NCAA Tournament March Madness
#86 Illinois St
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Projection: likely out
Illinois State’s body of work shows real upside in a handful of eye-catching performances, namely road success at Long Beach State and neutral-site wins over Charlotte and Furman coupled with a home victory over Northern Iowa, but that upside is undercut by damaging setbacks like the nonconference loss at Ohio, the blowout at USC and disappointing results against UIC and at Valparaiso, so the ledger lacks the consistent signature wins committees prize. The remaining slate gives clear chances to change the narrative with a road trip to Belmont or Murray State and with home dates against Drake and Belmont, yet failure in those tests will keep the team on the outside looking in.
| Date | Opponent | Ranking | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11/6 | @Ohio | 221 | L72-68 |
| 11/9 | Cornell | 187 | W76-65 |
| 11/14 | (N)USC | 51 | L87-67 |
| 11/16 | @Long Beach St | 229 | W82-80 |
| 11/23 | Coastal Car | 247 | W94-42 |
| 11/27 | (N)Charlotte | 179 | W79-69 |
| 11/28 | (N)Furman | 174 | W72-65 |
| 12/3 | E Kentucky | 254 | W89-78 |
| 12/6 | Chicago St | 356 | W95-53 |
| 12/13 | (N)Utah St | 34 | L83-78 |
| 12/18 | @S Illinois | 138 | W75-68 |
| 12/21 | Indiana St | 194 | W85-65 |
| 12/29 | @Drake | 164 | W73-56 |
| 1/1 | Evansville | 289 | W73-47 |
| 1/7 | @Valparaiso | 158 | L77-71 |
| 1/10 | IL Chicago | 150 | L63-59 |
| 1/14 | @Indiana St | 194 | L94-89 |
| 1/17 | Bradley | 137 | W88-62 |
| 1/21 | Northern Iowa | 108 | W59-54 |
| 1/25 | @Belmont | 63 | 32% |
| 1/28 | @Murray St | 91 | 40% |
| 2/3 | S Illinois | 138 | 76% |
| 2/6 | Drake | 164 | 81% |
| 2/9 | @Evansville | 289 | 83% |
| 2/12 | Valparaiso | 158 | 80% |
| 2/15 | @IL Chicago | 150 | 59% |
| 2/18 | Murray St | 91 | 62% |
| 2/21 | @Bradley | 137 | 55% |
| 2/25 | @Northern Iowa | 108 | 47% |
| 3/1 | Belmont | 63 | 54% |