Each Saturday, we'll gauge the progress of Brad Underwood in getting his Illini back to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2013:
Assessment: Wins have been exceedingly difficult to come by this season for the Illini, and that trend doesn't appear to have an end in sight. Illinois has been close, which is all well and good, but this year's team is starting to flirt with the first single-digit victory season since Gene Bartow's one-and-done in 1974-75.
The standings
TEAM CONF. ALL
Michigan 5-0 16-0
Michigan State 5-0 14-2
Maryland 5-1 14-3
Wisconsin 3-1 11-4
Indiana 3-2 12-4
Minnesota 2-2 12-3
Ohio State 2-2 12-3
Purdue 2-2 9-6
Iowa 2-3 13-3
Nebraska 2-3 12-4
Rutgers 1-3 8-6
Northwestern 1-4 10-6
Penn State 0-5 7-9
Illinois 0-5 4-12
The schedule
The next week's worth of games has some decent matchups — and a couple clunkers.