Paul Sullivan: Illinois soaks it in after an 89-63 rout of Duquesne puts them in the Sweet 16 for the 1st time since 2005
by Paul Sullivan, Chicago Tribune
Mar 24, 2024
4 minutes
OMAHA, Neb. — Illinois decided not to toy with their fans’ emotions Saturday night in their second-round NCAA Tournament game against Duquesne at CHI Health Center.
A series of slow starts and double-digit deficits had everyone on edge since the start of the Big Ten Tournament last week, a problem that coach Brad Underwood and his players knew had to be rectified.
Junior guard Luke Goode even offered on Friday to give the pregame speech for Underwood, trying to do anything to shake things up. In the end, nothing really needed to be said.
The Illini knew what had to be done, and they came out on fire
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