Illinois Basketball: NCAA tournament projection 20 days until Selection Sunday

There are 20 days until Selection Sunday 2022, so where is the Illinois basketball team projected to land in the NCAA tournament?

I feel like the most updated bracketology expert out there is CBS analyst, Jerry Palm. He seems to update his bracket quite frequently, so we will go off of his expert opinion as the Illini head into the madness of March.

Projected Illinois basketball seeding: No. 3 seed

Illinois is currently the No. 3 seed according to Palm. This would be the highest seeding for the Illini since, well, last season when the Orange and Blue were a No. 1 seed. Past last season, the last time Illinois donned a No. 3 seed or better was in 2005-06, which was the last run of Dee Brown and James Augustine.

Projected Illinois basketball opponent: No. 14 Vermont Catamounts

I am not going to lie, Vermont seems like a scary team. I know that they would be a No. 14 seed, but Vermont just sounds like one of those teams that can knock off a big boy in the college basketball world.

Surprisingly, Vermont has never been a No. 14 seed, but they did upset No. 4 Syracuse back in 2004-05 as a No. 13 seed, so they have the upset blood in them. Illinois has also been upset as a No. 3 seed in the past. No. 14 Austin Peay took down the Illini in 1986-87.

Projected location for the Illinois basketball team: Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This wouldn’t be a bad spot to start an NCAA tournament title run. Milwaukee is a quick jaunt north.

If Illinois did land in Wisconsin for the first two rounds, it would be the first time since the 1983-84 season where the Orange and Blue would play their first matchups in Milwaukee. That year, the Illini were a No. 2 seed and took down No. 7 Villanova and No. 3 Maryland to get to the Elite 8. We would ultimately lose to No. 1 Kentucky.

Projected path for the Illinois basketball team to reach the Final Four

• No. 14 Vermont
• No. 6 Saint Mary’s
• No. 2 Baylor
• No. 1 Arizona

Vermont would be the first team Illinois would have to go through. If the Illini survive that matchup, the winner of No. 6 Saint Mary’s and No. 11 Loyola Chicago would be next. There is no reason to rehash the 2021 NCAA tournament, so let’s go Saint Mary’s.

Illinois would then advance to the Sweet 16 to most likely play No. 2 Baylor. From there, the Illini would move on to have a rematch against No. 1 Arizona. This would be a fun game to watch considering Illinois had a chance to beat the Wildcats earlier this season but fell just short.