Despite losing to Purdue, Illinois’ roster is ready for primetime

Good teams don’t tout moral victories. They’re in it for the W and nothing else.

Almost isn’t a badge of honor for squads that see their potential as cutting down nets and enduring Bill Raftery.

Mackey Arena is not an easy place to play. It’s a legitimate home-court advantage for Matt Painter’s consistently high-performing squad. This year, that squad is led by a basketball Ivan Drago/Frankenstein’s Monster hybrid with bolts protruding from his neck. That mutant freak is going to be National Player of the Year.

That team is also the top-ranked team in the nation.

So losing in that arena to that team with that guy is not a season killer. It’s not even a rankings killer.

But make no mistake about it, the Illini made a profound statement in defeat in West Lafayette on Friday.

Without their best player, the Illini had a second wind that almost knocked off the country’s top team.

Zach Edey didn’t dominate the Illini despite Illinois’ smaller frontline. Edey was…