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Is Illinois Basketball still a Final Four team?

Chris Childers Predicts a Final Four Run For Illinois Basketball

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6 months ago

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Illinois basketball fans will be cheering loudly for Andrej Stojakovic.
Feb 15, 2025; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini fans cheer during the first half against the Michigan State Spartans at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

With Xavier’s victory over Texas in the play-in game, Illinois Basketball now has a clear opponent in the NCAA Tournament, as Friday’s 8:45 PM CST tipoff quickly approaches.

Despite the ups and downs of Illinois’ season, many in the national media still believe Brad Underwood‘s squad can notch a couple of early wins in Milwaukee and push toward the second weekend of the bracket. However, some envision even greater success for the Fighting Illini, believing they have the talent and potential to once again fully capitalize on their abilities and make a very deep run in the Big Dance.

Notably, Chris Childers, host of Full Ride on SiriusXM College Sports and SEC Today on Sirius XM SEC Radio, boldly predicted that Illinois Basketball will play their way to the Final Four—a feat not achieved in Champaign since the early Bruce Weber era in 2005, over two decades ago.

Chris Childers Final Four Prediction – Including 6-seeded Illinois Basketball

1 Auburn vs 2 St. Johns 

6 Illinois vs 2 Alabama 

Based on the inconsistencies we have seen from this young Illini team throughout the season, is it realistic to assume they are going to go on an absolute tear—pulling out four wins on a war path to San Antonio? Probably not.
However, with 8 quad-one victories under their belt, including big wins over: (at the time) No. 9 Oregon (109-77 on 1/2), No. 20 Wisconsin (86-80 on 12/10), fellow 6-seed Mizzou (80-77 on 12/22), No. 15 Michigan (93-73 on 3/2) and Purdue (88-80 on 3/7), Illinois has proven the talent and ability to go toe to toe with any team in the nation. But, losses like a 110-67 blowout out to Duke—the worst recorded loss in program history—highlight Illinois woes, and make it hard to imagine this team making a run past the second weekend.
Can Illinois Basketball pull all the pieces together to make strong final push? If they can, they are an extremely dangerous 6-seed. They certainly have the ability to be a bracket buster, and Childers has belief in them doing just that.
2005-final-four-logoRich Clarkson/Sports Illustrated. 2005 National Championship vs North Carolina.

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Kirkland is an expert source for Illinois athletics news. He is the lead Football analyst at Armchair Illini and has been featured in top media publications like Bleacher Report, Yard Barker, Autograph, Newsbreak, CBS Sports and more.

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