No More Illini Intimidation

With a perfect 29-0 record, all Illinois had to do was win one more game. They would have breezed through the entire regular season with a perfect record; the first Big Ten team to do so in 29 years. They would have ridden that momentum through the Big Ten tourney, into the Big Dance and all the way to the Final Four. No one would have been able to touch them. They had size, speed, talent and intimidation. While they retain the first three qualities, the fourth has been severely tarnished.

Before Ohio State shocked the Illini with a 65-64 upset, Illinois was untouchable. Every team that tipped off against them was looking to do one thing: compete. Now the tides have turned for Bruce Webber's team. Suddenly teams aren't going to be hoping they can play with the best team in the nation for a while, they're going to want to beat them. What's worse for Illinois is that these teams are going to know that it's possible.

Some people are trying to use the cliched line about a late regular season loss being a good thing because it serves as a wake up call and let's the team know it has to continue to work hard. I don't buy it. The people who say that are people like ESPN's Pat Forde, who predicted a clean Illini sweep. Now that he has been proven wrong, he tries to cover his tracks by saying this is a good thing for them because "no team needs the burden of being unbeaten going into the NCAA tournament.

I guarantee that the Illinois squad, if it's being honest with itself, doesn't feel the same.

No team wants to lose. Especially a team that has rolled through the entire regular season without a blemish. These guys wanted nothing more than to finish the clean sweep and be compared to the best teams in NCAA history. But now? Now they don't even know if they'll be able to win the Big Ten tourney, much less the Big Dance.

The loss was good for Illinois? Maybe if you're a DePaul fan.