And more notably, the loss to Santa Clara came during a meaningless game -- the first of the season without any ultimate bearing on conference standings, national ranking, or NCAA tournament seeding. It was a fluke by every definition.
The Illinois loss came during a game with plenty on the line -- an undefeated regular season, a perfect conference record, the top ranking in the country going into March Madness, possible NCAA tournament seeding, etc. With so much on the line, Illinois choked under the pressure. If they can't handle that, can they handle the pressure of playing in a national championship game?
I'd love to see an Illinois/UNC matchup with both teams healthy, Majic. That would be something special to watch.
-- Todd/Leviathn