What Illinois Basketball Hasn’t Been Prepared for

Illinois Basketball finished another close game against another subpar Big Ten team at home, this time, beating the Indiana Hoosiers 70-62.

This close game was just another in a recent trend of games for Illinois Basketball. Maryland, Rutgers, and now Indiana have all given Illinois a tough test at home. Even if the Rutgers game was not close, the Scarlet Knights cut it to four in the second half.

Illinois is a ranked team in a bad basketball conference this year, and they haven’t been prepared for one thing — every team’s best shot.

In a conference as mediocre as the Big Ten is this season, the opportunities for resumé-building wins are few and far in between. Most of the Big Ten is hunting those wins that will guarantee them a spot in the Dance come March. Illinois represents one of those few precious opportunities for basketball teams around the league.

Maryland, needing to turn their basketball season around, comes to the State Farm Center and gives Illinois the best shot they can give. They ended up beating Illinois, giving them a certified quad-1 victory on the road. Huge for their season and their resumé.

Rutgers, needing to turn their season around, comes to the State Farm Center and gives Illinois the best shot they can give. The result was different this time, as Terrence Shannon turned it on late and propelled Illinois Basketball to a seemingly large victory. But that game was close well into the 2nd half.

Northwestern, needing to build their resumé, takes Illinois to overtime and snags another marquee Quad 1 win on their home floor.

Indiana, needing to turn their season around, comes to the State Farm Center and gives Illinois the best shot they can give. Illinois held on, but Indiana gave them all they could handle — without hitting a three.

Illinois has a target on their back every time they take the floor.

I think it’s been something they haven’t gotten used to quite yet, particularly at home.

The quad 1 opportunities for Illinois Basketball are slim too. They really can’t afford bad losses at home. They’ve come close a few times over the last couple of weeks. And they’ve hardly resembled the “connected” team we saw blow Northwestern out by 30 at home.

Hopefully, these games have been a wake-up call for this crew. No matter where a team sits in the rankings, Illinois is going to continue to get the opponent’s best.