Here we go: It’s time for Illinois to hit its stride

The Champaign Room // Jack JungmannIllinois’ KenPom strength of schedule is currently ranked No. 353 out of 362 teams.

Marquette coming to Champaign was awesome. It’s a shame the Illini didn't win that one. The rest of the games this season have been snooze fests where Illinois has mostly dominated the cupcake teams they have played. That’s about to change.

On Saturday, Illinois begins its conference slate with a trip to Piscataway to take on Rutgers. Three days later, they'll be in Madison Square Garden facing off against a Final Four team from last year in FAU. Four days after that, they travel to Knoxville to play No. 10 Tennessee. Then, Brad Underwood will attempt to exorcise his demons…