Are the Illini going to play in one of those new, fake NCAA Tournament games?

Illinois played like...well Illinois, last night.  They looked good in the first half and kept the game close only to have it totally get away from them in the second half.  None of this is shocking to anyone that has watched them play at all this season, and frankly, Purdue is better than them.

What I'm more concerned about is the NCAA Tournament.  I watch the Illini play and I just don't see an NCAA Tournament team, but according to the experts, they look like they are going to make the big dance. Well I guess there are a lot crappy college basketball teams if that is the case.

Let's assume Illinois beats Indiana in their next game and then lose fast in the Big 10 tournament, and barely qualify for the tourney.  Doesn't that mean they have to play in one of these lame "First Four" tournament games?  I mean, you are technically in the NCAA Tournament if you qualify for those games, but you didn't really make it.  People don't even pick those games in their brackets, because they happen before your brackets need to be handed in.  And since the NCAA Tournament is 100% about gambling, if people aren't picking your game, you don't count. 

So, Illinois, sack up and win a game or two in the Big 10 tourney, and qualify for the actual NCAA Tournament or just lose to Indiana and go to the NIT.  I don't want the embarrassment of watching you lose to some school nobody has ever heard of in one these fake tournament games, and you can't be embarrassed by the NIT, because nobody ever notices it.