Illini Men’s Golf Arrives To Big Ten Championships With Inconsistency Concerns Mixed With Postseason Excitement
Illinois head coach Mike Small knows that this part of the season is where his program has annually met the expectations of being nationally competitive.
By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer
April 24, 2025
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — When the Illinois men’s golf team arrives in Baltimore this week for the 2025 Big Ten Conference Championships, they’ll be the favorites to win, they’ll be a top 15 nationally ranked squad and they’ll be the owners of 13 of the last 15 league titles.
And the reason Illinois head coach Mike Small loves this time of the year is everything described in the previous paragraph, while very much true, is completely irrelevant once all 90 players representing 18 programs stick the tee in the ground on their opening hole of the tournament.
“You can’t get (players) all riled up and emotional and then tell them to go play golf because that’s when the hole shrinks on you and you can’t just go to place and expect to beat people because of who you are. You have to hit your standard,” Small said. “Hopefully our standard has increased over the last two or three months.”