At least it was an entertaining game that featured a great big man match-up in Deon Thomas and Kiwane Garris.Īnother cameo appearance as the Illini barely squeaked in as an #11 and got bounced by #6 seed Tulsa in Albany. One and done in the #8-#9 game at the hands of Georgetown. The joy didn’t last long as #3 seed Vanderbilt (yes, Vandy was once this good at basketball, amazingly) blew them out in round two.
The Dayton Flyers won 88-86, sending the Illini home earlyĪfter two years on probation, thanks to Bruce Pearl (this is one of a zillion reasons why he’s a not good human being), Illinois won as a #6 over the #11 seed Long Beach State in Salt Lake City. Illinois followed up that magical season by falling prey to the dreaded #12 over #5 upset in Austin. After all Dick Vitale HAS to mention them every single time he calls an Illini game for some reason.Īs you know their story already, let’s move on. The Flyin’ Illini are a little bit before my time, but so much has been written and said about these guys, deservedly so, I feel I know their story pretty well. On the eve of the Big Ten final against Ohio State/Selection Sunday, let’s stroll down memory lane. Having two of my three older sisters attend U of I, I am very familiar with what came before I checked in on Illini Athletics, however, for the purposes of this article, we’re only going to go through that which I remember vividly. If you don’t know where you’ve been, you’ll never figure out where you’re going.Īs a Xennial, Half Gen-X/Half millenial, my Illini fandom experiience begins in 1991, a few years before I enrolled at the school. Yes, Kofi’s first team suffered a lot of bad losses (Florida Atlantic, Northwestern and more) but that all feels like ancient history right now. That motivated me to come here and be a part of this change.” “They lost to a really bad team when I came here. “When I came on my visit, I saw this program as a losing program,” said All-American center Kofi Cockburn. Now, just two years later, they’re ranked #3 in the entire country and they’ll be on the top seed line for the upcoming big dance. His second team at Illinois, in 2018-19, broke the school record for single season losses. Underwood’s program turnaround is now complete. “Last year was taken away from us and we were playing great at the time,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said on media Zoom following his side’s double digit win over Iowa in the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. Of course, last year brought no March Madness for anybody, as it was one of the first major casualties of the pandemic. That duo combined for 34 points, too.The Illinois Fighting Illini would have seen their seven year NCAA Tournament drought snapped a year ago, getting in as a #6 or #7 seed most likely. That is his lowest output of the season and understandable with him seeing Edey and Williams, two players equal his size all game long. In that game, Purdue held Cockburn in check, just 10 points in 22 minutes before he ultimately fouled out. Their defense needs a lot of improvement, but they match up really well against Illinois, which is why they beat them 96-88 in double overtime earlier in the season (oops, did I forget to mention that? - REVENGE). The Boilermakers are the best team in the Big Ten this season, maybe the best team in the country when all is said and done. Moneyline: Illini +195, Boilermakers -235 Best Bet There are a lot of reasons to tune in for what should be a great game. Oh, and Jaden Ivey of Purdue just might be the best guard in the country. If you like contrasts in styles, Purdue is the top offensive efficiency team in the country (and in conference play), while Illinois has been the best defensive team in league games this season.