Coming into Selection Sunday, the overwhelming sentiment was Illinois basketball was going to land on the No. 6 seed line in the NCAA tournament.
Those predictions ended up coming true, as the Illini were announced as the No. 6 seed in the Midwest bracket. Illinois’ first game will be on Friday with the time to be determined.
Now that Illinois is squarely in the NCAA tournament, it is time to take a look at our path and what we have to potentially go through.
Illinois basketball NCAA tournament 1st round: No. 11 Texas/ No. 11 Xavier
I am okay with either of these teams getting through to play Illinois. While both are good at shooting from three-point range, neither shoots a high quantity.
Texas struggled greatly this season when they entered SEC play. They didn’t play the toughest non-conference either, with the only ranked team they played being UConn. The Longhorns did play Ohio State this season and lost to them by eight points.
I think Illinois can handle Xavier as well. While they can knock down shots, the Illini should have more talent on the court to overwhelm the Musketeers. The only Big Ten team Xavier played this season was Michigan, and they lost by 25 points.
Illinois basketball NCAA tournament 2nd round: No. 3 Kentucky
Kentucky scares me a bit. This is a team that can light the world on fire from three-point range. They rank in the top 100 in three-point attempts, and they hit them at a clip of 37.4%, which ranks No. 25 in the country.
The Wildcats beat Duke, who beat Illinois by 43 points. They also beat No. 1 seed Florida. Kentucky swept Tennessee this season too, which Illinois lost to in a narrow defeat.
I would say one thing Illinois has going for us is that we have more depth in the paint. If the Illini can control the game and not chuck up three-pointers at a high rate, we can really force our way to the hoop for easy buckets.
Illinois basketball NCAA tournament: Rest of the bracket
Houston is always a nightmare for Illinois. They are a team that can shoot great from outside, but also slows the game down to their pace. They are much like Maryland and have our number.
Honestly, though, I kind of like the draw for the Illini. I want to see Houston and Kentucky both upset. Beyond those two teams, Illinois has fared well against the others.
Illinois has beaten No. 4 Purdue and No. 7 UCLA. We also had No. 2 Tennessee on the ropes. This is a favorable draw for the Illini. If we can just get rid of the Wildcats and Cougars, then we are good to go.
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