Illini have come a long way since their last NCAA tournament matchup against Houston

HOUSTON, TEXAS - FEBRUARY 28: Kelvin Sampson of the Houston Cougars reacts against the Colorado Buffaloes during the second half at Fertitta Center on February 28, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Alex Slitz/Getty Images) | Getty Images On March 20, 2022, the Illini lost a 68-53 game against Kelvin Sampson’s Houston Cougars. The loss, while expected, was particularly galling.

The loss came against a Houston team built to beat teams like Illinois. And let’s be clear: this game was one of the first attempts by Brad Underwood to build a roster that matched several key tenets of his ethos. The focus on positional size was real.

Having shooters at four+ spots on the floor was the intention. Positional versatility and defensive switchability were prioritized. As a reminder, this was the squad that had Luke Goode, RJ Melendez, Austin Hutcherson, and Jacob Grandison to serve as the switchable, versatile wings who can shoot.

It had the biggest big man who was bigging at the time in Kofi Cockburn. This was also Illinois’ first season of the Underwood era without the original assistant coaching corps of Orlando Antigua, Ronald “Chin” Coleman, and Stephen Gentry. So they didn’t have the built-in advantages of Mac Irvin Fire and Caribbean/Tri-State talent pipelines.