An Illini Fan’s March Madness Viewing Guide

The first weekend of the NCAA tournament is the greatest time to be alive as a basketball fan. It's a time to call in sick to work or have the games on in the background as you pretend to work. Its 12 straight hours of basketball for four straight days. In celebration of this joyous occasion, your resident Illini college basketball psycho will give you a reason to watch every team in the tournament. This guide will go through every opening match up and tell you why, as an Illini fan, you should be interested in the game.

South Region

1 Auburn Tigers vs 16 Alabama State Hornets/Saint Francis Red Flash

Reason to watch: Hate Watch

This one needs little explanation. Bruce Pearl is persona non grata around these parts, and them somehow losing to a little brother school in Alabama State....well, a man can dream.

8 Louisville Cardinals vs 9 Creighton Bluejays

Reason to Watch: Rival Schadenfreude

In the offseason, our conference rival suffered multiple defections via the portal, as for some reason Wisconsin does not have the NIL to keep players happy. The one everyone focused on was AJ Storr, who had some flirtation with coming to the Illini before going to Kansas and playing awful. However, the one that must really sting Wisconsin is Chucky Hepburn. He was a fine player at Wisconsin (who always played well against the Illini), but since moving to Louisville he has morphed into a first team All-ACC First Team player and Defensive Player of the Year. If they still had this version of him along with John Tonje and John Blackwell, they would have legit Final Four aspirations.

On the other side, maybe root for Creighton to win this one, as they would have a better chance of sending Auburn home early. Ryan Kalkbrenner is the best shot blocker in the country and can make life difficult for Johni Broome and Auburn’s slashing guards, and Doug McDermott’s dad runs pretty offensive sets to scheme players open.

Robert Deutsch-Imagn Images

5 Michigan Wolverines vs 12 UC San Diego Tritons

Reason to Watch: Hate Watch

This isn’t the SEC. We want the Big Ten to end the National Championship drought, but not by any team that is not orange and blue (ok, if one of the new west coast teams did it that would be funny and mostly harmless).

UC San Diego is interesting. Kiwi Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones is an efficient scoring machine, and they have the 2nd best forced turnover rate in the country. Hayden Gray leads the country in steals, and he does it without above average athleticism, just great hands and anticipation. Turnovers are an issue for Michigan, so don’t be surprised if they advance a round or two.

4 Texas A&M Aggies vs 13 Yale Bulldogs

Reason to Watch: John Poulakidas and Bez Mbeng

Poulakidas is a Naperville kid who was too smart and not athletic enough for Illinois. Bez Mbeng is the Ivy Player of the Year and leads the country in triple doubles with three. Watch to see announcers paid to speak on television trip over the names of their star players. Yale knocked off an SEC team last year as a 13 seed, so hopefully history can repeat itself.

6 Ole Miss Runnin’ Rebels vs 11 North Carolina Tar Heels/San Diego Aztecs

Reason to Watch: Hate Watch the Heels

Never forget Sean May. Go Aztecs.

3 Iowa State Cyclones vs 14 Lipscomb Bisons

Reason to Watch: Cinderella Watch

This one is not Illini related, but Cinderellas are what make the tournament exciting, and this is one to look out for. Iowa State is missing one of their best players in Keshon Gilbert, and Lipscomb can shoot the ball really well.

7 Marquette Golden Eagles vs 10 New Mexico Lobos

Reason to Watch: Transfer Portal Scouting

Donovan Dent is the best player for New Mexico, averaging 20.6 points and 6.4 assists per game while shooting 41% from three. He still has a year of eligibility, and players that good tend to move up to power conferences. He’d look good next to Kylan Boswell. The matchup of star guards between Kam Jones and Donovan Dent will be worth tuning in to.

2 Michigan State Spartans vs 15 Bryant Bulldogs

Reason to Watch: None

Michigan State has been playing too well for me to think they can actually get upset here. I’d say hate watch, but the truth is I actually don’t hate Tom Izzo and wouldn’t mind if he made one more run. Nothing about Bryant stands out to me.

East Region

1 Duke vs 16 American/Mount Saint Mary’s

Reason to Watch: None

Unless you want to hear the announcers talk about how amazing Cooper Flagg is for coming back from a sprained ankle instead of shutting down for the draft on repeat, stay away.

8 Mississippi State Bulldogs vs 9 Baylor Bears

Reason to Watch: Familiar faces

Ex-Illini RJ Melendez plays for Mississippi State. He still can’t make a three, but he has started 28 of Mississippi State’s 33 games. I hope he can create a better tourney memory than getting a technical for dunking, and they can ruin everyone’s bracket by beating the Dookies.

