The 2019-2020 college basketball season’s ended prematurely due to the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic. While we may never know how the Illini might have done in the 2020 NCAA Tournament, fans were able to reflect on memories of seasons past with the help of Twitter polls.

Illinois’ men’s basketball Twitter account was one of the many accounts that encouraged fans to vote for their favorite memories of the season. These included sophomore guard Ayo Dosunmu’s daggers in crunch time to seal road wins over Michigan, Penn State and Wisconsin, freshman center Kofi Cockburn’s block on Big Ten Player of the Year and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Award recipient Iowa junior Luka Garza to seal a 78-76 win and a double-bye in the Big Ten Tournament, junior guard Trent Frazier’s 70-foot first-half buzzer-beater against Nebraska and senior guard Andre Feliz’s game-saving steal in the closing seconds of the team’s 67-66 win over Indiana. 

Dosunmu’s game-winning shot over Wolverines senior Zavier Simpson with 0.5 seconds left to extend the Illini’s win streak to six games met Cockburn’s block in the final, with fans choosing Dosunmu’s heroics as the play of the year by a 64.7%-35.3% margin. The 16-moment tournament collected over 25,000 votes across 15 days of voting.

Illinois Men’s Basketball on Twitter: “📲 ILLINI PLAY OF THE YEAR | FINAL MATCHUP @kxng_alpha stuffs Garza at the buzzer to preserve senior night Wvs. @AyoDos_11 beats the buzzer for #RoadKill at Michigan #Illini | #IlliniMadness / Twitter”

📲 ILLINI PLAY OF THE YEAR | FINAL MATCHUP @kxng_alpha stuffs Garza at the buzzer to preserve senior night Wvs. @AyoDos_11 beats the buzzer for #RoadKill at Michigan #Illini | #IlliniMadness

The NCAA March Madness Twitter recreated their version of the 64-team tournament to honor moments from throughout tournament history. 

The 2004-2005 Illini put on a historic season, going 15-1 in conference play and 37-2 overall. The team won the Big Ten regular-season and postseason titles before being named the No. 1 overall seed in the 2005 NCAA Tournament. Illinois cruised through the opening three rounds of the tournament, with wins over 16-seed Fairleigh Dickinson, 9-seed Nevada and 12-seed Milwaukee, all by double-digits. 

The real test came in the Elite Eight when the team fell behind to the No. 3 seed Arizona Wildcats. Down 15 with 3.5 minutes to play, the Illini pulled off one of the greatest comebacks in tournament history, winning 90-89 in overtime behind 22 points from Deron Williams and 20 points from Luther Head. 

While Illinois fell to North Carolina in the national championship, the 2004-2005 season continues to be considered one of the greatest in program history.

One of the most memorable games in Illinois history, this moment, was honored as a No. 4 seed in the 64-moment tournament.

After over one week of voting, the 2005 comeback was voted to the tournament’s “Final Four,” taking down moments like Duke star Christian Laettner’s buzzer-beater against Kentucky in 1992, North Carolina forward Luke Maye’s game-winner against Kentucky in 2017 and Virginia forward Mamadi Diakite’s game-tying shot as time expired against Purdue in 2019.

The historic Illini moment took on the Kris Jenkins buzzer-beater in the national championship from 2016, where Villanova took down North Carolina, 77-74. Receiving 52% of the 18,581 votes, the Elite Eight comeback moved on to the final round.

UMBC’s victory over No. 1 Virginia marked the first time in men’s tournament history that a No. 16 seed defeated a one seed, with 16-seeds previously 0-135 in March Madness. Coming into the game, Virginia was 20.5-point favorites, though ultimately fell to the No. 16 seed underdog UMBC Terriers by 20 points, 74-54.

With 27,164 votes submitted as polls closed, the 2005 Illinois comeback over Arizona was voted the most significant March Madness moment, 51%-49%.

NCAA March Madness on Twitter: “The votes are in…@IlliniMBB’s Comeback vs. Arizona in 2005 is your #MarchMadnessMoments Tournament Champion! 👏 pic.twitter.com/FY9dDB8ETn / Twitter”

The votes are in…@IlliniMBB’s Comeback vs. Arizona in 2005 is your #MarchMadnessMoments Tournament Champion! 👏 pic.twitter.com/FY9dDB8ETn

On April 6, Fox College Hoops used a Twitter poll to honor college basketball’s unsung heroes: the fans. 

Illinois fans have a reputation of being vocal and outspoken on social media, especially on Twitter. This poll put pride and loyalty to the ultimate test.

“We might not have March Madness this year, but we are still allowing you to rub your greatness in your rival’s face,” said a representative for Fox College Hoops in a promotional video for the Twitter tournament on April 6.

In the opening round, Illini fans faced off with fans of the Ramblers of Loyola-Chicago. Over 19,000 fans voted and Illini supporters moved on after receiving 53.1% of the vote.

The second round saw Illinois fans take on the West Virginia Mountaineers supporters and barely squeaked by, moving on by a margin of 50.6%-49.4%, thanks to over 30,000 Twitter users who voted for the matchup. 

Illinois then took on Kentucky in the Sweet 16, triumphing 52.5% to 47.5%, with well over 70,000 fans voting in this round. 

The run would come to an end in the Elite Eight, however, after Illinois fell to Big Ten rivals Indiana by a margin of 0.2%. Though defeated, the Illinois men’s basketball Twitter page congratulated their foes on the win while poking fun at the team’s win over Indiana in March.

Illinois Men’s Basketball on Twitter: “What a battle. Congrats to the Hoosiers for moving on to the Final Four in the #FOXFanVote. We’ll still take this W from March, though. 😎 #Illini https://t.co/ynbnjYS6jr pic.twitter.com/7xTX0Xuu3o / Twitter”

What a battle. Congrats to the Hoosiers for moving on to the Final Four in the #FOXFanVote. We’ll still take this W from March, though. 😎 #Illini https://t.co/ynbnjYS6jr pic.twitter.com/7xTX0Xuu3o

Though the 2019-2020 season was cut short, it is important to reflect and celebrate the successes the Illini had. It’s hard to achieve closure without knowing how Ayo Dosunmu and the Illini would have done in the Big Ten and NCAA Tournaments. Twitter polls don’t heal the wounds, but they offer the rare opportunity to reflect on triumphs and glory of seasons past.

@JacksonJanes3

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