Illinois coach Bruce Weber won’t tell his players they must win their five remaining games to claim the Big Ten championship.
“I don’t want to overwhelm them,” Weber said Thursday, a day after his Illini (17-5, 8-3) upset 12th-ranked Wisconsin (17-5, 8-3) at Assembly Hall.
Five more victories probably will be necessary, however, to win or tie for the league title. The race has come down to Big Ten leader Michigan State (14-9, 9-3), Illinois and Wisconsin.
“Michigan State has the best schedule of all of them,” Weber said.
The Spartans have just four games left before the Big Ten tournament. Their toughest opponents, upstart Northwestern and Wisconsin, will travel to East Lansing as underdogs. Michigan State has road games against Michigan and Penn State, both struggling teams. Michigan is 5-6 in conference play and Penn State 3-8.
Among Wisconsin’s five remaining opponents, Michigan State is the only team with a winning record in the Big Ten.
Illinois’ five remaining games include road games at Penn State on Saturday, Iowa (7-5) on Wednesday and Purdue (6-6) and Ohio State (3-8) in early March. The Illini’s only home game is vs. Northwestern on Feb. 28.
Weber may not be pressing his players for a sweep of the five upcoming games, but they are aware of the stakes.
“You have to [sweep],” guard Dee Brown said. “I don’t see Michigan State losing.”
Illinois faced a similar situation two years ago and came out on top, Brown accurately pointed out. The Illini had started the Big Ten season 4-5 but won seven straight to win a share of the title under coach Bill Self.
Illinois is riding a five-game winning streak and is undoubtedly the league’s hottest team with victories over Michigan State and Wisconsin eight days apart. Deron Williams has been in double digits, including a career-high 31 points against the Badgers, in each of the five victories.
The Illini are keeping a close eye on the other conference leaders. Weber said his players watched Iowa’s near-upset of Wisconsin last week and were disappointed when Iowa missed a game-winning shot.
“I told them, `You can’t depend on other teams,'” Weber said. “`If you’re going to win it, you have to earn it.'”
