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NCAA Tournament Bracketology: Is Illinois a lock for a No. 1 seed after upsetting Michigan?

By Anthony Brown

Illinois guard Da'Monte Williams (20) and guard Jacob Grandison (3) celebrate a play against Michigan during the first half Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.illinois basketball happy michigan sad
Illinois guard Da'Monte Williams (20) and guard Jacob Grandison (3) celebrate a play against Michigan during the first half Tuesday, March 2, 2021, at the Crisler Center in Ann Arbor.illinois basketball happy michigan sad /
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Illinois basketball looked like a No.1 seed against Michigan. Can they secure it?

No. 4 Illinois basketball was on a mission the moment that Ayo Dosunmu and Kofi Cockburn came back for another season. They had unfinished business. Their 76-53 blowout of the Michigan Wolverines on Tuesday night was only a preview of what a fully-healthy Illini squad could potentially do in the NCAA Tournament.

The Fighting Illini dominated the Wolverines without Dosunmu who is recovering from a broken nose. No Dosunmu, no problem. Trent Frazier had a game-high 22 points, four rebounds and two steals. Andre Curbelo followed right behind him with 17 points and six rebounds.

Adam Miller and Curbelo will have the keys to the program after Frazier and Dosunmu leave and the Fighting Illini will still be in good hands. These two will be an impressive backcourt to watch.

The matchup everyone wanted to see was Cockburn vs. Hunter Dickinson. Both of these guys have been dominant forces for their squads. Cockburn got the best of Dickinson with 12 points and seven rebounds. Dickinson had six points, five rebounds and two steals.

Illinois basketball deserves the No.1 seed after dismantling Michigan

Illinois was tougher than Michigan in this game. They outscored the Wolverines 38-24 in the paint, outrebounded them 42-26, and 22-5 in second-chance points. If one team win by that wide of a margin in those categories, that means they wanted it more.

The Fighting Illini are just getting started. They have one more game on the road against the Ohio State Buckeyes and if they score 70 points, that will be their third straight game putting up 70 or more points. They’ve done this on the read. Fans or no fans in the Big Ten, that is not an easy thing to do.

The Big Ten regular-season title looks like it could be split between these two teams. I don’t see Illinois losing to Ohio State and Michigan should lock up back-to-back wins against the Michigan State Spartans.

As long as Illinois doesn’t get upset in their first game in the Big Ten Tournament and sees Ohio State or Iowa win it, the Illini should have the strongest resume to join Gonzaga, Baylor and Michigan on the 1-line for March Madness.

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