Illinois basketball: Where and who the Illini are playing in the NCAA Tournament

Illinois vs. Wisconsin: Big Ten tournament predictions and NBA prospects | ChicagoLIVE

Chris K from Fox Chicago Sports joins the show live from the United Center to break down all the action at the Big Ten tournament! We discuss why Michigan looks like an unstoppable force, preview the highly anticipated Illinois vs. Wisconsin matchup and explore which "Cinderella" teams the selection committee might be sleeping on. 

The Big Dance is finally here.

The NCAA Tournament Selection committee unveiled the completed 2026 NCAA Tournament bracket.

Here's where, when and who Illinois basketball will play in the NCAA Tournament next weekend when March Madness officially begins.

What we know:

The Illini will play in the South region of the NCAA Tournament bracket.

They're a No. 3 seed, scheduled to play the No. 14-seeded Penn in Greenville, South Carolina on Thursday.

Penn won the Ivy League conference tournament over top-seeded Yale 88-84. The Quakers are coached by Fran McCaffrey, who was the head coach at Iowa from 2010 to 2025.

"Good news is we won't have to see a Big Ten opponent anytime soon," Underwood said on Friday. Technically, Underwood is correct. But, he'll face a former Big Ten coach who knows Illinois very well. 

If Illinois beats Penn, the Illini will play the winner of No. 6 North Carolina vs. No. 11 VCU.

The South region includes No. 1 seed Flordia and No. 2 seed Houston ahead of Illinois. Fellow Big Ten teams Nebraska and Iowa are No. 4 and No. 9 in the South region too, respectively.

The backstory:

Illinois finished the regular season 24-8 overall and 15-5 in the Big Ten.

The Illini were ranked No. 5 in the nation at one point, but struggled to close out wins in the final stretch of the season. That was evident in the Big Ten Tournament, where Illinois lost a 15-point lead and fell to Wisconsin in the quarterfinals of the tournament.

Illinois finished the season 4-5 in its last nine games. Some of those losses were games when the Illini had the lead or couldn't find a way to close in the waning minutes.

Illinois is adamant this is a defensive issue.

"I'm not worried about the offense," Illini coach Brad Underwood said. "I'm worried about what it does on the other end. We've got the Number 1 offense in college basketball, and we got really good shots again today. Sometimes I think, when we make shots, we get casual on the other end, and we think it's just easy. I had that feeling today. Then all of a sudden they get going, and now it's a shootout. I don't want shootouts."

What's next:

Even with a one-and-done showing in the Big Ten Tournament, Illinois will carry a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament. The body of work the Illini put together didn't cancel out just because of their struggles at the end of the season.

In the South region, Illinois faces a tough test in they want a Final Four berth.

Houston was close to winning the Big 12 Tournament title. Florida is the reigning national champion and earned another No. 1 seed. 

However, Illinois has the talent to make a NCAA Tournament run. It all just depends on if the Illini can find a way to close out games against tournament teams.

Now, every team Illinois plays will be a tournament team. Underwood's team has to avoid any more mental lapses. The biggest obstacle in Illinois' way is itself.