March Madness is projected to have just one Illinois school: How that can easily change
Columnist Mike Decourcy weighs in on Duke's win over Illinois: 'An opportunity missed'
Columnist Mike Decourcy weighs in on Duke's win over Illinois Saturday night.
It might be slim pickin's for the state of Illinois in March Madness this year.
As it stands, ESPN's bracketology has just one Illinois school earning an invitation to the Big Dance: The Fightin' Illini. This makes sense, Illinois has four wins against ranked teams and sits at 19-11. One more win, and they cross the 20-win threshold for the sixth straight year.
It's safe to assume Illinois will make the tournament.
But, does any other college basketball team from the Land of Lincoln have a shot at the NCAA Tournament? It's more likely than some of the projections might lead you to believe.
Here are some teams that can buck the projections.
Southern Illinois - Edwardsville
The sneakiest team from the state has to reside in Edwardsville.
The Cougars currently sit at 20-11 overall and second in the Ohio Valley Conference. SIUE graduate student Ray'Sean Taylor was named OVC men's basketball Player of the Year after he averaged 19.2 points per game.
SIU-E has clinched the No. 2 seed in the conference, which earned them a double-bye in the OVC Tournament. They'll face the winner of Game 4 in the tournament, which is against No. 3 seed Tennessee State and Lindenwood/Morehead State.
Winning that game sends the Cougars to the OVC Championship Game, which would most likely be against No. 1-seeded Southeast Missouri State.
Northwestern
It's not likely. At all. There's no chance the Wildcats get an at-large bid without some help.
But, it's March. A deep Big Ten Tournament run could change the perception of this team, which was on its way to a third consecutive NCAA Tournament bid.
Winning with some upsets in March would help, especially when the tournament selection committee is a very "What have you done for me lately" collection of evaluators.
The ‘Cats can help themselves right away with an upset of No. 13 Maryland. Then, it’s all about going on a run.
With a battered roster and limited depth, that might be difficult. It's unlikely as it is, especially since Northwestern would be one of the last teams in the Big Ten Tournament.
Still, it's March. Anything can happen.
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Someone from the Missouri Valley
There are four teams from Illinois in the MVC who could find themselves in a position to go dancing.
Bradley, Southern Illinois-Carbondale, UIC and Illinois State start competition in the MVC Tournament on Thursday, with the championship playing on Thursday.
Bradley is the second seed in the tournament, and the Braves have proven they can beat anyone in the conference. However, a three-game skid against Illinois State, Evansville and Belmont means they need to capture their first MVC Tournament Championship since 2020.
Illinois State had a rough start to conference play, but rebounded to finish with a 10-10 conference record. The Redbirds have won six of their last 10, which means whatever motivation they'll need to win the tournament they'll have to find soon, especially with the second-to-worst defensive rating in the MVC.
Southern Illinois would need to find the most lightning in a bottle, sitting at 13-18 overall. The Salukis rebound well, but struggle to defend.
UIC is the wild card. The Flames have their first winning season since the 2019-2020 season, and got there by scoring 76.9 points per game with some blistering 3-point shooting. UIC has beaten Bradley and Drake this season with their hot shooting and opportunistic style of play. If they catch fire in the MVC Tournament, they might ride it all the way to the semifinals.