Illinois coach Shauna Green has no doubts — despite a pair of close losses to ranked teams to end the regular season — that the Illini are an NCAA Tournament team for the second year in a row.
Bracketologists seem to agree. ESPN projects Illinois as a No. 8 seed, one of 12 Big Ten teams it predicts to make the tournament.
But the Illini (19-10, 9-9), who lost by four to No. 9 Iowa and by five to No. 19 Minnesota last week, certainly can help their case by pulling off a couple of wins this week in Indianapolis at the Big Ten Tournament.
“There’s no doubt in my mind we’re an NCAA Tournament team and deserve to be in,” Green said Sunday at her news conference after the loss to Minnesota. “I think we can beat anyone we play. I have that much faith and belief in our team.
“And our team believes that. We know that. We’ve shown that. We’ve competed. We just need to continue to grow and clean some stuff up, and we’ll work as hard as we can to do that.”
Green wasn’t happy with her team’s defense and rebounding against the Golden Gophers. But she told reporters Tuesday the team quickly turned the page, skipping player film sessions on that game to move directly into tournament prep.
The recent losses dropped the Illini to the No. 10 seed in the conference tournament, and they’ll play 15th-seeded Wisconsin in the first round Wednesday at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. The Illini beat Wisconsin 92-60 on Feb. 11 in Champaign, but Green doesn’t think that was indicative of the type of game they could get this week against the Badgers (13-16, 5-13).
The winner moves on to play seventh-seeded Michigan State on Thursday.
The Illini received some good news as they enter the postseason: Three players were honored with Big Ten awards Tuesday. Sophomore forward Berry Wallace was named first-team All-Big Ten by coaches after averaging 18.8 points in a breakout season. Forward Cearah Parchment and guard Destiny Jackson were named to the all-freshman team.
Here are some other things to watch in the Big Ten Tournament, which opens with three first-round games Wednesday and concludes with the championship Sunday.
The favorite
Can any team stop UCLA this week in Indianapolis?
The Bruins, ranked second in the nation behind Connecticut, went 18-0 in conference play, the first undefeated Big Ten season since Maryland in 2014-15. They won their conference games by an average of 25.2 points, and only two teams lost by single digits: No. 11 Ohio State and No. 8 Michigan. The Wolverines came closest to an upset, losing 69-66 on Feb. 8.
It’s no surprise the Bruins nearly swept the major conference awards.
Cori Close won Coach of the Year. Lauren Betts, a 6-foot-7 senior center, became the first woman to win Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year in the same season. Angela Dugalić, a graduate forward from Maine West, was Sixth Player of the Year.
Only USC guard Jazzy Davidson prevented the sweep by winning Freshman of the Year.
UCLA won the Big Ten Tournament last year and advanced to the Final Four, but Close said this is the best team she has coached, noting the Bruins’ maturity, versatility and depth that have helped forge a 22-game winning streak.
“The biggest thing I told them in the locker room that we have to keep doing is surrender the outcome, focus on our growth,” Close said Sunday after a 73-50 rout of USC. “The pressure comes in when we start thinking like that. Like, ‘Oh, my gosh, we have to do this.’ If you put energy there, you’re taking energy away from actually what it takes to get there.
“It sounds like such boring coach-speak about, ‘Focus on the process.’ But I truly believe that is the key to this team playing its best basketball in the most pressurized moments.”
Next in line
While UCLA is the clear favorite, Michigan and Iowa — with identical 24-5, 15-3 records — check in as the likeliest challengers after closing out the regular season ranked eighth and ninth in the Associated Press poll.
First-team All-Big Ten guard Olivia Olson, who was the Big Ten Co-Freshman of the Year last season, leads the Wolverines with 19.6 points, 6.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.8 steals per game. Sophomore guard Syla Swords also was named to the all-conference first team.
Iowa was the last team to beat Michigan, 62-44 on Feb. 22. The Hawkeyes, led by 6-4 center Ava Heiden, also a first-team All-Big Ten selection, have outperformed preseason expectations, leaving some to argue Jan Jensen’s case for Coach of the Year in her second season at the helm.
Players to watch
The biggest names are all out of LA this season.
UCLA’s Betts has been the focus of national media attention all season, and last year’s national defensive player of the year hasn’t disappointed. Betts averages 16.3 points, 8.8 rebounds, 3.2 assists and two blocks.
Fellow senior Kiki Rice has complemented her play with 15.2 points, 6.2 rebounds and 4.4 assists per game. They are two of six seniors and grad students leading the Bruins this season, and Close marveled at how they have made it work.
“When you have six players projected to be drafted, it would be so easy to be like, ‘I’ve got to snag mine,’” Close said. “But they have resisted that temptation over and over again and said, ‘No, no, I choose us. That is more important to me.’ They trust it will come back to them tenfold in the end.
“That’s not easy. That’s not easy for a 54-year-old adult, let alone the 18- to 23-year-olds we have.”
Davidson, who stepped up to lead USC with JuJu Watkins out this season with a torn ACL, has been impressive as a freshman, averaging 17.9 points, 5.9 rebounds, 4.3 assists and two steals.
Big Ten Tournament schedule
Gainbridge Fieldhouse, Indianapolis
Wednesday’s first round
All games streaming on Peacock
- (12) Nebraska vs. (13) Indiana, 2:30 p.m.
- (10) Illinois vs. (15) Wisconsin, 5 p.m. (approx.)
- (11) Oregon vs. (14) Purdue, 7:30 p.m. (approx.)
Thursday’s second round
All games on Big Ten Network and the Fox Sports app
- (8) Washington vs. (9) USC, 11 a.m.
- (5) Ohio State vs. 12-13 winner, 1:30 p.m. (approx.)
- (7) Michigan State vs. 10-15 winner, 5:30 p.m.
- (6) Maryland vs. 11-14 winner, 8 p.m. (approx.)
Friday’s quarterfinals
All games on BTN and the Fox Sports app
- (1) UCLA vs. 8-9 winner, 11 a.m.
- (4) Minnesota vs. 5-12/13 winner, 1:30 p.m. (approx.)
- (2) Iowa vs. 7-10/15 winner, 5:30 p.m.
- (3) Michigan vs. 6-11/14 winner, 8 p.m. (approx.)
Saturday’s semifinals
All games on BTN and the Fox Sports app
- First two quarterfinal winners, 1 p.m.
- Last two quarterfinal winners, 3:30 p.m. (approx.)
Sunday’s final
- Semifinal winners, 1:15 p.m., CBS-2
