The fact that I’m even letting myself write this column BLOWS MY MIND.
Illinois hasn’t made the NCAA Tournament since I was 16; I have now been out of college for nearly two years. And yet, here I am, not satisfied quite yet with the Illini being the No. 6 team in the nation and a shot at being a No. 1 seed in the tourney.
Let’s take a quick look at the names still ahead of the Illini in the current rankings. (A reminder: These change basically every week. So in four days when there’s new rankings, it’s probably going to be a different five teams in front of Illinois, if the Illini were to stick at No.