Seth Davis and Jimmy Dykes Make Bold Statement About Illinois Basketball
Two respected NCAA basketball analysts came away with the same striking impression of the Illini on Friday.
Illinois, now standing at 20-11 overall and 12-8 in the Big Ten after an 88-80 win over No. 18 Purdue to close the regular season, has long shown immense potential.
While youth, injuries, illness, and occasional lapses in judgment have prevented the Illini from fully tapping into that potential, that’s the nature of potential—it’s not always realized immediately.
Even in Friday’s game, Illinois occasionally seemed intent on squandering their best opportunities to secure a 20-win season, build a legitimate win streak (three straight!), and enter the Big Ten Tournament with momentum that could propel them to a Sunday final, a strong NCAA Tournament seed, and perhaps an unexpected run to the Final Four in San Antonio.
Yet, two well-known college basketball analysts—Seth Davis and Jimmy Dykes—saw enough from Illinois’ performance against Purdue (and perhaps in their 20-point victories over Iowa and then-No. 15 Michigan) to jump on the Illinois bandwagon.
Illinois ends the season on a three-game win streak including a 20-point win at Michigan and at home against Purdue tonight. Am I allowed to say they have the highest ceiling in the Big Ten again?
— Seth Davis (@SethDavisHoops) March 8, 2025
Whether you call it ceiling, upside, or potential, the Illini showed tremendous poise and maturity when tested by last year’s Big Ten regular-season champions and this season’s preseason conference favorites, coached by one of the best in Matt Painter.
Players like Will Riley, Kasparas Jakucionis, and Tomislav Ivisic proved they were ready for the challenge. Tre White demonstrated that he’s healthy and playing at a high level. What’s next? Could it be the return of Morez Johnson Jr.?
With poise, maturity, momentum, health, depth, and impeccable timing, combined with their exceptional talent, Illinois has all the ingredients to be a dangerous dark horse team as March Madness approaches.
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