Saturday night was one of the best feelings an Illinois basketball fan has had in decades.
The Illini punched our ticket to the Final Four for the first time since 2005. It wasn’t one of those nail-bitters, either. Illinois didn’t have to come back from 14 points down with less than four minutes left.
For much of the contest against Iowa, Illinois had control of the game. We were the better team even when they jumped out to a 12-2 lead. With our ticket punched, Illinois finally got to see who we played next Saturday.
UConn.
Yes, the Huskies that have give the Orange and Blue nightmares for the past three years.
Historically, we are 1-4 against UConn, but it has been the last two matchups that have given Illinois fans nightmares.
Back in the 2024 NCAA tournament, Illinois made another great run to the Elite 8. Much like this season, we had the confidence we could advance past the Elite 8 and maybe get to another national championship.
For the first 20 minutes of that Elite 8 contest against UConn, things were looking up. That is when the Huskies started to drag us to the tune of a 30-0 run. Needless to say, that game ended quickly in the second half.
Illinois had a golden opportunity for a little sweet revenge earlier this season. We got a chance to take out the Huskies at Madison Square Garden. It wasn’t the 25-point blowout we suffered just two seasons prior, but Illinois still wasn’t super competitive. We fell to UConn, 74-61.
Saturday is going to be one of the biggest games in the history of the Illinois basketball program. We have suffered two brutal defeats at the hands of the Huskies the last few seasons, but in the words of the great Ted Lasso, “Be a goldfish.”
Illinois basketball is a different team than even we were at the beginning of this season
UConn got the best of us back in November, but Illinois isn’t the same team we were back then. This team has been through so much in the last few months, and we are currently stronger than ever.
The freshman duo of Keaton Wagler and David Mirkovic wasn’t who they are today. They both have developed and grown into leadership roles. Andrej Stojakovic has found his voice on the team, and he is playing some of the best basketball of his career.
Illinois’ bench is also settled in. Stojakovic is now coming off the bench, and Ben Humrichous and Zvonomir Ivisic are massive height that we can count on.
The Huskies are going to roll into this Final Four expecting what they saw back in November. I think they are in for a rude awakening when this version of the Illinois basketball team shows up in Indianapolis.