It’s no question that when Illinois plays a team it should beat, the Illini lay down the hammer.
But when it’s a difficult game…. well, we know how it usually ends.
The stats back that up:
- Illinois is 6-0 this season at State Farm Center — five of those games came against low-major opponents. Illinois has won those games by an average margin of 30, and that includes a win over ranked Texas Tech.
But the Illini
are 0-2 this season away from Champaign, which includes losses to No. 11 Alabama (United Center) and No. 5 UCONN (MSG).
And on Saturday, Illinois will play another ranked team (No. 13 Tennessee) at another neutral site (Nashville).
Illinois hasn’t actually won a natural site game against a ranked opponent since last Thanksgiving, a 90-77 win over No. 19 Arkansas in Kansas City. It’s a five-game losing streak, which includes the NCAA Tournament and that terrible game against Duke.
If you want to see Illinois win a ranked-ranked matchup at a neutral site, you need to go back even further, to the 2024 Sweet 16 win over No. 4 Iowa State.
So, we’ll see if they can get off the mat and get one of these big wins on Saturday night.
