After a close game and a controversial referee call, Illinois’ Brandon Paul left the court with his shirt pulled over his head after the Illini lost 63-59 to Miami in the third round of the NCAA tournament.
After the game, Coach John Groce said he “couldn’t be more proud of our team throughout the course of the season,” according to the Fighting Illini website.
For some players, this was their last game as Illini.
“When the clock hit zero it kind of just hit me faster than I thought it would that that was the last game of my college career,” Brandon Paul said.
Although March Madness is over for the Illini, the excitement continues for some students who have made brackets.
“I love March madness because you never know what’s going to happen or who will win. I love making my bracket because it’s fun to compare your results with your friends and other people across the country,” said Andrew Blonski, sophomore in DGS.
Danielle Brown, junior in Media, makes a bracket every year. This year, she expected the Illini to make it to Round of 32.
“I wish they could’ve gone further, but I had to be realistic,” Brown said.
One of the reasons why the Illini made it so far was because of the good leadership from senior players Brandon Paul, D.J. Richardson and Tyler Griffey, Blonski said.
Brown gives Coach Groce credit for the Illini making it as far as they did.
“He installed a mental toughness in that team, and that’s why they survived their first and kept it close in their second game,” Brown said.
Some Illini fans are left wondering if the outcome of the game could have been different if weren’t for the controversial referee call.
According to Illinoishompage.net, after Richardson missed a shot, the ball was knocked out of bounds and the referees said it went off an Illini player’s hand.
After checking the replay, it looked like the ball went off a Miami player’s hand, according to Illinoishompage.net, but the referees were not able to review that call.
“I thought that call was horrible. It changed the whole momentum of the game,” Brown said.
Blonski agreed, saying, “I thought it was one of the worst calls I’ve ever seen in my life.”
While Illini fans seemed to think the call was wrong, Coach Groce said in the postgame press conference that it was a hard game to officiate.
Even though the Illini lost, some fans are more concerned with their brackets doing well then with the performance of their school’s team.
“I liked seeing the Illini go as far as they did, but in my own bracket I didn’t have them winning their second game so part of me was okay with them loosing. But it was still disappointing to not have them to cheer for anymore,” said Emily Lechiara, sophomore in LAS.
For die-hard Illini fans, there is still hope for next year.
“It’s tough to say how good they’ll be because of the players that are graduating. However, Coach Groce has been doing a great job recruiting new talent to come play for Illinois,” Blonski said.