Illinois Basketball's Crucial Final Stretch

0:00On March 1st, the Illinois men's basketball team is in a high-stakes stretch as the regular season wraps up. They've lost four of their last six games, but they're still battling for a top seed in the upcoming NCAA tournament. Winning their final two matchups against Oregon and at Maryland is crucial to lock in a top four finish in the Big Ten. That positioning would earn them a triple buy in the Big Ten tournament. Right now, projections point to a three-way tie at 15 wins and five losses among Illinois, Michigan State, and Purdue. Nebraska looks set to claim the number two seed with an easy finish. Tiebreakers would favor Michigan State for third place, given their perfect record against the other two. That leaves Illinois in fourth ahead of Purdue, securing that valuable buy and setting a potential quarter-final drama. The real entry comes in how this shakes out for the NCAAs. a match-up between number four Illinois and number five Purdue could act like a plan for the final number two overall seed.

1:00Rafael Scatozo, Joe Lunardi, currently slots Purdue as the last number two and Illinois as the top number three. These last games carry huge weight not just for conference perks before a smoother path deep into March Matenas.