Illini Flirt, But No Dance Invite

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Mar 17, 2008 2:45PM

This was not a good season for Bruce Weber's Illini squad. In his previous four seasons at Illinois, his teams had won at least 23 game and made the NCAA Tournament. His 2004-2005 team went 32-1 during the regular season before losing in the NCAA championship game. But this season, Weber's team finished below .500 at 16-19 and looked to have no shot at receiving an NCAA Tournament bid.

The Illini, however, were the surprise team of the Big Ten Tournament in Indianapolis this past weekend. Seeded 10th of 11 teams, the Illini surprised Penn State, Purdue and Minnesota on their way to the tournament's championship game Sunday, where they finally fell to top seed Wisconsin 61-48.

Had they surprised Wisconsin, the Illini would have earned the Big Ten's automatic tourney bid -- and become the first major conference team with a losing record to make the field since 1978. But reality set in at the hands of the Badgers and the boys in Champaign will observe March Madness the way the rest of us will -- on our couch or at a bar.

AP Photo/Darron Cummings