CHAMPAIGN — The Sweet 16 has been anything but for Illinois throughout the program's history with some obvious exceptions. Mike Hebert's teams made a pair of Final Four appearances in the late 1980s. The 2011 team played for a national championship.
But the Sweet 16 has been a fairly formidable road block for the Illini.
Illinois cleared that hurdle Friday, systematically taking apart Marquette for a 25-19, 25-21, 25-16 sweep and its first Elite Eight berth since that 2011 runner-up finish. It also set up another rematch with Wisconsin after the Badgers also swept San Diego at Huff Hall.