The Big Ten has not had a power like this Michigan team in years
The Wolverines are the favorites to win it all. Their dominance in front of an electric Illinois crowd only reinforced that.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — They lined up nearly 20 hours before tip, converging upon State Farm Center around midnight and camping out for one of the biggest games in this building’s history. The Orange Krush came ready, shouting every derogatory chant toward Morez Johnson Jr. that one could think of. A fathead depicting Johnson as a clown — he transferred out of here last season — was paraded around the periphery of the court pregame.
When it costs more than $300 just to get a seat in this joint, you do what you can to get your money’s worth.
Then the game started. And though this building on this Friday night will go on the short list of loudest venues in college basketball this year, a different kind of air was reached thanks to the visitors.
Michigan beat Illinois, 84-70.
The Wolverines are your outright Big Ten champions with two games remaining.
They are the betting favorites to win it all, which means they could become their conference’s first national title winner in 26 years.
March Madness is March Madness. Anything can happen. Just look at 2023 Purdue — which was a No. 1 seed and lost in the first round — or any number of cautionary tales in recent men’s college basketball history.
Yet it’s hard to watch this Michigan team do what it has continued to do throughout this historic season and not come away thinking these Wolverines are different.
