the last time illinois was #1....

... they had to beat Georgia Tech in double-OT to get there:

The thrill of being the No. 1 team in the nation, like the mystique the ranking generates, is as tenuous as it is precious.


Just ask Stephen Bardo, the starting point guard for Illinois' 1989 Flying Illini team that reached the Final Four.


On Jan. 22 of that year, as the clock ticked away in Illinois' double-overtime victory over Georgia Tech, Bardo and his teammates knew they were headed for No. 1 in the national rankings.


Going into the game, the Illini had been ranked second behind Duke, but the Blue Devils had two losses that week, leaving the door open for Illinois to grab No. 1.


The victory solidified it.


"It was the most euphoric feeling," Bardo recalled with a gleam in his eyes before the memory turned somber.


"Then we found out Kendall Gill broke his foot."