NCAA Tournament March Madness

#7 Illinois

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Projected seed: 4 (automatic qualifier)

This placement makes sense because Illinois pairs an explosive offense with resume-defining wins that include a road victory at Ohio State, road wins at Iowa and Northwestern and a neutral-site triumph over Tennessee while its most damaging results are neutral losses to Alabama and Connecticut and a home setback to Nebraska that cap the upside. The Illini have proven they can win away from home and dominate neutral courts, as displayed in a lopsided neutral win over Missouri, yet defensive lapses in the Connecticut game and the Nebraska slip prevent the resume from feeling untouchable. The remaining slate gives clear opportunities to reinforce this standing with a challenging road trip to Purdue, tough West Coast tests at USC and UCLA and a marquee home opportunity against Michigan along with repeat meetings with Maryland, so timely wins in those spots would confirm the projection while more slips would force a rethink.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/3Jackson St332W113-55
11/7FGCU202W113-70
11/11Texas Tech23W81-77
11/14Colgate189W84-65
11/19(N)Alabama17L90-86
11/22LIU Brooklyn207W98-58
11/24UTRGV216W87-73
11/28(N)Connecticut10L74-61
12/6(N)Tennessee21W75-62
12/9@Ohio St36W88-80
12/13Nebraska15L83-80
12/22(N)Missouri54W91-48
12/29Southern Univ265W90-55
1/3(N)Penn St106W73-65
1/8Rutgers156W81-55
1/11@Iowa20W75-69
1/14@Northwestern62W79-68
1/17Minnesota84W77-67
1/21Maryland12797%
1/24@Purdue436%
1/29Washington4988%
2/1@Nebraska1550%
2/4Northwestern6291%
2/7@Michigan St1244%
2/10Wisconsin3985%
2/15Indiana3282%
2/18@USC5073%
2/21@UCLA4170%
2/27Michigan146%
3/3Oregon8995%
3/8@Maryland12792%