Illinois Seeking an Undefeated Season?

When talking about the greatest basketball team in college history, the 1990 UNLV Rebels might come up. Larry Johnson, Stacey Augmon, Greg Anthony, Anderson Hunt. The team pretty much finished off the Duke Blue Devils in eight minutes to win the national championship.

What does this trip down memory lane have to do with anything?

Well, it's that time of year where there are still a couple of unbeaten teams out there in the college basketball world. This year, there is Illinois and Boston College as the Top 25 undefeated. Duke had been there, but let's face it, an undefeated season just isn't going to happen in the ACC.

UNLV fits in this because that 1990 team, the team that won the title, is the team that goes down in history as one of the greatest ever. That UNLV team lost five games and is still considered in this realm. Not the 1991 UNLV team that only lost one game. That one loss being the Final Four to Duke.

Going undefeated in the regular season is a great accomplishment, but one that isn't necessary. A team hasn't gone undefeated with a national championship since Indiana did it in 1976. It is something that just isn't in the cards for a number of reasons. Still, it is fun to talk about.

Right off the bat, let's just say Boston College won't go undefeated. Not going to happen. The Big East won't allow it. Despite Boston College having won in Connecticut already, the task is one that shouldn't even enter into their thought process. They still have Syracuse and Pittsburgh. Plus, road games with Villanova and Notre Dame. And the whole anyone-can-knock-off-anyone in a power conference is a factor that most definitely exists in college hoops these days.

The other undefeated, however, Illinois, has a very good chance of getting this done. Illinois is the clear best team in the nation at this point in the season. Luther Head, Dee Brown, and Deron Williams are as good a trio as you are going to see out of any school. For a team to go undefeated, they have to sit high above the rest in their conference. Illinois accomplishes that.

The one downside is that they only accomplish this because the Big 10 is down this season. They are a remarkable team that would probably lead any conference, but they would see more contenders in the Big East or the ACC. They still have to get by Michigan State and Iowa on the road. That isn't a simple thing. Plus, the Big 10 might have a little of that upset power hanging around in the conference despite the overall decline in play.

Still, going undefeated is more or less just aesthetically pleasing at this point. It can't be shown in any way whether or not going undefeated throughout the season is even going to help the team when March roles around. Confidence might sweep through in droves, but let's go back to the UNLV example for a second.

The 1991 squad that lost only that one game to end the season was undefeated, but was not battle-tested when compared to the 1990 team. The 1990 team on the other hand took five losses in varied fashion. Routed by Kansas. Road losses to Oklahoma, New Mexico State, and LSU. The LSU loss coming by two points, a heartbreaker for sure. The fifth loss came towards the end of February, a conference loss at UC Santa Barbara to keep the Rebels honest.

Losses prepare teams for postseason play. Illinois, if they remain undefeated, will fight hard to dismiss the theory that one can learn from a loss. Try as they might to toss that to side, it is hard to dispute that one learns from their flaws.

The 1990 UNLV team had a knock in that David Butler was probably their weak link at the center position. Despite the loss to LSU, the team realized things that needed to be done to compete down low. They had gone up against Shaquille O'Neal and survived without getting embarrassed. Win or lose, that is something you want to see in a game where you can try things out and see what may or may not work.

Illinois has played a couple close games, home against Iowa stands out. They've even played two games in which the prevailing thought going into the game was that they were going to get beat. First, when Wake Forest came in to town and then when they played at Wisconsin. Winning close games and games that you aren't expected to win are not just characteristics of an undefeated team, but also characteristics of a great team.

And undefeated is not something that should be on their list of goals for the season. If they want an undefeated season for some sort of "legacy," then they are going to fail. To be ready for the tournament, a team needs to know how to play the game in multiple ways. To get to the point of winning in multiple ways, you need to try new things out during the regular campaign. Trying things out that you aren't normally used to doing isn't exactly conducive to playing at your best level, but it is a necessity.

In March, this is something you need. Sticking with one of the greatest college basketball teams of all time, for continuity sake as an argument of the best college team is a different argument for a different day, the Rebels showed it all in the March of 1991.

They played several tight games that were low scoring by UNLV standards. They saw Ball State give them a hard run in the Sweet 16. They went to the opposite end of the spectrum against Loyola Marymount and tossed 131 on the board to the 103 that the Lions tossed back. Then UNLV found themselves down at halftime to Georgia Tech and their "Lethal Weapon 3" of Brian Oliver, Kenny Anderson, and Dennis Scott. Needless to say, that now the trio remembered from that tournament is Anderson Hunt, Larry Johnson, and Greg Anthony. As mentioned earlier, the Rebels then went out and stomped Duke in the final.

Going undefeated wasn't necessary for that team to have confidence going into the tournament. Winning might bring confidence, but winning isn't the only thing that brings it.

Confidence can be a bad thing if you allow that confidence to separate you from the task at hand. Thinking that you can win every game is not a bad thing. Overlooking your opponent because of your confidence is the area you want to steer clear of. Illinois is a savvy veteran team, by today's standards of the college game, that are playing as an amazingly tight unit. They know the ups and downs of a college season.

In the end, whether or not this team goes undefeated simply does not matter. It's fun to talk about on the road to March Madness, but in March, history has shown that it doesn't mean anything. If Illinois goes undefeated with the national title, they won't be vaulted to the top of any greatest team lists based simply on that one qualification.

If they can do it, great, but a team cannot sacrifice the opportunity to get better in preparation for the tournament for the illusive undefeated season. The undefeated regular season is just that, a spectacular regular season. But the postseason is how a team will be remembered.