When is the last time Illinois made Final Four, won a national championship?

The Illinois Fighting Illini are a perennial power in the world of college basketball. Sure, there have been ups and downs, but this is a program that made it to March Madness in all but one season from 2000-09 and then has recently restarted that run, making the NCAA Tournament in each year from 2021-24, a streak that's currently still ongoing.

Of course, as alluded to, there have been lulls as Illinois isn't necessarily a blue-blood college basketball program that is always in national championship conversations. But in the 2024 NCAA Tournament, head coach Brad Underwood got a huge monkey off of the team's back, getting back to the Sweet 16 for the first time since 2005.

Even better, they got over another hump when the Illini knocked off No. 2 seed Iowa State in the Sweet 16, advancing to the Elite Eight. But given that it had been so long since they even made the Sweet 16, fans are wondering when was the last time Illinois basketball made the Final Four.

When is the last time Illinois made the Final Four?

Illinois last made the Final Four in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. That Illini team, led by the likes of Deron Williams, Dee Brown and Luther Head, went on a tear to make it to the Final Four and then clinched a berth in the National Championship Game with a win over Louisville in St. Louis for that year's finale. However, they came up short of a title as the North Carolina Tar Heels outlasted them in a 75-70 thriller to make the Illini national runners-up.

When is the last time Illinois won a national championship?

The last time that Illinois won a national championship is also the only national title that the Illini claim, which was in 1915. Of course, that was pre-NCAA Tournament and the Helms poll that allowed programs to claim national championships in college basketball, meaning that the Fighting Illini have never won a title in the NCAA Tournament era.

As mentioned, they came five points away from doing so in 2005, but they will certainly be looking to change that and put some hardware in the trophy case from this century to really fortify the standing and tradition of Illinois basketball -- and give the Big Ten its first national championship in more than two decades.