Illinois Basketball: ESPN had Illini as the No. 7 seed in the South Region
While the NCAA refused to release a bracket, the Illinois basketball team did manage to land on Joe Lunardi’s final selections.
Lunardi is ESPN’s Bracketologist and is someone who most fans look towards for some NCAA selection guidance. Despite him being down on the Illini throughout the season, I find his final bracket rather interesting and something to hold onto in these trying times for sports fans.
While it would have been nice to see Illinois’ name pop up on Selection Sunday, this is still better than nothing. So, where does Lunardi have the Illini in his final bracket?
Illinois checks in as the No. 7 seed in the South Region. They would be heading down to St. Louis to take on No. 10 seed USC. This is a fun matchup considering the Illini rarely ever play USC in basketball. They would also be a three-point favorite in this game as well.
Overall, this entire region of the bracket is intriguing. This region is loaded with talent. I would be curious to see how the Michigan State vs Bradley game would play out. This seems like one of those games that trips the Spartans up and shocks the world with a 14 over 3 upset.
Ohio State is up there in the No. 5 spot taking on a tough Stephen F. Austin program. It wouldn’t shock me to see a No. 12 over No. 5 in this region. It would also be interesting to see how far the Lumberjacks could get. I would have loved to see Brad Underwood vs Stephen F. Austin.
Let’s not forget about Rutgers up in the No. 9 seed slot. They would be taking on Saint Mary’s. The Scarlet Knights were projected as a one-point favorite in this game. I could have seen them winning that game and then being a hassle for Baylor in the next round.
The South Region would have been fun to watch. There would have been some really competitive games and some big upsets. Sadly, we don’t get to see it all play out. Hopefully, next year will be different.