On March 26, 2004, Illinois’ 99th basketball season came to an end. The Illini fell to Duke in Atlanta, losing 72-62 as J.J. Redick sealed the Blue Devils’ victory with a three-point shot with seven minutes left to play.

Since that moment, the Illini have been preparing for a return to post-season action. Racking up a 32-1 record and 15-straight weeks at No. 1 in the polls, Illinois has had a magical run since the season began with Illini Basketball Madness on Oct. 16, and it’s ready to move on to the next step.

“Our kids, you know, they’ve been working for this,” head coach Bruce Weber said. “This is something we’ve been talking about since the Duke game last year, getting to this point.”

Illinois’ season-long game plan was simple. Win the Big Ten Championship. Win the Big Ten Tournament. Win the NCAA tournament.

When the Illini take the court at 8:40 tonight, phase three will begin. At the same time, however, the team has been preparing for this moment since it stepped into the locker room 356 days ago.

“It’s almost like a relief,” forward James Augustine said. “We talk about the regular season, all the accomplishments we’ve been trying to accomplish. Some of them we’ve gotten, some of them we haven’t, but these are the next three or four weeks that summarize the whole year and kind of make the year what it’s supposed to be.”

Illinois now draws national attention and is on the verge of being considered a basketball powerhouse. It is praised for having the best backcourt in the nation, one of the most impressive coaches in the NCAA and a team atmosphere that is unduplicated in basketball today. But it hasn’t been easy getting there, and they’re not taking the run for granted.

“Our kids know 16 can beat a 1,” Weber said. “We’ve done so many historical things this year, we don’t want to have a bad one. We’ll come ready to play; they know what’s on the line.”

Illinois designed its schedule around prepping for whatever it will face in the tournament. The Illini took on different opponents who had strengths in different areas, always looking for what would help the players improve. Thirty-three games later, it’s time to see if the No. 1 team in the country can live up to its billing.

“Are we prepared? Have we played enough different quality opponents? Can we deal with any scenario that comes up, any venue, any team, style?” Weber asked. “Do we have the right mental focus? I think that’s what will get tested.”

But Illinois is ready for the exam.

“This is where teams find out what they’re about, and it could end up good, it could end up bad,” Augustine said. “I think we put ourselves in a good position, but we have to take advantage of it.”