What a difference two weeks can make.
March 1 was a red-letter day for Illini basketball.
The Farm was filled to the top row, Leron Black was draining threes, Malcolm Hill was drawing fouls and an inspired Illini team was frustrating Tom Izzo’s Michigan State Spartans en route to a 73-70 win.
It seemed that Illini Nation had come together at the end of an exasperating season.
But only for that night.
The mood, the atmosphere will be far different at 6:15 p.m. Tuesday as the Illini host Valparaiso in the first round of the NIT.