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

Reasoning for coming up short of Final Four

Having the ability to blow teams out is an excellent quality to have, but it does not inherently indicate that you are an elite team. The Fighting Illini will indeed get a couple of easy victories in the tournament, but ultimately their sub 70 percent free-throw shooting will supersede their impressive shooting percentages come crunch time in a close game.

Not only will it become more difficult to win close games as the competition gets harder, but the Fighting Illini have also been known to fall behind by a substantial amount of points, both early and late in games.

Falling behind in games is a dangerous cross to bear as you continue to advance. Having fallen behind by 15 points to Penn State within the first five minutes, as well as trailing Nebraska by six points with 2:35 remaining and being down by eight to Ohio with under 13 minutes remaining are all causes for concern.

These examples are the reasons why not all wins are created equally and winning does not solve everything.  In order to advance from the Elite Eight, you have to defeat the No.1 seed, with the selection Committee revealing their Bracket Preview on Sunday, trailing early or late in the game to Gonzaga, Baylor, Ohio State, or Michigan is a perfect reason to be eliminated.