NCAA Tournament March Madness

#9 Illinois

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Projected seed: 5 (automatic qualifier)

Illinois pairs an elite offensive identity with a résumé that mixes statement victories and damaging setbacks, with a marquee nonconference win over Texas Tech and a road victory at Ohio State plus a neutral-site triumph over Tennessee showcasing their scoring upside, while neutral losses to Alabama and Connecticut and the home loss to Nebraska underline defensive inconsistency and the kind of bad results that committees notice. Remaining road tests at Purdue and at UCLA and high-profile home dates like Michigan give them the chance to add the sort of quality wins away from their own building that offset those blemishes, and more routine conference opportunities against Maryland and Oregon can help round out the résumé. Overall the team looks like a high-ceiling squad that has already proven it can beat strong opponents but still needs a few more strong road or neutral showings and cleaner results against top teams to erase the worst losses and lock in its standing.

Date Opponent Ranking Outcome
11/3Jackson St335W113-55
11/7FGCU178W113-70
11/11Texas Tech26W81-77
11/14Colgate173W84-65
11/19(N)Alabama17L90-86
11/22LIU Brooklyn213W98-58
11/24UTRGV180W87-73
11/28(N)Connecticut7L74-61
12/6(N)Tennessee15W75-62
12/9@Ohio St34W88-80
12/13Nebraska22L83-80
12/22(N)Missouri63W91-48
12/29Southern Univ22699%
1/3(N)Penn St12895%
1/8Rutgers15998%
1/11@Iowa1853%
1/14@Northwestern5475%
1/17Minnesota10095%
1/21Maryland10195%
1/24@Purdue533%
1/29Washington4787%
2/1@Nebraska2257%
2/4Northwestern5489%
2/7@Michigan St1347%
2/10Wisconsin4386%
2/15Indiana3180%
2/18@USC3866%
2/21@UCLA3262%
2/27Michigan141%
3/3Oregon7492%
3/8@Maryland10186%