Illinois Basketball: 3 reasons why Illini will win 2021 Big Ten regular-season title

Illinois basketball is looking to improve on a fourth-place Big Ten finish last year and is hoping to claim the Big Ten title this season.

The 2019-20 college basketball season brought with it quite possibly the most competitive edition of the Big Ten conference in recent memory. Outside of the top three teams in the final standings stood Illinois Basketball, an overachiever for the season by some experts.

The Illini had many opportunities slip away for big wins that could have boosted their final standing and there is no doubt that the outcomes could have just as easily been flipped in favor of the Illini.

Now, looking forward to the 2020-21 college basketball season, the Illini are poised to be in an even better position to win the Big Ten title. The returns of stars Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn set the table for a monster season for the Illini and Dosunmu should begin the season as a national player of the year candidate. There is a lot of optimism for Illinois fans this year and rightfully so as this may be the best team that has come out of Champaign since 2005.

Head coach Brad Underwood has finally brought his team back to national relevance after a couple of struggles in his first few years at the helm. His ability to recruit has been one of the key factors that have helped the Illini restack each year and will be the most important aspect in the coming years.

There are many reasons why this Illini team could claim the Big Ten championship at the end of this season but these three are the biggest keys to the Illini’s run to a Big Ten and national championship.