Horner: Why I Think Illinois Can Win The NCAA Championship

+2500 To Win National Championship

This is some tremendous value on a team that is as talented as the Fighting Illini are. After last year's early exit in the tournament to upstate Loyola Chicago, Illinois lost their superstar point guard in Ayo Dosunmu to the NBA Draft, where he ended up getting drafted by his hometown Bulls. That obviously casted some doubt on if the program would still be able to compete in 2022, especially after the scare of losing Kofi Cockburn to the transfer portal, where they had already lost Adam Miller to LSU.

Cockburn returned though, and he has been the most dominant player in the country this season. He's averaging 22 points and 12 rebounds per game, just straight up bullying everyone he faces down low and crashing the glass consistently.

He's obviously a big reason to back Illinois, but there is another player who just made his return in a narrow loss to No. 4 Purdue this week. Andre Curbelo returned to the lineup and he immediately made an impact for the Illini, scoring 20 points, six rebounds, and three assists. The game went to overtime thanks to a critical bucket by him late that gave his team a chance at an upset victory.

The best part about the Illinois lineup may be the emergence of Alfonso Plummer, who has been a fantastic three-point shooter, averaging 16.4 points per game. Of course, you still have Trent Frazier, who is averaging 13.4 points per game and playing his usual stellar brand of defense at the guard position. Jacob Grandison has also stepped up his game, averaging 11.4 points per game. With Curbelo back, the Illini could be looking at five different players averaging double-digits each night in points.

This is a lethal offense.

Big 10 Is Winnable For Anyone

Except maybe Nebraska... but I digress. This is a very open conference, with pretty much everyone being very good at basketball, or at the very least competent on a nightly basis. The conference is up for grabs, but Illinois is sitting pretty where they stand right now. They have a 13-4 record, but more importantly, a 6-1 record in the Big 10. This makes them currently the #2 seed in the Big 10 conference, which could go a long way towards contending for a conference championship.

Michigan, who most believed would be right up there as one of the best teams in the conference, has been a massive disappointment. Purdue is a very talented team and will be favored to win the conference, but they aren't without their holes. The Illini put up points in bunches on them this past week, and then the boilermakers lost outright to Indiana in their next game. Ohio State's defense has been bad as well, and they are lacking depth.

Illinois shoots 38% from three-point range, which is good for 16th in the nation per KenPom. Cockburn suffered a concussion and will miss time, but he should be back soon, and Illinois has all the talent they need to keep winning games in his absence. This is a team that can make a deep run, and I doubt their odds will be this long going forward.

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