At 2:30 p.m. today, Illinois will play Wisconsin for the Big Ten tournament title and the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament. Just think about that - an 18 loss team might get to go dancing.

But after such a horrible, disappointing season, is an appearance in the Big Ten final enough to redeem the year? Even if they lose to the top-seeded Badgers, is getting this far and finally getting the team to click and play with heart, enough to silence the Bruce Weber haters for one more season?