You read that right — it has been since January 10, 2019, since Michigan has beaten Illinois on the hardwood. The Illini have rattled off nine straight wins against the Wolverines, including last year’s 20-point blowout in Dusty May’s first meeting against Illinois.
Michigan went on to win the Big Ten Tournament and reach the Sweet 16 to close last season, and they have as good a chance as anyone to win the national championship in Dusty May’s second year.
Brad Underwood is 9-2 against Michigan during
his tenure in Champaign, and Friday night’s top-10 matchup will be the biggest yet. The Illini are ranked No. 10 in the latest AP Top 25 poll, while Michigan sits at No. 3, setting up the first top 10 clash inside the State Farm Center (Assembly Hall) since 2006.
Can Illinois secure its biggest home win in two decades and keep the winning streak alive?
That 2006 matchup resulted in a 60-50 Illinois victory over Michigan State, moving the Illini to 15-0 on the season. Dee Brown poured in 34 points in that game, and Illinois will likely need a similar performance from freshman Keaton Wagler if they want to take down this loaded Wolverines team.
Michigan will enter the game at 26-2 and ranks No. 1 nationally at KenPom, Bart Torvik, Evan Miya, and other analytical sites. The Wolverines were also the No. 1 overall seed in the committee’s Top 16 reveal before suffering a loss to Duke on Saturday evening.
They remain a near lock to earn a No. 1 seed when the official bracket is released in less than three weeks, and Illinois will need to bring its A+ game to compete. The Illini have dropped three games this month, and their most recent loss to UCLA looked far closer to their F-level performance than their true A+ ceiling.
Have Illinois’ close losses this year been the result of poor late-game execution or simply bad luck?
According to KenPom, Illinois ranks No. 300 in “luck.” Despite that, the Illini are ranked No. 3 nationally at Bart Torvik since February 1, even though they’ve gone 3-3 during that stretch.
Take that for what it’s worth, but Illinois is just 3-5 in games decided by six points or fewer. The Illini have lost four Big Ten games this season, all within one possession. Their last three defeats came in overtime, and the December loss to Nebraska was decided by a buzzer-beating three in regulation.
Illinois hasn’t won an overtime game since Feb. 4, 2024. They are 0-5 in their last five overtime games, a trend they’ll need to reverse before March.
A win Friday would be monumental for Underwood and the Fighting Illini. This team has enough firepower to reach the second weekend again and make a run at its first Final Four since 2005.
A 10th straight victory over Michigan would mark Illinois’ best win of the season and prove it can beat one of the elite teams in the sport. The Illini haven’t lost to Michigan in over 2,600 days — and they’ll look to keep that streak alive Friday night.