5 Oregon Ducks vs 12 Liberty Flames

Reason to Watch: Transfer Portal Scouting

Zach Cleveland is a six-foot-seven point forward who grew up in nearby Bloomington, Illinois. His lack of athleticism and shooting probably would move him to the bench for a good power conference team, but 11 points, six rebounds, and five assists is a useful player. If he transfers up, he might look for another Christian university though. Oregon might have their hands full with a Liberty that shoots the ball well from inside and outside the arc.

4 Arizona Wildcats vs 13 Akron Zips

Reason to Watch: Familiar faces

State Farm Center might have been too big for ex-Illini head coach John Groce, but he has proven himself to be an elite MAC coach. Akron is in the tourney for the third time in four years, with this being Groce’s best team yet with the Zips. Arizona under Tommy Lloyd has been susceptible to the early round oopsie, so I’ll be rooting for Groce to pull the upset, as Groce always seemed like a good guy, even if he couldn’t recruit to the level necessary for the Illini.

Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

6 BYU Cougars vs 11 VCU Rams

Reason to Watch: Recruiting What-Ifs

Before Geoff Alexander and Brad Underwood started pushing hard to get Kasparas Jakucionas from Barcelona, Egor Demin from Real Madrid was the hot European name they were chasing. Yay Gore (that’s how it’s pronounced) is also a projected lottery pick, as a six-foot-nine point guard with special court vision. BYU has caught fire down the stretch, but even with Kasparas’ struggles, I still think we got the better import.

3 Wisconsin Badgers vs 14 Montana Grizzlies

Reason to Watch: Hate Watch

Wisconsin finally snapped Illinois’ nine game winning streak in the series, and I am a little bitter about it. May the Grizzlies bite them. Strangely for a Wisconsin team, this game features two very offensively inclined teams. Wisconsin might give up 80 but that still might not be enough for the Big Sky Champs.

7 Saint Mary’s Gaels vs 10 Vanderbilt Commodores

Reason to Watch: Augustas Marciulionis

There is something in the water in Vilnius, Lithuania. The same town that gave us Kasparas Jakucionas is also home to the WCC Player of the Year. A true floor general, Marciulionis led the Gaels to a dominant regular season, beating Gonzaga twice. While Saint Mary’s has been a consistent presence in the tournament, they have not made the second weekend since 2010. I will be rooting for them to send two SEC teams home early to get there this year.

2 Alabama Crimson Tide vs 15 Robert Morris Colonials

Reason to Watch: Transfer Portal Scouting

The Colonials are still mostly shooting with muskets compared to Bama’s offensive arsenal, but Alvaro Folguieras is the Horizon League Player of the Year and still has two years of eligibility. A 6-foot-9 power forward, the Spanish import does a bit of everything, shooting it at a high clip from the field and from three, averaging nearly a double double with 3 assists and more than a block and a steal per game. If Robert Morris has any chance to pull the upset, it will be because Folguieras makes himself a boatload of NIL money. He’d make for a nice upgrade over Ben Humrichous, should Ben move on.

Midwest

1 Houston Cougars vs 16 SIU-Edwardsville Cougars

Reason to Watch: State pride?

A secondary branch of a directional school, SIUE is the Cinderella of all Cinderellas in their first NCAA tournament appearance. Illinois played them early in the year and had a no sweat 32-point victory, so I wouldn’t expect the big Cougs to have much trouble with the little Cougs.

8 Gonzaga Bulldogs vs 9 Georgia Bulldogs

Reason to watch: Gonzaga getting back to their roots

Before Mark Few moved Gonzaga into blue blood territory, they were the plucky mid major every year in the tournament somewhere between an eight and eleven seed that no one wanted to see. Now, they are the Loyola of this tournament, as an 8 seed with a top 10 KENPOM ranking. They absolutely have the talent to knock off Houston in the second round.

5 Clemson Tigers vs 12 McNeese Cowboys

Reason to Watch: Orange is a great color

I have no Illini specific reason to watch this matchup, so that is the best I got. Brad Brownell at Clemson might become the next head coach at Indiana, so if you want to see what an actually well-coached rival in Bloomington might look like, tune in.

4 Purdue Boilermakers vs 13 High Point Panthers

Reason to Watch: Rival upset alert

High Point is on a 14-game winning streak with a very strong offense (5th best shooting % in the country). Purdue has been susceptible to upsets by lower seeds in the three years preceding their run to the National Championship game last year, so this could be one to hate watch with hope.

6 Illinois Fighting Illini vs 11 Texas Longhorns/Xavier Musketeers

Reason to Watch: Duh

As far as the opponents, Texas has a lottery pick guard in Tre Johnson, so it will be interesting to see how much Kylan can throw him off his game and how he compares to our two perimeter one-and-dones.

