That got me thinking of an interesting topic! Lol. Since the turnaround truly began in 2019-20, I would consider these my favorite and worst memories in each uniform combo. And since we have been a very successful program over that stretch with way more wins than losses, I will choose the top 5 best wins and top 3 worst losses (both in order).

For those who would get bored reading all of this, here are my top 5 wins and top 3 losses overall, with uniforms in parentheses. Keep in mind, their personal memories ... so as an example, the Duke loss technically being "the worst" won't carry as much weight for me personally because I was at a party and the sound was off, and I was able to "give up" early and distract myself, lol.
5 Best Wins
2024: W 72-69 vs. Iowa State (NCAAT Sweet Sixteen) -
Regular Orange
2021: W 91-88 vs. #9 Ohio State (BTT Championship) -
Script Throwback
2021: W 76-53 at #2 Michigan -
Flyin' Illini Throwback
2022: W 74-72 vs. #24 Iowa (clinched Big Ten title) -
Script Throwback
2024: W 93-87 vs. Wisconsin (BTT Championship) -
Script Throwback
3 Worst Losses
2021: L 58-71 vs. #17 Loyola (NCAAT Second Round) -
Script Throwback
2025: L 65-88 vs. Maryland (BTT) -
Regular Orange
2025: - L 67-110 vs. #3 Duke (New York, NY) -
Flyin' Illini Throwback
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Begin part of post that is TL;DR, lol... ----
REGULAR WHITE
Best Wins
2024: W 89-63 vs. Duquesne (NCAAT Second Round) ... while it was an easy win and one that should have been expected, it felt so good to FINALLY get that Sweet Sixteen monkey off of this program's back!!
2020: W 78-76 vs. #18 Iowa ... snapped a 5-game losing streak vs. Iowa by Kofi stuffing Garza at the buzzer and earning us a BTT double bye on the last game of the season.
2025: W 93-73 at #15 Michigan ... yes, we wore white on the road and I hated it as a traditionalist! However, it was awesome to break our slump by embarrassing Michigan and pushing our hilarious winning streak vs. them to TEN games!
2025: W 88-80 vs. #18 Purdue ... it was awesome to finally beat Purdue again, especially because it looked like we were about to give this one away down the stretch for a minute there!
2024: W 73-61 at Iowa ... This one is mostly here because I attended this game, and there was a lot of orange in the building, with I-L-L! chants ringing throughout the arena as the clock ticked down to zero.
Worst Losses
2025: L 71-90 vs. Maryland ... the score doesn't even do this justice, as we looked like boys competing against men, totally content to get worked on our home floor.
2023: L 76-79 vs. Penn State (BTT) ... third straight loss to this PSU team in front of a large, 90%+ orange crowd at the United Center when we DESPERATELY needed a win. It was a sickening effort, and I got to witness it firsthand.
2021: L 63-66 vs. Maryland ... while this team obviously turned out fine, this was the beginning of really feeling like Maryland owned us, plus it dropped us to 9-5 (after the following OSU home loss) and barely ranked.
REGULAR ORANGE
Best Wins
2024: W 72-69 vs. Iowa State (NCAAT Sweet Sixteen) ... first Elite Eight since 2005, enough said! WHAT. A. GAME. The TSJ steal to seal it is genuinely one of the greatest moments for our program in the last decade, maybe #1.
2021: W 73-68 at #7 Ohio State ... capped off our incredible stretch of 3 straight ranked road wins with Ayo's return and the debut of his iconic mask.
2023: W 79-70 vs. #8 UCLA (Las Vegas, NV) ... given all that we had lost, it was so encouraging to win this big of a game vs. a top 10 opponent with our reloaded roster.
2021: W 83-68 at #10 Duke ... hearing Jay Bilas go from hyping the matchup to whining that the season never should have been played was literally so hilarious, haha. Plus, how many teams have won two straight at Cameron Indoor??
2024: W 85-80 at Maryland ... UMD was not good, so this shouldn't be here on paper. However, we REALLY needed to finally beat them, and it felt good doing it in their house. Also, Coleman trolling their attendance afterwards was gold.
Worst Losses
2025: L 65-88 vs. Maryland (BTT) ... vomit-worthy and one of the hardest performances to watch of ours that I can remember.
