With No. 2 seed, Illini won't be darkhorses this time around

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CHAMPAIGN – As Illinois was preparing to start its basketball practice Sunday afternoon, the lights went out.

No, really, the lights went out. A power outage at the Ubben Basketball Complex forced the Illini over to the student recreation center, where they practiced by natural light, coach Bruce Weber said.

"It was closed, but the people over there were gracious enough to let us come in," Weber said later Sunday. "The guys are back (at Ubben) now. They're eating dinner with (the lights from) their cell phones out."

These Illini are a resourceful bunch, for sure, making the best of what they have. As a result, Illinois is the surprise No. 2 seed for the Big Ten tournament and will face the winner of No. 7 Michigan-No. 10 Iowa in the quarterfinal round at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis on Friday (5:30 p.m., Big Ten Network).

Go ahead, raise your hand if you predicted Illinois would be the No. 2 seed in the Big Ten tournament this season. Here's a guess you'd be sitting all alone, accused of being in the dark.

"You always go into a season hoping to win the Big Ten. That's always your goal," Weber said. "We were close. Michigan State has obviously established itself as the best (team in the league). They deserved it. We did some good things and we did better than people probably expected, but now how are you are going to end up?

"That's what I asked them (the players) today. How are you going to end up what has been a good season?"

If there's a downside to a campaign that had so few, Illinois (23-8, 11-7) closed the regular season with its first losing streak. Big Ten champ Michigan State soared into the Assembly Hall and won 74-66, and Penn State mounted a crazy comeback to win 64-63 at State College.

So there was more consternation than celebration when the Illini returned to practice Sunday after two days off. And it had little to do with a lack of electricity.

"After losing to Michigan State, I didn't know how they'd respond. They played really hard. I was really proud of them (at Penn State)," Weber said. "It's not the last play (a game-winning buzzer beater by Talor Battle) you have to look at. It's a block out, it's a defensive stop, it's making a play. If we make just one play, we win the game.

"That's what we have to understand. A lot of times this time of year, it's a matter of one play that make the difference between winning and losing."

Illinois had mixed results against its potential opponents in the Big Ten quarterfinals. The Illini split the season series with Michigan (19-12, 9-9), losing 74-64 in Ann Arbor and winning 66-51 in Champaign. Illinois beat Iowa (15-16, 5-13) in their only meeting, 62-54 at the Assembly Hall.

How to handicap the field? Put it this way. Michigan State won the league by four games, but the next seven teams were separated by no more than two. Illinois wasn't certain of its possible opponents until the final game of the regular season – Indiana at Wisconsin – was completed Sunday night. Most games in the regular season were tossups, and the tournament figures to show much of the same.

"Everyone's going to be tough. If you get Iowa, Iowa's going to be tough. If you get Michigan, Michigan's going to be tough," said Weber, whose 10th-seeded team made an unlikely run to the Big Ten title game last season. "All the games are going to be tough. I guess you could say Michigan State is the odds-on favorite.

"But we proved it last year. You can come from the bottom up and play for the championship. We told our guys, 'Look at what we did last year. You don't want to be on the other end.' Every game's going to be tough. It's going to be very competitive."

Big Ten Tournament Bracket
Thursday’s Games
Game 1 — Minnesota (8) vs. Northwestern (9), 11 a.m.
Game 2 — Michigan (7) vs. Iowa (10), 1:30 p.m.
Game 3 — Penn State (6) vs. Indiana (11), 4 p.m.
Friday’s Games
Game 4 — Michigan State (1) vs. Game 1 winner, 11 a.m.
Game 5 — Wisconsin (4) vs. Ohio State (5), 1:30 p.m.
Game 6 — Illinois (2) vs. Game 2 winner, 5:30 p.m.
Game 7 — Purdue (3) vs. Game 3 winner, 8 p.m.
Saturday’s Games
Game 8 — Game 4 winner vs. Game 5 winner, 12:40 p.m.
Game 9 — Game 6 winner vs. Game 7 winner, 3:05 p.m.
Sunday’s Game
Championship — Game 8 winner vs. Game 9 winner, 2:30 p.m.

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