The Fighting Illini men’s basketball team has been widely inconsistent over the past decade. Although the team has managed to have seven winning seasons over the past ten years to two losing seasons, they have only reached the NCAA tournament twice over that period. They have only two NCAA tournament appearances over the past ten years, zero Sweet Sixteen appearances, and zero Final Four Appearances. The Fighting Illini have not appeared in the NCAA tournament since 2013 and have made the Final Four since 2005. Most analysts consider the Big Ten Conference to be the toughest division out of all college sports, and the Fighting Illini struggles with this challenge. They have not won a Big Ten Regular Season Championship since 2005, which is also the last time The Fighting Illini saw its previous Big Ten Tournament Championship. Over the past ten years inside The Big Ten division, The Fighting Illini has only posted a 413.04 winning percentage (76-108). Inside the division, The Fighting Illini have only had three winning seasons; in the 2010-2011 season, they finished (9-9) 4th in the division. In the 2014-2015 season, they finished (9-9) 7th in the division, and in the 2019-2020 season they finished (13-7) 4th in the division.
Under Head coach Brad Underwood the program is trending upward. In the 2019- 2020 NCAA Basketball season, coach Underwood had the Fighting Illini ranked 21 in the nation, the first time the program has been ranked since 2006! The Fighting Illini posted three wins over nationally-ranked division opponents #5Michigan, #9Ohio State, and #18 ranked Iowa. The Fighting Illini finished 4th in the Big Ten and was in contention to win the Big Ten Tournament Championship before its cancellation due to COVID-19. The most prominent thing coach Underwood has been able to do is recruit talented in-state players, which plagued the university before. One of those gifted players, Ayo Dosunmu, has increased his scoring average every season since he was a freshman. Dosunmuhas also led the team in scoring. In the 2018- 2019 season, Dosunmu averaged 13 points, four rebounds, and three assists. In the 2019-2020 season, Dosunmu averaged 16 points, three rebounds, and three assists. This season through three games, Dosumnu has averaged an outstanding 25 points, seven rebounds, and six assists. The Fighting Illini are currently 3-0 and have eviscerated their first three opponents (North Carolina A&T, Chicago State, Ohio), winning by an average of 41 points. The Fighting Illini currently sits as the 5th ranked team in the nation and they are considered one of the best teams in the country. The Fighting Illini will be put to the test on December 2nd against #2 ranked Baylor University; then they will face #8 ranked Duke on December 8th in the ACC vs. Big Ten Challenge. This Fighting Illini team is poised to make a run at a national championship, a title the university has never claimed. If they are going to do it, it will begin in a deep, challenging, talented Big Ten division. The Fighting Illini will begin conference play on December 15th against Minnesota University.
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