“Big Ten Championship. Big Ten Championship. Big Ten Championship,” Ayo Dosunmu said in his return video posted on Twitter last July.

When the star Illinois guard and player of the candidate Dosunmu posted the video, Illinois was a popular pick to win the Big Ten title, something it hadn’t done since 2005. But it wasn’t going to come easy.

On January 16, those conference championship hopes hung by a thread after the Illini fell to then No. 21 Ohio State, 87-81. Illinois was sitting at a disappointing 9-5 overall and 5-3 in the Big Ten.

Since that loss, Illinois has won six consecutive games in the toughest conference in America. The winning streak includes two wins over ranked opponents (Iowa and Wisconsin) and two overtime road wins (Indiana and Nebraska).

The winning streak has thrown Illinois back into the conversation to win the Big Ten.

“Being able to be a top seed in the Big Ten Tournament means something new to us,” senior Da’Monte Williams said. “We haven’t been there in, I don’t know how long, specifically in my four years, but coming together and just keep playing harder and harder for each other and good things come.”

If Illinois is going to grab that top seed, they’ll have to navigate a gauntlet. The Big Ten released a revised schedule on Friday that included a makeup game at No. 3 Michigan. Illinois' last six games feature five road games, the only home game is against Nebraska on February 25. The other five games are against Minnesota, Michigan State, Wisconsin, Michigan and Ohio State.

All five of those opponents are ranked in the top-70, according to Kenpom. Big Ten teams are a combined 122-42 (62.4%) on their home court this season. It is easier than last season to go on the road and get a victory. Last year, Big Ten teams won 68.8 percent of their home games.

Earlier this season, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood said that home-court advantage isn’t as big of a deal in past seasons.

“It’s easier,” Underwood said. “I will say that. It’s not more challenging. There’s no doubt. You can talk about momentum swings. It’s a less significant factor to turn a game around on the road than it is at home.”

The hike starts at Minnesota on Saturday with a 2:30 p.m tipoff on FOX. The Gophers are 13-1 at home this season with convincing wins over No. 11 Iowa (102-95 in overtime), No. 4 Ohio State (77-60) and No. 3 Michigan (75-57).

“They’re electric in transition at home,” Underwood said. “You start looking at their points per game at home compared to on the road. Their shooting percentages, obviously they’ve got a tremendous comfort level with what they’ve done shooting-wise. It’s funny, some teams have those unbelievable tendencies and they’re a team that’s one of those.”

Minnesota hasn’t won a road game this season, but they outscored their 14 home opponents by more than 12 points when playing at “The Barn.” Minnesota shoots a lights-out, 44 percent at Williams Arena.

“I’m going to ask Richard [Pitino] what it is if he feeds them pregame if he puts something in the water. I don’t know,” Underwood said. “They’re comfortable there.”

Minnesota will be without junior guard Gabe Kalscheur on Saturday. Kalscheur broke his hand and underwent surgery on Friday morning. Gopher center Liam Robbins is battling a sprained ankle and could be handcuffed by the injury. Illinois must take advantage of a wounded Gophers team to keep their Big Ten title dreams alive.

The Illini won’t have the comfortability of sleeping in their own beds, shooting on their own rims or eating a routine pregame meal much in the last couple of weeks of the season. All those factors – along with COVID-19 protocols – have all made going on the road different in 2020-21.

“This year, it’s changed the game day or day before routine a little bit because of [COVID] testing,” Underwood said. “I notice the momentum swings in a game are easier to stop.”

The game in Ann Arbor is set for March 2, and it has national relevance. The two top-5 teams were originally scheduled to play on February 11, but that game was postponed as Michigan returned from a two-week health department mandated pause due to positive tests of the COVID-19 variant virus inside the Wolverine athletic department.

Michigan has played two games since their return to play. The (15-1, 10-1) Wolverines traveled to Wisconsin and overcame a 14-point second-half deficit to beat the Badgers. On Thursday, Michigan beat Rutgers at Crisler Arena.

The Wolverines are for real, though not entirely tested. In league play, Michigan has outscored its opponents by 12.5 points a game, but they have yet to play Illinois, Ohio State and Iowa. On Sunday, Michigan travels to Columbus for a date with the Buckeyes. It will be the biggest test Michigan has had all season.

After the home game against Nebraska on February 25, the Illini travel to Wisconsin. Illinois hadn’t beaten the Badgers on the road since 2010 until last season when Ayo Dosunmu hit a step-back three to ice the game. Wisconsin’s four home losses are the most since the 2017-18 season.

Wisconsin looks vulnerable. They have lost 5-of-8 dating back to their 74-62 home loss to Ohio State on January 23. Ohio State doesn’t look vulnerable. The Buckeyes have rattled off seven straight wins, which includes three road wins at Iowa, Maryland and Penn State.

The five road opponents left on the Illini’s schedule are a combined 53-9 at home this season. For Illinois to achieve their goal of winning the Big Ten, they will need a few more ‘Road Kills’ and they might need some help from other conference teams, but that path is there.

“It’s just going on the road and playing,” Williams said. “All we try to get is road kills. We just put it all out on the line.”