Always, all the Moons have to line up just right for anybody to win a National Championship.
There are always several really good teams each year all capable of winning it. And with The Portal, any gaps or weak spots in many other solid teams can be quickly filled and they too will be serious contenders overnight.
But as for who really wants it... and dare one say who deserves it... few can match the Illini pedigree and claim. With the great legacy and traditional of the Prairie State love for the game and for the State nameplate school, the Illini have a unique call to gaining the big prize.
But as we know, one bad matchup during Madness... one wrong turn of an ankle to a key player... one off night of shooting... one bad pass in a crucial possession at the end of a key game... one supernova hot shot of opponent that no one can shut down... and you are out of it. Stone cold quick. No re-dos. One wrong step and the great journey is over.
Hence, those Moons all having to line up just right. Which also include when you are playing poorly one night but the other team is playing WORSE. And you get the benefit.
Call it luck... or good fortune... and somehow avoiding every wrong turn along the way that can you get you derailed... This is what gets you to the biggest grins and highest fives and most joyous bearhugs and warmest handshakes that come with THAT GREAT BIG TROPHY going into your home case.
Let’s hope the engravers know how to spell ILLINOIS the right way.
And for Illini Nation... stay thirsty my friends. But hopefully NOT for very long. The sweet nectar of ultimate victory is thick in the Illinois air.