2019/20 Illini Men’s Basketball - Final Home Game, Champaign, IL

Though I didn't know it at the time, I had a pretty major weekend very near the start of all the pandemic stuff. I traveled to C-U Friday night, which was Unofficial St. Pat's, then to Indy for one night to visit their cabaret. pretty sweet little weekend, with a drive back to IL on Sunday, as planned. BUT, during the trip, I was offered a ticket at the last Illini Men's basketball game on Sunday night. Hmmmm. What to do, what to do...

I couldn't pass that up! It did mean I would leave after the game and drive back to Chicagoland, but that's only a 2.5 hour drive at that time of night.

So, I did what any true Orange & Blue would do, I accepted the ticket and went to the game. Turns out it was a pretty good one to attend - the last Illini home game for the season and, I'm pretty sure, the last game the Illini men played for the entire season. They beat Purdue in a tight little battle. Even the last seconds were pretty nail-biting.

The stadium had been refreshed since my undergrad and grad days in C-U, so it was nice to see this new space and also see they have the same level of excitement as we did back in the early 2000's.

While our seats were pretty high up, we walked down near the floor after the game, to see what we could see...

They now have a small museum in the ground level of the stadium too. Pretty cool to spend some time here before or after you head to your seats for the games...

UW Men's Basketball WIN vs. Purdue @ Kohl Center, Madison, WI

It was a positively HUGE night in the 2018 UW Men's Basketball season (IMO). Let's break down the evening and see how the night went...

Don't forget to warm-up first!

Anthem - great singer.

Perhaps this biggest news of the night started well before the game - it was rumored you had to be "in your seats" by 5:40pm for a 6pm game time. It was the night chosen to retire former UW player, and current Charlotte Hornet, Frank Kaminsky's number in the rafters of the Kohl Center. It appears through his four years he grew very much as a man and player. The UW Athletic Dept was bestowing this honor on his as a thank you for his contribution to their program, school, and city.

 Classy towels on everyone's seat to have for the game and your collection of "Frank the Tank" memorabilia.

They played a bunch of "Frank Highlights" during timeouts and other points of the game, and then had a big ceremony during halftime:

This guy was dressed to impress in an all red suit, and high-tops. Classy.

Banner, up!

Frank gave a wonderful speech to the whole crowd, thanking the University, his teammates, the fans, and his family for his true growth period at UW. Class act in my book.

Finally, to really seal up a fun night, the UW men beat 6th-ranked Purdue in one heck of a "defensive struggle". It was a very tight game through the first half with the barn-burner of a score tied - 21-21. The 2nd half was equally as "offensive" and late into the half, UW pulled away and Purdue could not get back. The last 2 minutes were a bunch of fouls and clock usage drills. Job well done, UW, kudos!

I will finish this post by mentioning something I can't help but notice - this was my third UW Athletic event in my time in Madison and all of them have been spectacular "products" - Men's Hockey, Volleyball, and Men's Basketball. Great games, great crowd, great venues. Nicely done, UW!
(which kills me to say as an Illini)