2025: L 74-80 at Nebraska ... literally looked like we could not have cared less.
2025: L 74-95 at #11 Wisconsin ... we thought this was the depths of our illness-fueled slumps, but Duke was on the horizon, lol.
REGULAR NAVY
Best Wins
2021: W 71-70 at Wisconsin ... this win was the pivotal moment in reestablishing Illinois Basketball is a relevant force in the Big Ten, plus it snapped an embarrassing 17-game (IIRC??) losing streak to the Badgers...
2023: W 61-51 at Wisconsin ... an inconsequential win in the grand scheme of things, but it was a hyped Saturday game on FOX, and we kept the streak alive vs. them in their house.
N/A on the rest ... lol.
Worst Losses
2024: L 89-90 at Penn State ... never seen a collapse quite like this, lol.
2020: L 58-59 at #3 Maryland ... yeah, bet you tried your best to forget this one! My parents were in town for my birthday, and I remember watching this collapse in utter disbelief on Saturday night and being so pissed at dinner.
2023: L 60-72 at Ohio State ... it seemed like this team MIGHT have finally gotten back on track after beating a ranked NU team and moving to 19-9, but we came out with a total dud of an effort here.
FLYIN' ILLINI THROWBACK
Best Wins
2021: W 76-53 at #2 Michigan ... national STATEMENT without Ayo!
2025: W 109-77 at #9 Oregon ... historic WHOOPIN' of a top 10 team on the road had me truly thinking this team was Final Four material, haha.
2023: W 85-78 vs. #2 Texas (New York, NY) ... season ended up a disappointment, but after this win I really thought this team had top 10 potential and I was pumped!
2025: W 94-69 at Indiana ... I was in Belize on vacation watching this, and it will always hold such a special place in my heart. N
2022: W 74-57 at Indiana ... I watched this one at a bar in Indianapolis, and it was so sweet to watch the IU fans begin to lose faith and head home as we methodically put them away in a really tough road environment.
Worst Losses
2025: - L 67-110 vs. #3 Duke (New York, NY) ... I mean, worst loss in school history!
2023: L 63-73 vs. Arkansas (NCAAT Second Round) ... the final, painful death to this season that finally snapped any delusions we had left that our talented group would "figure it out."
2023: L 63-70 at Northwestern ... IIRC, this completely uninspiring performance was right around when Skyy left the team and rumors of locker room troubles really gained steam.
SCRIPT THROWBACK
Best Wins
2021: W 91-88 vs. #9 Ohio State (BTT Championship) ... to win this after getting screwed out of a regular season title felt so good.
2022: W 74-72 vs. #24 Iowa ... clinching our first regular season Big Ten title in 17 years and seeing the crowd rush the floor after this thrilling finish is one of my core memories of the Underwood Era.
2024: W 93-87 vs. Wisconsin (BTT Championship) ... 3 Big Ten banners in 4 years, plus seeing TSJ smile again as a champ!
2021: W 82-71 vs. #5 Iowa (BTT Semifinal) ... the rivalry was at its peak at this point, and it was so sweet to knock them out in this super hyped matchup.
2024: W 98-89 vs. #11 FAU (New York, NY) ... this was on my birthday, and we got Jimmy's Pizza carryout (highly recommend to any Chicagoans who like NYC style). What a show our guys put on, with BOTH TSJ and Domask going for 33!
Worst Losses
2021: L 58-71 vs. #17 Loyola (NCAAT Second Round) ... an absolute gut punch to program momentum that we had finally gotten back. I still wonder if this team could have cut down the nets if they showed up with a better effort and better game plan this day.
2025: L 65-79 vs. #11 Michigan State ... we had just gotten back on track with the massive UCLA win, and this Saturday night game was so hyped. We drove down and met my parents for the weekend to attend this, and while we were on top of the world at halftime ... an upside down TSJ jersey later, and things just felt off. In the final 8:30, we would shoot ZERO free throws even though we were in the bonus, and MSU would score 14 points to our NEGATIVE 2, due to a goaltending call. I admittedly gave up all hope at this point for last season and even turned on Underwood briefly. It was traumatic, lol...
2023: L 71-93 vs. Missouri (St. Louis, MO) ... I personally attended this one on a freezing cold, storm-altered night, and all you could do was keep drinkin', lol.