Some people seemed to enjoy the trip down memory lane when I posted our previous top 5 matchups in the Baylor pregame thread, and since this is still a top 10 matchup that we should be psyched for ... here are our recent all-top 10 matchups we have got to enjoy (not counting last week's Baylor game)!
2005-06
#6 Illinois 60, #7 Michigan State 50 in Champaign, IL
2004-05
#5 Illinois 91, #1 Wake Forest 73 in Champaign, IL (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
2001-02
#9 Illinois 72, #8 Missouri 61 in St. Louis, MO (Braggin' Rights Game)
#7 Arizona 87, #5 Illinois 82 in Phoenix, AZ
#5 Maryland 76, #2 Illinois 63 in College Park, MD (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
2000-01
#7 Illinois 77, #4 Michigan State 66 in Champaign, IL (First
Paint the Hall Orange game!)
#5 Illinois 81, #7 Arizona 73 in Chicago, IL
#9 Illinois 87, #7 Seton Hall 79 in Champaign, IL
#1 Duke 78, #9 Illinois 77 in Greensboro, NC (Big Ten/ACC Challenge)
#1 Arizona 79, #8 Illinois 76 in Lahaina, HI (Maui Invitational)
1989-90
#3 Michigan 74, #8 Illinois 70 in Champaign, IL
#5 Illinois 101, #4 Missouri 93 in St. Louis, MO (Braggin' Rights Game)
1988-89
#4 Illinois 89, #8 Michigan 73 in Ann Arbor, MI
#8 Illinois 70, #3 Indiana 68 in Bloomington, IN (Nick Anderson's shot!)
#9 Iowa 86, #2 Illinois 82 in Iowa City, IA
#2 Illinois 96, #6 Michigan 84 in Champaign, IL
#6 Illinois 87, #10 Missouri 84 in St. Louis, MO (Braggin' Rights Game)
1986-87
#5 Purdue 87, #9 Illinois 86 in West Lafayette, IN (OT)
#2 Iowa 91, #8 Illinois 88 in Champaign, IL (OT)
#4 North Carolina 90, #5 Illinois 77 in Chapel Hill, NC
1984-85
#8 Michigan 57, #9 Illinois 45 in Ann Arbor, MI
#7 Illinois 73, #10 Oklahoma 70 in Champaign, IL
#2 Illinois 81, #5 Oklahoma 64 in Springfield, MA (Hall of Fame Tipoff Classic)
A lot more of these over the years, but they are still rare! In the last 20 years, we have still only played in 11 top ten matchups (counting the Baylor game), and almost half of them came during the 2000-01 season. Also, we haven't had a stellar record against Duke over the years, BUT it looks like we're 1-0 at Cameron Indoor Stadium, with a 75-65 win over #12 Duke in 1995-96.
I am extra nervous for this one. Win this game, and we are RIGHT back on track and possibly back in the top 5 next week. Lose, and we are still likely going to be fine ... but we're sitting at 3-2 with likely no impressive non-conference wins and a grind of a Big Ten schedule ahead. This win could be absolutely huge, come Tourament time.