CHAMPAIGN — The final weekend of the regular season hasn’t been that suspenseful for Illinois in Kevin Hambly’s tenure as coach. The Illini simply already knew their postseason fate.
For the 2009-11 and 2013-15 seasons, that meant an NCAA tournament bid, and Illinois knew — for almost all of those seasons — they’d open the tournament at home at Huff Hall. In 2012, the Illini knew they were out.
This year’s final weekend of the regular season is nothing but suspenseful, with matches Friday at Rutgers and Saturday at No. 15 Penn State. Two wins and Hambly is confident his team would make a great chance to be in.