In the 2011 season, both teams had beaten Connecticut.
Providence will play Georgetown, which beat Connecticut, in a semifinal game today.
To reach the final, Notre Dame must beat Connecticut for the third time this season.
Beating Connecticut is a tall order for any team, let alone a young team such as Illinois.
Seton Hall was supposed to beat Central Connecticut, and it did.
No team had beaten Connecticut twice in a season since Miami did it in 1993.
Pittsburgh beat Connecticut twice by an average of 5 points.
The Rutgers players seemed crushed, especially since four weeks ago they beat Connecticut here by 4 points.
St. John's is the last team to beat Connecticut, in a 93-62 decision on Jan. 2.
His primary goal is beating Connecticut on Thursday, or at least making a game of it.