Illinois basketball clinches sixth straight 20-win season

Illinois basketball finished out their regular season slate with a big-time win over the Purdue Boilermakers. The Boilermakers grabbed a five-point lead with less than three minutes to go and fans were getting restless given the close losses that the Illini have suffered this year. However, their veterans stepped up big in the final 3 minutes and their star guard, Kasparas Jakucionis, came up clutch. Ultimately, Illinois basketball gained a huge quad-one victory 88-80 and now heads into postseason play with a lot of momentum. After a three-game skid, the Illini won three straight and two over-ranked opponents.

Their veterans, Tre White and Kylan Boswell stepped up in major fashion. Though this is great momentum, it is important to note how consistent the Illini have been under Brad Underwood.

The last six years

Throughout the last six years, Brad Underwood has an incredible record, particularly in Big Ten Play. Overall, he has a record of 137-60, which is a 69.5 percent winning percentage. In Big Ten play, Underwood and the Illini are an impressive 81-39 in the past six seasons. That number does not include the two Big Ten tournament championships also.

After a number of seasons going 8-10 or 9-9 in conference play, Brad Underwood has had the Illini safely in the NCAA tournament bracket. Outside of the 2022-2023 season, Underwood has him teams peaking as March starts. Whether the Illini go on that magical March run that everyone expects remains to be seen, however, this level of regular season success is truly unprecedented.

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