Even a wet, shirtless kelvin sampson can’t ruin my mood
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Because they didn’t play anybody to get there, probably. 
I didn’t remember it either until somebody mentioned it on this thread.
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So does Kofi come back for another year? Probably has roughly the same pros-cons as Hunter.
I’ll take tourney success over regular season banners any day. I hated losing to them 3 times and them acting smug so it brings me great joy to see their season end before Michigan’s both years.
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I still struggle to explain Illinois’ lack of tourney success other than single elimination tourneys are crazy.
They have had almost ideal roster makeup the past couple years - size, length, athleticism, shooting, experience - and they choked twice.
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Yeah now that I read this I vaguely remember them beating a bunch of nobodies and making it.
It also doesn’t help that I was so mad after losing to UCLA I didn’t watch either Final Four game. I know I missed an epic classic. Oh well. Watched the Natty though.
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I hear you, but the Big Ten regular season title really means something. Don’t forget the heartbreak of J-Mo’s missed putback, and then how good it felt the next year to pick up the first title in 25 years.
If you forced me to pick between the Final Four and the Big Ten title, I’d take the Final Four. But a Sweet 16 vs. the Big Ten title? I might rather have the title.
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In Underwood’s defense, he did win a pair of tournament games at Stephen F. Austin. Maybe he works better with underdog groups.
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As I mentioned earlier it doesn’t help that they were KenPom underdogs today and were barely favored over Loyola-Chicago last year. I’ve enjoyed it but they got hosed in their tourney draw both years.
So Illinois thinks they’re the best of the B1G the last 2yrs. Well M made it to the Sweet 16 both years and YOU DID NOT!
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Yeah it’s tough to win as a #1 seed
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Yeah. I turned on the last five minutes or so of the UCLA / Gonzaga game because I followed it on here, but mostly it was “my freakin’ word, Michigan could have beaten Gonzaga after all.”
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You know what’s interesting and hopefully this is relevant in a week but TCU is bizarro Michigan. We each have similar ratings except in reverse. Their defense first while we’re offense first. May this speak this matchup into existence.
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See I remember the disappointment of the Morgan put back but it pales in comparison to my memory of Michigan in the Final Four. I agree it’s meaningful but if you ask an Illinois fan their thoughts on these last 2 seasons they will ultimately mention the overall feeling of disappointment.
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Or maybe he’s another Shaka Smart and never does anything in the tourney again? That’d be fun.
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Since 2013 3 #15 seeds have made the Sweet 16. Illinois has 3 NCAA tourney wins in the same time span.
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Yeah, I could have gone the rest of my life without seeing any more highlights of the Villanova / Michigan NC game.
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I see the colors in your wardrobe, Dana Jacobson
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Dana rocking maize today. Def not an accident
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So now they’re waxing about OSU’s stellar defense. Someone hasn’t watched film.