Illinois an NCAA mountain too high for Drexel | Mike Jensen

Drexel guard Cam Wynter spotted an open lane along the baseline, made his move, a winning one probably back in the Colonial Athletic Association. By the time the outstanding player of the CAA tournament pulled to a stop, Wynter found himself surrounded by March Madness, three Illinois defenders cutting off escape routes, a fourth lurking if needed.

All that, quite by design, even with an Illinois NCAA Tournament first-round lead already built up.

“We felt like we had to cut the head of the snake to be really good today,” said Illinois coach Brad Underwood, making it clear the scouting report began with Wynter, who finished with six points, two assists.

Even afterward, final score, 78-49, you don’t whistle past lasting news: In a year where a pandemic created all kinds of obstacles, Drexel got past them to play in an NCAA Tournament. An historic feat, Philly hoops version of it.

» READ MORE: The ins and outs of Drexel losing to Illinois

“None of these guys were born the last time Drexel went to the NCAA Tournament," Dragons coach Zach Spiker said of his guys. Heck, Spiker was barely in college himself.

Friday, you just also saw the wider world, why Illinois, a no-brainer top seed, Big Ten champion, with a couple of all-Americans, including a first-teamer, is a popular pick to win this entire NCAA Tournament, for all sorts of strong reasons, many but not even all on display Friday afternoon inside Indiana Farmers Coliseum.

This group gave Drexel the respect such a setting deserves, which added up to just short of 50 points.

“They force you into taking some tough, tough shots," Spiker said, adding that he didn’t think anyone saw Drexel’s “best basketball today; I think that’s what’s most disappointing. But it’s a credit to Illinois. They forced us into that.”

Asked about takeaways for the future, Spiker said, “What are we, six minutes removed from the game? It’s tough to totally turn the page right now. But I think when we get to that point, I think we’ll be excited for what this group has accomplished.”

After a quarter century away, you get to the national championship tournament, you want to look like you belong. It probably was hard for Drexel’s faithful to park in front of a television, find TBS, watch Illinois doubling up the Dragons much of the way, not wince a little. Some late Drexel makes got things up to 31% shooting by the end, but that tells a story right there.

» READ MORE: Drexel players knelt during the national anthem at the NCAA Tournament to protest social injustice

Drexel had some looks. They just were generally the looks Illinois wanted the Dragons to have. High Drexel scorers? Somebody got a dozen, another Dragon got 10. Illinois got this done even with only two three-pointers for the afternoon, a “matter-of-fact” yet focused effort, by the estimation of the Illini coach.

You saw how it worked early, when Illini center Kofi Cockburn, 7 feet of fun, spiked a Dragons shot off the backboard. Maybe you saw the big man make Drexel power forward T.J. Bickerstaff look almost like a guard inside one possession, despite their listed heights showing only three inches of difference.

“It’s not just his size," Spiker said of Cockburn, who had 18 points, to lead four Illini scorers in double figures. “He plays angles very well.”

You knew it on Selection Sunday: A 16 seed might not sound too different than a 15. It is, it is. Just that more of a mountain to climb, the extra climbing the kind that deprives you of oxygen reserves.

“It was just enjoying the moment, enjoying being there," Cockburn said of the whole thing, adding that there was a pursuit of “a common goal,” not shying away from Illinois national title talk.

The big man gave credit to Drexel for paying “really good attention” to the scouting report. “They knew what we were doing.”

No matter. The Dragons shot 22% in the first half, with even tougher going inside the three-point arc, 20% on first-half twos. All those misses meant easier looks for the Illini when they got on the run, which ultimately broke things open.

» READ MORE: Villanova has had a lot of betting attention

This game reminded you a bit of some times earlier in Wynter’s career when the Dragons didn’t have the firepower to take pressure off their point guard, allowing defenses to cut Drexel’s off right at its heart. The difference here, Illinois could do that even as Drexel has these added parts this season. The other guys could play everyone honestly, inside and out, while still focusing on the point guard.

Drexel hit a couple of more open looks down the stretch and you heard a scream from the Illinois bench, “Stay home!”

That plea went out to Illinois defenders, not any suggestion of disrespect to the Dragons. At that point, wherever the Illini stayed, Drexel was headed home from Indianapolis, the story of this one just waiting for a final score to put in the history books, for Drexel to begin the work of getting back while some future Dragons are already alive.