They can’t.
I don’t think that’s exactly what my editor is looking for, but it’s the truth. We talked about it on this week’s “We Know You Have Sand, Illinois” Podcast, but the current structure requires Illinois to win five games in five days.
As far as I know, the only college basketball team to ever do that is Kemba Walker’s 2011 UConn team that went on to win the National Title. Those 11 games became one of the most miraculous runs college basketball has ever seen. So technically, it’s possible. I’ll revise my statement:
They would need a miracle.