Illinois had the most wins in the Big Ten this season on Saturday. But during this unprecedented year, it did not win a conference championship.
After an exciting 73-68 victory in Ohio State no. 7, Illinois closes the regular season 20-6 overall and 16-4 during conference. But Michigan – which enters its final season in Michigan State on Sunday with a 14-2 Big Ten record, has already been named the champion champion by the Big Ten because it achieved the best winning percentage of the conference.
Still, Michigan will play three conference games less because the Wolverines have undergone a two-week precautionary break due to the proliferation of a COVID-19 variant in the Michigan athletics division. Nr. 2 Michigan played two games less than any other Big Ten team.
Michigan (19-2, 14-2) is clearly one of the best teams in the country, and the Wolverines would clearly have been preferred in the three games they have not made up: in Northwestern, in Penn State and vs. Indiana – all five of the bottom five teams that beat Michigan previously during the season. But Michigan surprisingly lost to Minnesota earlier in the season, and the Illini beat the Wolverines 76-53 on Tuesday without its best player, the candidate for national player of the year. Ayo Dosunmu. The Illini therefore think they also have a case for a Big Ten banner.
“I think if all that is said, we will be fellow champions,” Dosunmu said. ‘I mean, look at our resume. I apparently lost four games. We beat Michigan, who are the champions. They have not played three more games. Any day in the Big Ten anyone can be beaten. I think we have proven that we are one of the best teams in the country. With this win tonight we believe we are the Big Ten champions. ”
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Illinois is likely to have a better case for part of the Big Ten title if Michigan loses Sunday in Michigan State (14-11, 8-11 Big Ten), but the Wolverines beat the Spartans Thursday by 19. But even with a loss, a record of Wolverines 14-3 (.824) drops the Illini (.800) in a winning percentage, even though it is hypothetically two in the winning column. This is the most important number of Brad Underwood, the coach of Illinois.
“I know we’d won 16 games, and we’ve already played 20,” Underwood said. ‘We all knew it would be a unique situation with an unbalanced schedule not to play all the games. But I know, no one has won more games than us – and we all played. ”
Illinois is unlikely to get a Big Ten championship banner. But to win 11 of 12 – including three straight top-25 wins on the road and back-to-back wins at top-10 teams (No. 2 in Michigan and No. 7 in the state of Ohio), the program’s first number 1 NCAA tournament selected over 16 years.
The Illini’s main target this season is an NCAA Championship banner, and they look more threatening to the title than at any point this season. On top of that, the Illini has another chance next week to claim a Big Ten title banner if it starts the Big Ten tournament as the overall number 2 tournament.
“That’s exactly what I’m coming back to and more,” Dosunmu said. ‘I wanted to come back to decorate my name with my teammates in history, Illinois basketball history, and college basketball history. We have a lot more to achieve, but we are going to sink it all. ”