Illinois’ men’s basketball team will enter the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the South Region and play No. 14 seed Penn on Thursday in Greenville, South Carolina.
The Illini, 24-8, have been a Top 25 team all season. They cracked the top 10 in November, got there again in late January and stayed there throughout February, topping out at No. 5. But they’ve struggled over their last nine games, losing five of them — four in overtime, including a Big Ten tournament quarterfinal loss to Wisconsin at the United Center.
Penn (18-11) — led by former longtime Iowa coach Fran McCaffery — was the surprise winner of the Ivy League tournament. The Illini-Quakers winner will meet North Carolina or VCU on Saturday.
Freshman guard Keaton Wagler has been one of college basetball’s breakout stars and leads the team in scoring. He is surrounded by a roster with exceptional size — including 6-9 freshman David Mirkovic and twin seven-footers Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic — and leads an offense that ranks second in the nation in efficiency. Defense is much more of a concern for the Illini, whose struggles against athletic guards have been obvious at times. This is a team capable of both going on huge scoring blitzes and blowing big leads.
Coach Brad Underwood has maintained all season he has a Final Four team, but that’s a level no Illini squad has reached since 2005. The Illini came close in 2024, making it to the Elite Eight, their best finish under Underwood, who’s in his ninth season.
In the South, the Sweet 16 and Elite Eight rounds will be played in Houston. The Final Four is in Indianapolis.
