CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — This game meant a lot more than just basketball, but No. 25 was the better ranked team.
In what was a massive step up from NAIA opponent Ottawa, we would get to see how Illinois would fair against the nation’s best in Kansas, and it did not did not disappoint.
The Illini would get the better of the Jayhawks in Sunday’s Maui Strong exhibition at State Farm Center, but it was as highly competitive as anticipated. It would come down to the wire and had all the feels of a late February/early March contest.