Here's a complete record of Illinois tournament results in the 40 years I've been watching. Apologies for the formatting.
There is a lot of "where do we go from here" discussion across various threads and I thought a bit of historical perspective might be informative.
Some highlights:
We've made the tournament 26 / 40 times, 27 if you want to count last year.
UI has only beaten a higher seed twice. As a 9 against UNLV and as a 5 against Cincinatti during Weber's tenure.
UI has lost to better seeds 9 times.
UI has lost to worse seeds 17 times.
The 80's were extremely frustrating, as we could never pull an upset of even marginally better seeds. But we were there with protected (1-4) seeds just about every year. After the hose job in Rupp in 84 we lost to worse seeds every year, until it turned in 89. The 90's started down due to the lingering effects of probation. Under Henson and Krueger we had some decent seeds and disappointing but not disastrous losses. Krueger bolted for the NBA, but set the stage for Self and Weber to have another string of high seeds, including the run to the NC game. Weber couldn't recruit at Self's level, and the program gradually slid into oblivion, leading to the dark ages of the Groce era and beyond.
I think the main lesson is that in a one and done tournament, you've got to get multiple shots with a higher seed. It's too easy to get a bad matchup or have a bad night, regardless of talent. Our FF and even EE appearances have come in the midst of runs like that. If you're seeded worse than a 4, or really a 3, you're not really a contender. The challenge now is to stay consistently near the top of the Big 10 and position ourselves for high seeds.
There is a lot of "where do we go from here" discussion across various threads and I thought a bit of historical perspective might be informative.
Some highlights:
We've made the tournament 26 / 40 times, 27 if you want to count last year.
UI has only beaten a higher seed twice. As a 9 against UNLV and as a 5 against Cincinatti during Weber's tenure.
UI has lost to better seeds 9 times.
UI has lost to worse seeds 17 times.
The 80's were extremely frustrating, as we could never pull an upset of even marginally better seeds. But we were there with protected (1-4) seeds just about every year. After the hose job in Rupp in 84 we lost to worse seeds every year, until it turned in 89. The 90's started down due to the lingering effects of probation. Under Henson and Krueger we had some decent seeds and disappointing but not disastrous losses. Krueger bolted for the NBA, but set the stage for Self and Weber to have another string of high seeds, including the run to the NC game. Weber couldn't recruit at Self's level, and the program gradually slid into oblivion, leading to the dark ages of the Groce era and beyond.
I think the main lesson is that in a one and done tournament, you've got to get multiple shots with a higher seed. It's too easy to get a bad matchup or have a bad night, regardless of talent. Our FF and even EE appearances have come in the midst of runs like that. If you're seeded worse than a 4, or really a 3, you're not really a contender. The challenge now is to stay consistently near the top of the Big 10 and position ourselves for high seeds.
| 1981 | 4 | 5 | Wyo | W |
| 4 | 8 | KS | L | |
| 1982 | OUT | |||
| 1983 | 7 | 10 | Utah | L |
| 1984 | 2 | 7 | VA | W |
| 2 | 3 | Mary | W | |
| 2 | 1 | UK | L | |
| 1985 | 3 | 14 | NE | W |
| 3 | 6 | GA | W | |
| 3 | 2 | G Tech | L | |
| 1986 | 4 | 13 | Fair | W |
| 4 | 5 | Ala | L | |
| 1987 | 3 | 14 | AP | L |
| 1988 | 3 | 14 | TSA | W |
| 3 | 6 | Villa | L | |
| 1989 | 1 | 16 | McN | W |
| 1 | 9 | Ball | W | |
| 1 | 4 | Lou | W | |
| 1 | 2 | Syr | W | |
| 1 | 3 | Mich | L | |
| 1990 | 5 | 12 | Dayton | L |
| 1991 | OUT | |||
| 1992 | OUT | |||
| 1993 | 6 | 11 | LBSt | W |
| 6 | 3 | Vandy | L | |
| 1994 | 8 | 9 | Gtown | L |
| 1995 | 11 | 6 | Tulsa | L |
| 1996 | OUT | |||
| 1997 | 6 | 11 | USC | W |
| 6 | 14 | Tenn C | L | |
| 1998 | 5 | 12 | S. Ala | W |
| 5 | 4 | Mary | L | |
| 1999 | OUT | |||
| 2000 | 4 | 13 | Penn | W |
| 4 | 5 | Fla | L | |
| 2001 | 1 | 16 | MWSt | W |
| 1 | 9 | Charlotte | W | |
| 1 | 4 | KU | W | |
| 1 | 2 | Az | L | |
| 2002 | 4 | 13 | SDSU | W |
| 4 | 12 | Creighton | W | |
| 4 | 1 | KU | L | |
| 2003 | 4 | 13 | W Ky. | W |
| 4 | 5 | ND | L | |
| 2004 | 5 | 12 | Murray St. | W |
| 5 | 4 | Cincinatti | W | |
| 5 | 1 | Duke | L | |
| 2005 | 1 | 16 | FDU | W |
| 1 | 9 | Nevada | W | |
| 1 | 12 | UWM | W | |
| 1 | 3 | Arizona | W | |
| 1 | 4 | Louisville | W | |
| 1 | 1 | NC | L | |
| 2006 | 4 | 13 | Air Force | W |
| 4 | 5 | Washington | L | |
| 2007 | 12 | 5 | Virginia Tech | L |
| 2008 | OUT | |||
| 2009 | 5 | 12 | W. Kentucky | L |
| 2010 | OUT | |||
| 2011 | 9 | 8 | UNLV | W |
| 9 | 1 | KU | L | |
| 2012 | OUT | |||
| 2013 | 7 | 10 | Colorado | W |
| 7 | 2 | Miami | L | |
| 2014 | OUT | |||
| 2015 | OUT | |||
| 2016 | OUT | |||
| 2017 | OUT | |||
| 2018 | OUT | |||
| 2019 | OUT | |||
| 2020 | CANCELLED | |||
| 2021 | 1 | 16 | Drexel | W |
| 1 | 8 | Loyola | L |
