For Illinois, NCAA bubble gets a bit uncomfortable

The schedule makers at the Big Ten didn't do the Illini any favors. For the first time in school history, Illinois finishes the regular season with six of its last eight games against teams in the top 15 of the Associated Press poll. That's also the toughest finishing run for any team in the country. Indiana, Texas Tech and Providence each play five top-15 teams in the final eight.

Of course, that gives Illinois a chance to cover the blemishes from earlier this season.

"All season, we made it hard on ourselves," Weber said. "We continue to keep up with that trend. We've been consistently inconsistent."

Supinie