NCAA Tournament March Madness

#102 IL Chicago

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Projection: likely out

IL Chicago looks unlikely to make the NCAA tournament because its résumé is built more on beating middling leaguemates than on top-level victories and it is marred by a handful of damaging losses. The squad’s best moments came in road wins at Northern Iowa and Illinois State and in comfortable wins at places like Drake and Evansville, which show it can travel and close out manageable opponents. Those positives are outweighed by disappointing defeats such as the home loss to Arkansas Pine Bluff, the setbacks at Belmont and at Yale, and neutral-site struggles, which leave the committee worried about the team’s ability to beat quality foes. The remaining games against Bradley at home and at Indiana State on the road are clear opportunities to provide a resume boost, but without a signature win away from home or at a neutral site the profile will likely fall short of what the committee values.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/3Detroit242W91-71
11/7@Oregon St183L76-73
11/15@Chicago St343W67-63
11/20(N)High Point91L90-80
11/22(N)Southern Indiana338W84-73
11/26@Robert Morris157L88-74
12/3Ark Pine Bluff318L63-62
12/7@Yale77L80-66
12/13@Belmont54L87-84
12/17Northern Iowa85L60-54
12/21@Charlotte187L88-76
1/1Murray St116L81-77
1/4@Valparaiso145L66-59
1/7S Illinois115W70-57
1/10@Illinois St98W63-59
1/13@Northern Iowa85W69-61
1/17Drake203W74-67
1/20Evansville307W76-49
1/24@Bradley127W85-70
1/27Indiana St221W76-74
1/31@S Illinois115W68-66
2/3@Murray St116L81-74
2/6Belmont54L68-62
2/12@Drake203W80-70
2/15Illinois St98W83-56
2/18@Evansville307W84-46
2/21Valparaiso145L71-67
2/24Bradley12767%
3/1@Indiana St22165%