The 87-81 loss to Ohio State on Jan. 16 served as a bit of a turning point for Illinois. That day, head coach Brad Underwood’s team fell behind 39-22 in the first half, got the deficit back to single digits a few minutes into the second half, spent the ensuing time chopping away at the Buckeyes’ lead to make it a two-point game with 17 seconds left, then came up short.
Since then, the Illini have turned into the powerhouse many expected them to be entering the season. They have won 10 of their last 11 games, falling once to Michigan State but beating Iowa, Wisconsin (twice) and Michigan along the way.