Illinois basketball players boarded two buses Thursday headed to Indiana. They hope the two-hour drive from Champaign turns into a 3½-week stay.
With Indianapolis hosting the Big Ten Tournament and every round of the NCAA tournament for the first time, confident teams such as Illinois, which expects to go the distance, needed to pack and prepare carefully. A lock for an NCAA Tournament invitation, Illinois doesn’t plan to check out until April 6 — the day after the national championship game.
“I’m packing like I’ll be there for a month,” Illinois guard Ayo Dosunmu said.
Easier said than done.
What exactly should I pack? What if I forget something? Exactly how many pairs of sneakers can I stuff in a suitcase?
An Illinois player’s mom offered solid advice, holding up a sign at a small, socially distanced sendoff in Champaign: “Pack you socks! Brush your teeth!”
(Of course, the last line read, “Beat Michigan!”)
The Big Ten Tournament began Wednesday with lower-seeded teams. Second-seeded Illinois, hoping to maintain an expected No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, received a double bye and beatseventh-seeded Rutgers on Friday at Lucas Oil Stadium.
The Illini defeated third-seeded Iowa in Saturday’s semifinal and advanced to face fifth-seeded Ohio State in Sunday’s tournament championship.
The Illini can assume they’ll stay in town after Selection Sunday. Big Ten bubble teams aren’t so sure.
Michigan State, listed as a “last four byes” in ESPN’s bracketology, lost 68-57 to Maryland in Thursday’s second round. The Spartans will quarantine until the selection committee determines their travel plans.
“I’m honestly not sure what we’re supposed to do now,” forward Malik Hall said.
Every team is hoping to make Indianapolis home for the rest of the month — and beyond. But nobody will blame teams if they start feeling like Bill Murray in “Groundhog Day.”
NCAA Tournament protocols essentially require teams to stay in their hotels, practice gyms or Lucas Oil Stadium for games. No interaction with the limited fans who can attend or even family is permitted for players.
March Monotony is a threat.
“(We’ll be) staying sequestered with our group, not exiting the hotel, roaming around town, getting involved in contact-tracing situations that could put us in jeopardy of having a healthy team,” Iowa coach Fran McCaffery told reporters. “Being tested, meetings, practice, lift, academics will continue. We’ll have a room set up for the guys to do their classes online, whatever else they need. Just go game to game.”
And repeat.
Most seasons, teams return to their campuses after conference tournaments and await that glorious moment when their names are called on CBS. Then they hopscotch across the nation, city to city, as they advance through the bracket with quick pit stops in their college towns until they’re eliminated — or win it all.
This season, teams had better get comfy in Indy.
Illinois tried to troubleshoot cabin-fever issues before leaving Champaign.
Basketball equipment manager Kyle Croy drove a 16-foot truck to Indianapolis on Wednesday, the day before the team left. The truck was filled with exercise equipment — treadmills, Peloton bikes and even portable basketball hoops for free-throw practice.
All was unloaded and set up in a meeting room reserved for the Illini at their hotel.
Coaches aren’t just thinking about X’s and O’s but how to manage time off the court.
“We’re going to have to adapt a little on the fly,” Illinois coach Brad Underwood said. “Guys have to get outdoors. Guys have to see some sun, have some fresh air. They’re going to be in a (hotel) room by themselves.
“We’re a team that desperately needs interaction. We’re taking a card table so guys can play cards. I’m the worst. Thirty minutes in a hotel room by myself, and I’m climbing the walls.”
Dosunmu never took his prized Xbox on road trips, but he said he planned to bring it this time. He will play “Call of Duty” and “NBA 2K” to pass time.
He also said he would pack his Bible to continue religious studies sessions over the phone with his grandmother.
Michigan’s Mike Smith said he would bring music and speakers. “Whoever stays next to me, I’m sorry,” he said, joking about the noise level.
Illinois center Kofi Cockburn expected to play games on his phone, watch movies in his room and chat with teammates.
“We’re a really close team,” he said. “We all consider each other as brothers. Most people get bored seeing the same faces over and over again. Not this team. We love being around each other.”
Packing suitcases and duffel bags was another issue — and maybe the biggest challenge for the most fashionable players.
Illinois point guard Andre Curbelo owns a vast collection of sneakers. Neon green, bright pink, orange, blue — you name it. Earlier this week he struggled deciding which pairs were March Madness-worthy.
Choices, choices.
“I love shoes,” Curbelo said earlier this week. “I’d like to play with different shoes if I could every single game. I like packing sometimes. Sometimes I don’t.”
Underwood joked that he hoped Indianapolis has “a damn good dry cleaner.”
He was relieved casual sideline attire was permitted this season rather than the typical expectation to wear suits and ties.
“I don’t have to worry about jeans or slacks or anything else because we can’t go anywhere,” Underwood said. “It’s sweats, shorts, T-shirts and a whole bunch of underwear and socks.”
Really, nobody is packing for a full month. Teams who stay awhile will use a laundry service through their hotels.
Each Big Ten team allows 34 people in the travel party, the same as the NCAA Tournament’s rule.
Because Illinois packed so much gear and equipment on the truck, the team had more room in their buses’ storage. Lucky for Curbelo and his shoes, perhaps?
While this March Madness will be unusual, players said they’re grateful for the games after last season’s tournament cancellation.
And now, after a season of essentially being isolated with teammates, this might feel kind of normal.
“That’s what we’ve done so far,” Curbelo said. “We’ve been in our apartments or the gym. We’re used to it. We’re going to be ready to go.”
As long as they have clean socks.
