Which, by the way, is why I hate all of the "we knew this would happen" posts. That's just bullshit.
If we're observing data, we should be reminded that one data point does make a trend. Rather, in this instance, the 2nd place finish represents an anomaly when we look at all the data as a whole. The trend is apparent. Win at a consistent level with other players, lose (relatively speaking) at a consistent level with his own.
2003–04 Illinois 26–7 13–3 1st
2004–05 Illinois 37–2 15–1 1st
2005–06 Illinois 26–7 11–5 T–2nd
2006–07 Illinois 23–12 9–7 T–4th
2007–08 Illinois 16–19 5–13 T–9th
2008–09 Illinois 24–10 11–7 T–2nd
2009–10 Illinois 21–15 10–8 5th
2010–11 Illinois 20–14 9–9 T–4th
2011–12 Illinois 17–15 6–12 9th
2012–13 Kansas State 27–8 14–4 T–1st
2013–14 Kansas State 20–13 10–8 5th
...but I apologize, my post wasn't really what this thread was for.