Most Important Illinois Basketball Game Since?

Thursday night’s game against Northwestern is the most important Illinois Basketball game this season.

On February 23rd, Illinois basketball hosts the Northwestern Wildcats. In the final four games of the season, Illinois playing Northwestern at home seems like one of those end of season match ups you kind of just grind through. A Thursday night basketball game where you just want it to be clean so you can get to the weekend. This is absolutely not the case here. This game is the most Important basketball game since the game vs Iowa to clinch the Big Ten regular season title.

The Cats are legit.

Northwestern is a legitimate top 25 team. Even when they made a run to the tournament in 2017, they had multiple wins that were decided on very small fluke plays. During this season, Northwestern has taken down Purdue at home this year, while also sweeping the Indiana Hoosiers. They own a 11-5 conference record and are close to Purdue in the standings. They have every motive to beat the Illini to continue their chase towards Purdue.

Chris Collins’ squad is old and gritty. They are truly fighting tooth and nail for their head coach to keep their job. Additionally, they absolutely neutered Illinois in Evanston in early January. Though this catalyzed a huge shift in the Illini’s overall scheme, Illinois has to be on their best.

What’s rolling for Illinois?

Illinois must win this game. This is not for the sake of possibly winning the Big Ten. I think that scenario is out of the picture. I do believe that winning this game will confirm that Illinois will be back in the NCAA tournament. Winning this game would put Illinois at 10 wins, 19 total on the season. Additionally, Illinois simply needs Quad 1 Victories. Though they beat two top-10 teams in UCLA and Texas, Illinois is 3-7 in Quad 1 games. Their lone Quad-one win since beating Texas was beating Rutgers at home. Though they are a respectable 7-9 in the first two quadrants, Illinois NEEDS this quad one victory to confirm their spot in the NCAA tournament. Doing this now will allow them to worry more about their seeding.

Additionally, you just cannot get swept by Northwestern, no matter how good they are. The time has come for Illinois to put their foot down and beat a rival opponent in front of a rowdy crowd.

This game is the most important game of the year because of the emotional sentiment and all the possible resume implications. It has been a while since Illinois has played an important game with these circumstances. Typically, the important games have been in the chase for the title. This game, on the other hand, is not really a bubble burster, but more so an accurate late season litmus test. The last game like that I recall is the last game before COVID vs Iowa. And boy do I hope the crowd shows up like they did for that game.