Illini Basketball

Illinois basketball isn’t really all that good. And its “National Coach of the Year” candidate? Likewise. The Illini drop a heartbreaker at the buzzer to Penn State.

There was a Big Ten title on the line yesterday at The Hall for Senior Day. Unfortunately, the score didn’t end up where the Illini faithful wanted it. Rob McColley reports with a pictorial review.

With last night’s win and a Purdue loss in Ann Arbor, the Illini are still statisically in the race for a Big Ten title. Here’s how they helped themselves against Minnesota at the Hall on Thursday.

From a record-breaking loss to a more-than-solid road win against an NCAA bound rival, the Illini know a thing or two about inconsistency. Yet the good guys in Orange are still battling for the Big Ten crown. It’s causing the team (and its rivals) to look differently all the time.

The Illini scored just four points in the final ten minutes of last night’s game versus Penn State. Needless to say, they did not win the ballgame. Here is why.

The Illini officially control their own destiny in the Big Ten. If they win out, they take at least a share of the prize. But what comes next is not easy. Not even close.

Last year, Indiana got the best of Illinois, both on the court and off. This year, Illinois turned it around, despite a rowdy sold out crowd in Bloomington.

Northwestern’s Bill Carmody scouted the Illini with precision, and beat Bruce Weber’s Illiini on Thursday in Evanston, Ill. The only problem was the final score. It showed the downstaters ahead by one with no time left.

When the Big Ten releases its basketball schedule each year, Illini fans generally notch a win or two, based on how many times Illinois plays Northwestern.

You can’t do that anymore.