The daily pitch from Sports Editor : April 2, 2026
Apr. 2—➜ . For a program that has talked about season long about reaching Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, the moment arrives on Saturday night.
➜ , starting on Thursday and possibly continuing through Monday night's national championship game. ➜ . Joining him in Indy will be Hall of Fame columnist , , , , , and .
points in four NCAA tournament games by . The Illini freshman stands eighth in program history for most points in a single NCAA tournament, with (77 in 2005) up next on this particular list. holds the Illini record by scoring 102 points during the 1989 tournament and helping the Flyin' Illini reach the Final Four.
➜ . If the Illini (28-8) beat the Huskies (33-5) on Saturday night, it would mark just the second Final Four loss by UConn. The Huskies are 6-1 all-time in national semifinal games, only losing to Michigan State in the 2009 Final Four.
➜ . If the Wolverines (35-3) top the Wildcats (36-2) during Saturday night's second national semifinal game and if Illinois beats UConn, it would mark the second time an all-Big Ten national championship game would take place. The other happened 50 years ago when Indiana completed its 32-0 season with an 86-68 win against Michigan in the 1976 title game.