Illinois to start NCAA Tournament as No. 3 seed in East after winning the Big Ten tournament title

MINNEAPOLIS — Beautiful job, Illinois. Now clean all that confetti out of your ears and get back to work.

Illinois capped off one of the best Big Ten tournament weekends to date with a refuse-to-lose 34 points from star Terrence Shannon Jr. and a thrilling 93-87 comeback win against Wisconsin in Sunday’s championship game at Target Center.

The Illini (26-8) won the tournament for the fourth time, celebrating just like they did in 2003, 2005 and 2021. It was their eighth time in the title round and — super impressive — their eighth straight win against the Badgers (22-13), who’d won the previous 15 head-to-head meetings.

For the third game in as many days, the Illini fell behind by double digits. This time, it didn’t happen until the second half, when the Badgers led 61-51. But the latest comeback was on from there, a blitz that hammered home just how strong this high-scoring, highly efficient offense is. A 21-5 run took all of six minutes.

The game went back and forth late, with the Badgers’ Max Klesmit hitting a pair of huge threes. But Shannon answered the second one with a three of his own for an 88-85 lead with 1:28 to go. The All-American had a staggering total of 102 points in three tournament games and was crowned its most obvious Most Outstanding Player ever.

Marcus Domask also went big with 26 points, giving the Wisconsin native — a former state Mr. Basketball — 57 in two wins this season over the school he loved but didn’t offer a scholarship.

The whole thing was a really big deal.

“Special,” Illini coach Brad Underwood said.

But now comes the part that even a sentimental sort would have to admit is far more important, the NCAA Tournament. The Illini are headed to Omaha, Neb., as the No. 3 seed in the East region and will take 14th-seeded Morehead State (26-8), tournament champ of the Ohio Valley, at 2:10 p.m. Thursday. Barring an upset that would send fans into a tailspin, the Illini will get BYU or Duquesne on Saturday.

For the Illini, another trip to the Big Dance brings all the pressure associated with years of March disappointments since the school last made it past the opening weekend to the Sweet 16. That was in 2005, when Dee Brown and Deron Williams burned an orange streak all the way to the national championship game.

“It’s definitely something I keep track of because of all the negative things that are said about it,” senior Coleman Hawkins said. “I think the tournament is tough for everybody. Anybody can beat anybody. …

“But we’ve done a good job of just simply flipping this program around, so people should be grateful that we’re even making the tournament. Some of our fans may complain, but I think we should all be grateful.”

Underwood has coached seven teams — including three at Stephen F. Austin and one at Oklahoma State — that earned NCAA bids, but he hasn’t gotten a team to the Sweet 16 yet. There won’t be many “thank yous” coming his way if he doesn’t change at the end of the week.

“It’s not about checking off a box,” he said. “I came here to win a national championship. We’ve had unfortunate draws. I think we’ve had some tough draws. You get beat. …

“[But] this team doesn’t know anything about any of that. It’s here to try to win a national championship. Illinois is that type of program.”

Three-dot dash

CBS’ selection show was seconds old when Northwestern appeared on the 9-line in the East. The Wildcats will open against Florida Atlantic, which crashed the Final Four last year and was expected to be very good again but, to some, was over-seeded as an 8. They’ll play at 11:15 a.m. Friday in New York.

“It was great to be in the first bracket because it’s very nerve-wracking,” Collins said. “We were confident we’d be in, but there was a lot of craziness the last couple days. But we got what we deserved. We’re an NCAA Tournament team.”

With defending champ UConn looming for the winner, the Wildcats and Owls can probably pack on the lighter side. ...

Speaking of UConn, it’s a strangely tough draw for the top seed in the entire tournament. The committee didn’t see Iowa State as the best of the 2-seeds, but — metrics aside — there’s no question the Cyclones, who destroyed Houston in the Big 12 title game, are playing the best of the 2s. Also, the East has both FAU and San Diego State, which were in last year’s Final Four. ...

Of all the teams that got into the field, Virginia was the least deserving. The metrics back that up, too; a few teams left out had better rankings in the categories that supposedly matter to the NCAA. Guess a bone was thrown to a school that won a national title a few years back. Another bone was thrown to Michigan State’s Tom Izzo, clearly. The Spartans deserved to be in the First Four, but they can take advantage of their 9 seed and draw. ...

The NCAA seems to want to expand the tournament field. Why? Bad idea. Don’t water down the regular season any more than it is already. We don’t need to see any more major-conference scrub teams than already are getting in. ...

Shannon’s situation is going to be interesting. In Minneapolis, there were “No means no” chants directed at him from opposing fans; he has faced a rape charge in Kansas since early December. Shannon also hasn’t spoken to the media since December. It’s going to be complicated for the hottest player in the country to be shielded from the public if, say, the Illini go to the Final Four.

“I’m not going to consume myself with it,” Underwood said. “I’ve got a locker room full of players. ... He’s in the locker room. I’m going to coach him.

“It’s a very serious matter [that] will be handled accordingly and with great sensitivity and respect to everybody.”