When was Illinois last in the Final Four?

Three-seeded Illinois men's basketball reached the 2026 NCAA men's Final Four on Saturday night with its 71-59 victory over six-seeded Iowa in Houston. Illinois making a Final Four is obviously a huge deal to the team and its fans, but when is the last time the program made it that far in the NCAA men's tournament? Well, you have to go back to 2005 when the team made it all the way to the national championship game.

That Illinois team was a top seed but lost to North Carolina in the title game. Now, this Illinois team will try to push for a national title 21 years later. How cool is that?

Who will Illinois play in the Final Four? They'll play the winner of Duke-UConn. That game is Sunday afternoon.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: When was Illinois last in the Final Four?