Illinois men’s basketball punched its ticket to the Final Four with Saturday’s 71-59 win over Iowa, winning the South Region in Houston.
The Fighting Illini (28-8) haven’t played in the national semifinals since a 2005 national runner-up finish. Third-seed Illinois awaits the winner of No. 1 Duke (35-2) or No. 2 UConn (35-2).
As Illinois celebrated the win, we took a spin around social media to see what everyone was saying about the victory.
Snip, snip go the nets
Illini Inquirer reporter Joey Wagner snapped a photo of Illinois coach Brad Underwood swinging the net and scissors in hand after snipping the nets.
“Brad Underwood with the final cut of the net,” Wagner wrote.
‘ARE YOU WITH US?’
The official Illinois men’s basketball X account posted a graphic following the Elite 8 victory. Eight Illini players and Underwood, with both hands raised, are prominently featured.
“ARE YOU WITH US? For the first time since 2005, we’re heading to the FINAL FOUR.” the caption reads.
Big Cat approves of Illini
Dan ‘Big Cat’ Katz, co-host of the Barstool Sports podcast Pardon My Take, posted praise for Iowa’s Elite 8 run, but came with some admiration for the Fighting Illini. Plus, Katz, a Wisconsin grad, threw a little tongue-in-cheek love to the Big Ten Conference.
“What a run for Iowa. Illinois is just so good for 40 minutes. Brad Underwood needs more respect. Also nbd but Big Ten only conference to have a team in the Final 4 thus far,” he posted.
‘Historical benchmark’ for Underwood
Peoria attorney and NIL expert Mitch Gilfillan knows the grind of being a Division-I men’s college basketball coach. He spent six seasons on the sidelines after playing in the 2004 NCAA Tournament as a Lehigh sophomore.
Gilfillan shared his appreciation for Underwood and Illinois in his post.
“Brad Underwood and Illinois deserve this,” Gilfillan posted. “Final 4 is the historical benchmark for college basketball coaches. He bided his time (10 years at Western Illinois as an assistant!) and is now amongst the greatest college coaches to ever do it. Indy will be flooded with orange.”
‘Winning is fun’ for Illini grad
CBS Sports college football reporter and Cover 3 podcaster Tom Fornelli is a vocal Illinois fan on X. And with good reason, seeing how he graduated from the University of Illinois.
Among his several reposts about the Illinois victory, he posted a video of the Illini’s postgame celebration. It was a simple and to the point.
“Winning is fun,” he posted. “Recommend.”
Mild chaos in Champaign
Illinois students flooded the Champaign campus following the Elite 8 win. Amanda Brennan of the Champaign-based TV station WCIA-3 posted a video of a large crowd of Illini undergrads waving signs and partying.
“Students celebrating on campus after @IlliniMBB’s win over Iowa to head to the #FinalFour,” Brennan posted.
Hawkeye hunting
DJ Richardson is a former Illinois basketball standout and a one-time Peoria High player. He made 132 career starts from 2009 to 2013, earning the 2010 Big Ten Conference freshman of the year honors. There’s definitely no love lost between the all-Big Ten player and Iowa.
His post included a picture of the Hawkeye logo with an arrow through it with a touch of blood running down.
“Final 4 #ILL,” he posted.
Adam Duvall is a Journal Star sports reporter. Email him at aduvall@pjstar.com. Follow him on Twitter @AdamDuvall.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: ‘Winning is fun’ for Illinois basketball and its fans on social media
Reporting by Adam Duvall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
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