Just a little fun Illini basketball history here ... since the 1980 season, we have beaten 44 teams that were ranked in the top 10. A little breakdown by decade:
1980s: 12
1990s: 6
2000s: 9
2010s: 7
2020s: 10 in 3.5 seasons instead of 10
And by location:
Home: 21
Away: 10
Neutral: 13 (38% are either are United Center games and Braggin' Rights ... never drop Braggin' Rights, and BRING BACK THE UC GAME!)
And by coach:
Underwood: 11 (2 per year...!!!)
Groce: 3 (.6 per year, 100% in 2013)
Weber: 8 (1 per year, 60% in 2005)
Self: 3 (1 per year)
Kruger: 2 (.5 per year)
Henson: 17 (.8 per year, 30% in 1989)
And now a few fun Brad Underwood Beast Mode facts:
- Of the 26 top 10 victories since 2000,
Brad Underwood has 11 of them. That's
42% of the wins in 26% of the seasons, and his first three were a MASSIVE rebuilding job.
- Brad has a full
40% of all of our road wins since 1980. Again, in a 33-year time span, Underwood's 5.5 years account for 4 of the 10 road victories vs. top 10 opponents.
- Underwood has now
beaten a top 10 team in 5 straight seasons at Illinois. The program record is Henson's 7 straight from 1985 to 1991. I think Brad can beat this.
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WE GOT A GOOD ONE, FOLKS!
As a follow-up to this on a slow Thursday morning, I thought I would list some of these for memories. Now I obviously will not list all of them, but of the approximately 20-25 that I actually remember in the last 20+ years, these are ones that stick out ... I will exclude NCAA Tournament games, as they are obviously the coolest ones (e.g., the Arizona comeback in 2005):
Particularly Awesome
2022-23: #17 Illinois 85, #2 Texas 78 (OT) in New York, NY ... YEP, it's an instant classic!
2021-22: #4 Illinois 76, #2 Michigan 53 in Ann Arbor, MI ... absolute domination without Ayo on a national stage.
2012-13: Illinois 74, #1 Indiana 72 in Champaign, IL ... GRIFFEY! I really thought we had "righted the ship" for good that year and were bound for a deep Tournament run ... almost.
2004-05: #5 Illinois 91, #1 Wake Forest 73 in Champaign, IL ... will this ever not be the best memory in Assembly Hall? Possibly the loudest it's ever gotten and just a pure beatdown.
Particularly Underwhelming
2019-20: Illinois 71, #5 Michigan 62 in Champaign, IL ... it's cool that it was the start of the current streak vs. Juwan, but it had this weird feeling, as an unranked Illini squad that just lost to Miami (FL) at home was favored, IIRC.
2012-13: #11 Illinois 74, #8 Ohio State 55 ... maybe it's because it's sandwiched between our win at #10 Gonzaga and vs. #1 Indiana during that season, but I literally only vaguely remember this beatdown, lol.
2011-12: Illinois 42, #10 Michigan State 41 in Champaign, IL ... weird "Blue Out" game and a sad last gasp of the Weber Era before another string of losses.
If I had been old enough to appreciate them, I definitely would have had the following on the list of most fond memories since 2000, based on the highlights I have seen!
2000-01: #5 Illinois 81, #7 Arizona 73 in Chicago, IL
2000-01: #9 Illinois 87, #7 Seton Hall 79 in Champaign, IL
1999-00: #20 Illinois 74, #8 Kansas 70 in Chicago, IL
Here's to many more!
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