Welcome to “This Week in Illini Athletics,” a weekly review of the past week of Illini sports and a preview of the week to come.
MEN’S BASKETBALL (23-10 Overall, 15-5 Big Ten, NCAA Second Round)
Last Week: The Illini, a 4-seed, defeated 13-seed Chattanooga 54-53 in a nailbiter on Friday in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. Ultimately though, Illinois was knocked out of the tournament when it fell on Sunday to 5-seed Houston. The Illini struggled early against Chattanooga on Friday and found themselves trailing by 11 early in the second half.