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Illinois basketball: 2019-20 season review and 2020-2021 early preview

By Mike Phillips

CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 14: Head coach Brad Underwood talks with Trent Frazier #1 and Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in the game against the Old Dominion Monarchs at State Farm Center on December 14, 2019 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images)
CHAMPAIGN, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 14: Head coach Brad Underwood talks with Trent Frazier #1 and Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini in the game against the Old Dominion Monarchs at State Farm Center on December 14, 2019 in Champaign, Illinois. (Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images) /
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Illinois basketball
Ayo Dosunmu #11 of the Illinois Fighting Illini (Photo by Michael Hickey/Getty Images) /

After a down stretch in the rugged Big Ten Illinois basketball experienced a renaissance, assembling a tournament-worthy team before the season was canceled.

There is a lot of proud basketball history in the Big Ten but it hasn’t always been easy to be an Illinois fan in recent years. The Fighting Illini have had some really high highs, including 2005’s national runner-ups featuring future NBA star Deron Williams but they only made the NCAA Tournament five times since then.

The most recent trip to the dance for Illinois came back in 2013, but this season marked the beginning of a basketball renaissance in Champaign. Under the guidance of head coach Brad Underwood, who was in his third season on the job after a year at Oklahoma State and a successful run at Stephen F. Austin, the Illini turned the corner from an afterthought into a contender.

The Illini had combined to win just 26 games in Underwood’s first two years at the helm but had already compiled a 21-10 mark at the end of the regular season. Led by star sophomore Ayo Dosunmu, Illinois took the Big Ten by storm and finished in fourth place in the conference.

That performance earned the Illini the No. 4 seed in the Big Ten Tournament, where they had yet to take the floor before the event was canceled due to concerns about the spread of the coronavirus. Even though we never got to see how Illinois would have fared in postseason play the Illini had done enough to feel good about snapping their seven-year tournament drought.