Xavier has Dante Maddox Jr., a player the Illini were reportedly after in the transfer portal last summer. He is just a bench player for the Musketeers, but his 40% shooting from the three-point line would have been useful for the Illini.

Steve Roberts-Imagn Images

3 Kentucky Wildcats vs 14 Troy Trojans

Reason to Watch: Get a look at possible second round opponents

Hopefully that ends up being the Condoms.

7 UCLA Bruins vs 10 Utah State Aggies

Reason to Watch: Familiar Faces

Ex-Illini Skyy Clark starts for UCLA. While he has not lived up to his 5-star reputation (he wasn’t really a 5-star recruit, but people acted like he was), he has turned into a solid defender and role player for the Bruins. Maybe he sticks around for a second year instead of moving to a fourth school?

2 Tennessee Volunteers vs 15 Wofford Terriers

Reason to Watch: None

Wofford is not very good, and Tennessee plays a bit of an ugly game, this is probably one that can be skipped for a quick dinner break.

West

1 Florida Gators vs Norfolk State Spartans

Reason to Watch: None

I must be running out of gas. This should be a blow out.

8 UConn Huskies vs 9 Oklahoma Sooners

Reason to Watch: Hate Watching Danny Hurley and Recruiting What-Ifs

I really want the defending champs to go out early, so I don’t have to see Hurley’s whiny mug on my television (unless CBS brings him in as part of the halftime show the rest of the tournament). Jeremiah Fears was an Illinois commit in the class of 2025-26, but when he reclassed to 2024-25 we decided that we would rather have Will Riley. It seems to have worked out for both parties, with Fears rocketing his stock into lottery territory by being the main man in Norman, and Riley finding his niche with the Illini as he has gotten used to Big Ten physicality.

5 Memphis Tigers vs 12 Colorado State Rams

Reason to Watch: The Dainja Zone

Ex-Illini Dain Dainja has found more success than any other ex-Illini besides Brandin Podziemski. A first team All-American Conference selection, Dainja has ended the season playing his best ball just like he did for us last year, averaging 20.6 points, 10 rebounds and 2.4 blocks over the past month.

4 Maryland Terrapins vs 13 Grand Canyon Lopes

Reason To Watch: Hate Watch

I am tired of Maryland killing us and will gleefully root for them to get upset. Grand Canyon got an upset last year as a double-digit seed, so here is hoping that they find the magic again.

6 Mizzou Tigers vs 11 Drake Bulldogs

Reason to Watch: Hate Watch, Cinderella Watch and Transfer Portal Scouting

Drake is an absolute nightmare matchup for Mizzou in the first round and a fantastic story. Ben McCollum took over the Drake job after dominating DII basketball at Northwest Missouri State. He brought a bunch of his players with him from the small school in Missouri and instantly forged a team that won the most games in Drake basketball history. Seven of those players are from the state of Missouri. They play a slower style than most dominant mid major teams, in a deliberate, methodical way that is built for knocking off high major teams in March. Drake beating Mizzou will be a giant spit in the face to Tigers fans, and I am here for it.

Ben McCollum is a rising star in the coaching industry and is a favorite target in both the Indiana and Iowa coaching searches. He will likely try once again to take most of his team with him, but Bennett Stirtz is a name to follow if he does not follow his coach. Stirtz is a do-it-all combo guard that would be more Marcus Domask than Ben Humrichous should the Illini pursuit him.

Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

3 Texas Tech Red Raiders vs 14 UNC Wilmington Seahawks

Reason to Watch: Donovan Newby and Takayo Siddle

Texas Tech is probably too tough for UNC Wilmington, but they are still a fun story. Takayo Siddle is a young, rising star in the coaching industry who may find his way to a high major this offseason, and Donovan Newby is an undersized and underrecruited Illinois native who leads the charge for a potent Seahawks offense from the guard position.

7 Kansas Jayhawks vs 10 Arkansas Razorbacks

Reason to Watch: Hate Watch Hunter Dickinson one last time

Notorious Illini hater Hunter Dickinson is set to finish a long, and mostly fruitless college career with this NCAA tournament. The biggest underachievers on the year, Kansas gets thrown a lifeline by drawing another major underachiever in the Razorbacks. Tomislav Ivisic’s twin brother Zvonimir will be playing for Arkansas, so hopefully he can finally put a torch to Frankenstein Dickinson’s college career.

2 Saint John’s Red Storm vs Omaha Mavericks

Reason to Watch: None

I am tapped out, nothing to see in this one. Tune in to Saint John’s in round two for a matchup of old fart legends between Rick Pitino and either Bill Self or John Calipari.