I have to say, since the Underwood rebuild got off the ground in the 2019-20 season, there have been a few different "turning point moments" where I either began to really think that team had the potential for a deep NCAAT run or sort of lost hope and/or adjusted my expectations down to reality, realizing our ceiling was lower than I thought. I truly try not to overreact TOO much over one single game, but some examples include...
1. Kofi blocking Garza at the buzzer to beat Iowa to end 2020, earning a double bye for the BTT that was not to be. We had an up-and-down season with some big wins, but we had gone through so many years of sucking that it was going to take a while to truly buy into us being "back." For so many reasons, this was a true statement win that we were a serious, nationally relevant program that was here to stay. I would have loved to see that team get a shot in the NCAA Tournament.
2. Winning the 2021 regular season finale at #7 Ohio State (the Ayo mask game) to cap off a streak of winning 11 out of 12 and leaving zero doubt whatsoever that we would get a #1 seed. Some folks might choose the beatdown of #2 Michigan without Ayo, but given all of the animosity between us and Michigan, it was clear we were geared up for that game and had something to prove. To then go get another top 10 road victory four days later combined with the WAY we grinded out that game left no doubt in my mind that we had the tools to win it all ... sigh.
3. The 2022 BTT loss to Indiana sort of made me at peace with the fact that this team might not be built for a deep run. I LOVED this team, and I guess I always held on to this belief that if we could hit our threes and our opponent couldn't triple team Kofi ... how exactly could you beat us?? However, something about this loss just sort of solidified my belief that this was indeed a good team but one that might be unlikely to go too far in March Madness ... which is fine, because they gave us our first regular season banner in 17 years!
4. This one is a two-fer, lol. After the 2023 team beat #2 Texas at MSG, I genuinely thought we had all of the pieces for a deep Tourney run ... it seems crazy to remember now given how this team performed down the stretch, but we showed SUCH grit in refusing to lose that game, and it just seemed like we had so many weapons. As the season went on, even dud losses to PSU at home or at Northwestern didn't truly dilute my hope ... it was the February 26 loss to OSU that solidified to me that this team just didn't have "it." We looked so lethargic. By the time we were losing to PSU for a third time in the BTT or Arkansas in the NCAAT, I had nothing but a passive hope we'd get lucky in some postseason games.
5. Shocking to many, I'm sure, but I'm skipping 2024 ... I loved that team, but there was never a moment where I was like "Oh crap, we might be legit!" or "Well, maybe we aren't as good as I thought." They were just steadily good all year, even through ups and downs, and I always thought we had Sweet Sixteen-ish potential. Getting that ISU victory to go to the Elite Eight felt like the epitome of "icing on the cake" for that season.
6. Another two-fer! Even though we already had THREE ranked wins by this point (including the UTTER beatdown of #9 Oregon on the road), it was actually the 91-52 annihilation of Penn State at home in 2025 that got me thinking we were an actual Final Four threat. We had just come back from a 2-0 West Coast road trip, and for us to just take care of business so methodically vs. an inferior opponent without any unnecessary drama felt like such a breath of fresh air that was all too rare even in some of our previous successful seasons. I retained MOST of this optimism even through the USC dud home loss (crazy stuff happens!) and the humiliation vs. Maryland at home (they have dark magic over us, after all), but it was the OT loss at Nebraska where I sort of gave up on the idea that this team could ever be consistent (or tough) enough to put together a Second Weekend NCAAT run ... we looked like we didn't want to be there, and no win after that TRULY 100% ever restored my confidence.
TL;DR
If you read through all of that, you will see that there have been a few "light bulb moments" for me over the last couple of years where I either (A) seemed to suddenly realize how high our ceiling was or (B) come crashing back down to Earth and accept that this was simply not "the year." I can honestly say, through all of the highs and lows, last night's gutsy win vs. #11 Texas Tech without key pieces and making ZERO threes in the second half might have me feeling the most "high" on a team since the 2021 team was tearing it up down the stretch. It was a statement that this team wasn't just good or talented or "high potential" or whatever ... we showed that we were complete and, more importantly, TOUGH.
Knock on wood, but I think this could be a special year.
). With all the alums in Chicago, it ought to be selling better. IMO.
