This is a team that could easily finish with a half-dozen league wins

John Groce has done a tremendous job getting as much as possible with this Illinois team. Bruce Weber didn't leave him much. I've said that the win against Gonzaga in Spokane would likely wind up getting Illinois into the NCAA tournament, but now I'm not quite so sure that -- and the win over Butler in Maui -- will be enough. This is a team that could easily finish with a half-dozen league wins. The Illini are 2-5 in league play thus far and have a brutal four-game slate upcoming: at Michigan State, home against Wisconsin and Indiana, then on the road to Minnesota. They could easily lose all four and be 2-9. For Illinois to get into the Big Dance, it probably needs to win eight in conference play. I just don't see that happening.

Jeff Goodman