Illinois Basketball to Play Iowa State in Sweet 16

Illinois Basketball to Play Iowa State in Sweet 16

Illinois Basketball will head into their first Sweet 16 in the NCAA Tournament since 2005. The monkey is finally off the Illini’s back as Brad Underwood also has made his first sweet 16 for the first time in his coaching career. The Illini are playing free and locked-in during the past 6 games they have won. Their defense is starting to kick back into gear which allows them to effortlessly play into their strengths.

Illinois Basketball will now fly to Boston to play the Iowa State Cyclones in a Thursday night blockbuster. The Illini have played well, however, this opponent is certainly a huge step up compared to Iowa, Ohio State, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Morehead State, and Duquesne.

The Cyclones are also flaming hot

TJ Otzelberger has the Iowa State Cyclones absolutely humming. The Cyclones just won the Big 12 tournament with a resounding win over the one-seed Houston Cougars. They honestly probably could have been a one-seed in this NCAA tournament, however, their weak non-conference schedule prevented that. Illinois will play a sturdy, tough-nosed defense, much like the Houston team they played in the 2022 NCAA Tournament.

With a few days to prepare, look for the Cyclones to really focus on making this a half-court game centered around locking down Marcus Domask. Regardless, Brad Underwood deserves a ton of credit for the run he is putting together. Let’s hope that is only the beginning.

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