Illinois Basketball: Can Illini make a deep run in 2021 NCAA Tournament?

Evidence of an Elite Eight appearance after 17 years

The biggest push back from this particular claim will come from those who are predicting that a team that has the No. 17 three-point percentage and the No.12 field goal percentage in the nation will make an appearance in the Final Four, as opposed to those who are under the assumption they will be eliminated before.

Illinois’ success from inside and outside of the arc cannot be denied as it helps them win games and win a number of them easily. This however is the type of profile that ends up being a detriment to teams come tournament time. Every round a team advances, it increases the possibility of a close game. Regardless of the fact that Dosumu and Cockburn would have been selected in the NBA Draft, it is not helping Illinois win the close games.

Three of their four losses were by three points and the fourth loss was by six. A ‘win is a win’ in college basketball, especially on the road, and blowing out a team is not necessarily a characteristic of a dominant team. Even their five-point victory over a very good Iowa squad serves only to highlight their inconsistency when compared to them defeating Ohio by two and by going into overtime with Indiana and Nebraska.