The madness of March has arrived, and the Illinois basketball team has the ability to do something special in the coming weeks.
Coming into the 2025-26 campaign, I thought this could be a down year for the Illini. We lost a ton of our roster from the year prior, and it seemed like, at the time, we were going to have to rely a lot on a handful of overseas players to be stars.
Brad Underwood has never had a team gel this quickly since he arrived in Champaign. Illinois was an instant success, led by a now-All-American.
With the success changed expectations.
A 12-game winning streak was plopped right in the middle of the season, and Illinois sat with a record of 20-3 overall and 11-1 in the Big Ten. This raised expectations even more.
Despite a relatively weak finish to the season – losing five out of the last nine – Illinois still has high expectations in my book.
Underwood didn’t take over this program to only get to the NCAA tournament. The team from two years ago raised the bar with their Elite 8 run. The standard was set, and now all future Illinois teams have to pay for their success.
What determines a successful NCAA tournament appearance for the Illinois basketball team
Before we get to what a successful NCAA tournament looks like for the Illini, let’s start off with what a failed postseason entails.
- A first round loss to Penn, is that a success or failure?
Failure. Obviously, a loss to a No. 14 seed would be a failure for the Orange and Blue. This would be a sound-the-alarm type of situation. We would be talking about what massive changes need to happen to get this program on the right path again.
- A Round of 32 loss, is that a success or failure?
Failure. Illinois isn’t a top 15 team in the country and a 24-win program for no reason. We are a No. 3 seed in the NCAA tournament. As I mentioned before, the standard that was set a couple of years ago is still with this team. Anything short of the second weekend is an abject failure for the program.
- A Sweet 16 loss, is that a success or failure?
Failure. I went back and forth on this one. Getting to the Sweet 16 is a nice accomplishment, but at this point, it isn’t anything too special. We have seen this team play some of the best basketball in the country. Falling short of the 2023-24 squads' Elite 8 appearance, mixed in with the capabilities of the Illini team right now, anything short of the Elite 8 would be a failure for the program.
- An Elite 8 loss, is that a success or failure?
Success. I only put success here because everyone would love an Elite 8 appearance. I wouldn’t be the happiest fan in the world, though. The Elite 8 is the floor of success. There is plenty of room to go up, but Illinois needs to at least get to the Elite 8 in the NCAA tournament for this season to be deemed a success.
- A Final 4 or National Championship loss, is that a success or failure?
Success. The ultimate goal for Illinois should be to get to the Final 4 and the National Championship. We are a top team in the country, and that is what top teams do. It would be soul-crushing if Illinois got back to the title game and lost, but getting this far in the NCAA tournament would be a wild success. The team would go down as one of the greatest to ever come through Champaign.