Things worked out as ideal as possible for Illinois in the tournament this year. As nice as it would’ve felt initially to be in the Midwest region, the path the team ended up with was the most ideal and honestly may have been a blessing in disguise as the squad seem to play better further from home in road environments.

Penn without Ethan Roberts and TJ Power coming off sickness.

VCU upsetting North Carolina then starter Nyk Lewis going down in the first minute.

Matchup vs a Houston defense that had played significantly worse vs top 25 teams (outside the top 40) and a team that hadn’t beat a top 15 NET or KenPom opponent all season.

Iowa upsetting Florida and Nebraska.

UConn upset vs Duke and allowing for a rematch. And we’re now initially favored by sportsbooks to beat UConn.

Even better, the path involved beating Fran McCaffery, Kelvin Sampson, and Iowa. Now there’s a revenge game vs Dan Hurley and UConn, and potentially a revenge vs Michigan. All while Bruce Pearl has to sit in the studio and talk about this great Illini team.

This upcoming weekend could settle all family business.