CHAMPAIGN — Illinois isn’t exactly lacking for motivation when it comes to starting postseason play in Friday’s Big Ten tournament quarterfinals.
Even if the Illini headed to Indianapolis as the No. 3 team in the country, the conference tournament’s No. 2 seed and a virtual lock to be a No. 1 seed once the NCAA tournament field is revealed Sunday evening.
A bit of manufactured motivation worked just as well.
The Big Ten regular-season title debate raged throughout the early part of the week. When it became clear the conference had no intention of giving Illinois co-champion status, athletic director Josh Whitman fired off a lengthy missive to the “Illini family” that managed to stoke some competitive fires.
Illinois enters Big Ten tournament play at Lucas Oil Stadium aiming for a title. But it’s not the end-all, be-all for the Illini.
Brad Underwood made that clear in his final media appearance before Friday’s 5:30 p.m. showdown against seventh-seeded Rutgers.
Asked about potentially winning the Big Ten tournament this week, the Illinois coach revealed two rather straightforward goals.
“I want to get through the Big Ten tournament without COVID,” Underwood said. “I want to be a one seed. Do we want to win every game? Absolutely. We’re going to try to continue to play the best basketball we can play, and if we’re playing on Sunday, if we’re that fortunate, we’ll be amped up and ready to play.”
Still, Underwood knows his team is at its best when it’s challenged. When there’s even just a hint of “nobody believes in us” in the air.
Disappointed in the Big Ten’s decision about the regular-season conference championship?
Go prove somebody wrong. As long as it remains part of the bigger plan.
“There’s no doubt we’re a great hunter,” Underwood said. “We’re great when we’re chasing something, and believe me, we’re chasing a lot right now.
“It’s all a matter of what your perspective is. Some people look at it as they’re chasing us because we’re a higher seed. What we’re trying to chase is something beyond that. Our goals are set pretty high, and we’re going to keep chasing those.”
Illinois didn’t just want a regular-season Big Ten title. Nor does it just want a Big Ten tournament title.
The goal long before the season even started was a national championship.
Revisit Ayo Dosunmu’s video announcing his return for the 2020-21 season for a reminder.
Dosunmu is aiming for that Big Ten tournament title, but it’s not the only hardware the Illini All-American guard has in his sights.
“We’re nowhere near finishing what we want to accomplish,” Dosunmu said. “It’s great to be in this position. It definitely took a lot of hard dedication to get ourselves in this position, but the job isn’t finished. We have a lot more work to do to finish off this great season we’re having.
“That’s what my focus is — 100 percent in on trying to finish off what we know we can accomplish. Now, it’s all about executing the plan. Now, it’s all about focusing in on the details and the randomness of the game and trying to go out there and bring it home.”
Illinois enters postseason play having won 11 of its last 12 games. The final three were on the road against teams ranked in the Associated Press Top 25. Two of those came without Dosunmu.
The Illini know what they’re capable of achieving on the court. Doing so in the back-to-back-to-back nature of the Big Ten tournament with the NCAA tournament only a little more forgiving requires a certain level of mental fortitude.
That’s the focus this week in Indianapolis.
Attention to detail.
Committing scouting reports and opposing personnel to memory.
“When it comes to playing, we’re going to go on the court and give it our all, but if we’re not there mentally, we could be beat,” Illini freshman guard Andre Curbelo said. “That’s the only way we’re going to get beat if mentally we’re not ready. As long as we come in mentally ready with the desire of playing the way we know we can, it’s going to be very tough to beat us. I’m sure we’re going to be like that. We know what we’re capable of.”
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