Illinois Hoping To Move Past Early NCAA Tournament Exits
The Illinois Fighting Illini are the most successful program in the Big Ten during the regular season the past five years.
The postseason, however, is a different story.
Despite grabbing high seeds, the Illini have struggled in the NCAA Tournament. They have yet to make it past the second round in their last three appearances.
"They don't know history," Illini coach Brad Underwood said. "That's only because you guys talk about it. This is a new group, a veteran group ... Every great program, there's been a ton of them that's had ups and downs in the tournament."
Last year the Illini lost to the No. 8 seeded Arkansas Razorbacks. A year before, they were the No. 4 seed before losing to No. 5 Houston in the second round. In 2021, they were the No. 1 seed but lost to No. 8 Loyola-Chicago in the second round.
This year's team, which has won eight of the last nine games, is ready to reverse the trend.
"Last year was kind of embarrassing for me, first-round exit," Illini forward Coleman Hawkins said. "It's definitely a game I felt like was winnable for us but we just didn't compete hard. I felt like some of the guys gave up. I feel like we got a really good team this year that's ready to face any challenge. We're ready to compete. I feel like the difference between this year's team and last year's team is nobody is ready to go home."
Shandel Richardson is the publisher of Illini Now. He can be reached at shandelrich@gmail.com