shut down in 2020. That Illinois team ended up being a building block for this Fighting Illini squad we see before us. With a blue-blood in UConn up next, what even is fear?
Overall, Illinois will enter the Final Four as the lowest seed left in the NCAA Tournament. This should come as no surprise, as Arizona, Michigan, and now UConn all won their respective regions as top-two seeds. But there is something special brewing about this team Underwood has. It ended another amazing run in the tournament for Ben McCollum's Iowa Hawkeyes. That team greatly overachieved.
Ultimately, even if the Tennessee curse for Michigan ends up being a blessing for somebody else, none of that is going to matter if Illinois does not take care of business vs. UConn next weekend over in Indianapolis. What is important to understand is Underwood is just as good as his counterparts in Tommy Lloyd, Dusty May, and now Dan Hurley. He also has a star player to work with in Keaton Wagler.
At this time, you have to appreciate the little things and seize every little bit of momentum you got!