Illinois desperately wants to be in the NCAA tournament this year following a year where many believe the Illini were snubbed of a spot in the tournament.
Fast forward almost a year and the Illini are coming off their second straight mid-week, in-state loss as the Bradley Braves out-slugged the Illini on Tuesday.
Illinois has struggled during the week and has scuffled early in Big Ten play, entering the weekend 3-6 in the conference with a win against Maryland and two against Minnesota. Even through the early Big Ten struggles, the Illini still have the third-most overall wins in the conference with 22.