CHAMPAIGN - The Final Four loss to UConn is still sitting heavy for Illinois, and David Mirkovic made it clear last week that it hasn’t faded quietly.
Jake Davis described it as an “itch” in Mirkovic’s stomach, and that sounds about right for a team that took a shot at the biggest stage in college basketball and came up short. For the Illini, it’s the kind of defeat that lingers because it hurt - but also because it showed exactly what still separates a good team from a championship one.
Mirkovic said UConn’s edge came down to experience and maturity. The Huskies had been through it before, with three championship game appearances in four years, while Illinois was stepping into the Final Four spotlight for the first time as a group.
"I still think we're a better team than them," Mirkovic said last week. "I'd say they were more experienced and more mature on the court.
They've been there. That's their third Final Four in four years.
You can see that experience. Now it's different because we are the ones who know the ways of how to win a big game.
I think it's going to be different."
That belief is part of what makes the Illini’s internal expectations so high heading into this season. There’s continuity here, and with it comes a different kind of confidence - the kind that comes from having already lived through the pressure, the stage, and the pain of falling short. As Mirkovic sees it, that shared memory has helped build what he called a sustained culture.
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